Synthesis Essay Peer Review Prompt

English 1301: Rhetoric and Composition I

Writer:
Reviewer:

Introduction

Early in the paper, the writer should incorporate what “they say” by situating his/her argument as a response to the conversation represented by the articles in a topic cluster. He/she should also provide a clear statement of his/her claim and three reasons. Finally, the writer should answer the “Who cares?” and “So what?” questions by making it clear why the issue matters to the UTA community.

Are all these elements clear to you? If so, prove it by repeating these elements back to the writer (feel free to quote the writer directly in your response). If not, describe what is missing and suggest some options for how the writer might go about satisfying these elements of the assignment.

Evidence

For each of the writer’s supporting reasons, he/she should provide sufficient evidence (in the form of personal experiences, observations, reasoning, and/or information from the articles in the topic cluster) to persuade a UTA audience of the truth of those reasons.

Does the writer provide sufficient evidence for his/her first reason? If so, describe that evidence and explain why it is persuasive. If not, explain why the writer’s evidence is insufficient and describe the type of evidence he/she needs to provide in order to fully support the reason.

Repeat this process for each additional reason.

Counterarguments

At some point the writer should (1) name and describe an opponent, (2) describe that opponent’s argument fairly, (3) identify any areas of agreement, and (4) respond with a rebuttal.

Does the writer respond adequately to an opponent? If so, summarize the four moves listed above and explain why they are effective. If not, explain what is lacking and suggest how the writer might go about executing these moves more effectively.