Responding to Your Peers

"I know you think you heard what I said, but
(what you don't know is)
what you heard is not what I meant to say."

Here's an effective way to View and Respond to Writing. Try using the following structure to send authors information about what you read or heard, about what's really special about the piece, and questions you feel the author may wish to address.

I noticed... (share some of the things that attracted your attention)

• What worked well?
• What details seemed especially vivid or striking?
• What will you remember about this paper?

I wondered... (what would you like to know more about?)

• What information would you like to have about something that interested you in the writing—or about something you didn't understand?

What if... (this is where you point the author in a direction you'd like to see the writing go)

• What if the story kept on going...what if it started at an earlier point in time...what if the setting were different...what if, at a pivotal point in the story, some detail changes (What if Goldilocks doesn't fall asleep?)