Instructions. Emily Kohlhase. Guided by Elbow and Belanoff’s Sharing and Responding.
Overview: This packet of peer response handouts and activities helps students give and receive feedback as engaged readers rather than evaluators. It emphasizes describing one’s reactions to a text—what works, what confuses, and why—so writers can revise with a clearer sense of audience response.
Uses: Supports productive peer review by shifting focus from rule-based editing to meaningful reader feedback. Builds students’ confidence as responders, helps writers anticipate audience reactions, and creates a foundation for stronger revision.
How to use it in class: Introduce the peer response guidelines before the first workshop and review the procedure briefly before later sessions. Have students upload drafts to Google Docs, comment following the reader-response model, and complete an oral response activity when useful for idea development. Use the handouts to guide expectations, structure sessions, and model constructive, respectful feedback.
Elbow, Peter and Pat Belanoff. Sharing and Responding. New York: Random House, 1989.