Below is a sample of the type of response you can ask students to make to their peer’s writing. This type of response asks a person to respond not as a teacher/grader but as an invested reader.
Story Reading Procedure
For this assignment, I want you to read your classmate’s story in a special way. So please follow these instructions exactly:
1. You’ll need about 30 minutes to do this assignment. Make sure that you have access to both email and a CD player/radio.
2. First read the person’s story through one time.
3. After reading the story, I want you to listen to 2 pieces of music. You can listen to anything you like, but you need to be able to remember what the songs were.
4. After listening to the 2 songs, log into your email account and complete the Story Response Questions below.
Story Response Questions
Send an email message to the author of the paper with the information below.
To: author
From: your email address
Cc: pagnucci@iup.edu, your email address (always keep a copy of all your course emails!)
Subject: English 101 Response–Story Draft #1
Body of the Message:
Your Full Name (include your full name at the top of EVERY EMAIL so I can give you credit for your work)
(Copy the questions below into your email message. Type your answers after each question. Then send your completed eJournal to Dr. Pagnucci. Write answers that are as complete as possible. Note also that grammar and spelling will not be counted for eJournals, so just do your best.)
Story Author’s Name:
Story’s Title:
1. What is one image/mental picture the story put in your mind?
2. Without looking back at the story, type as much of the story as you can remember.
3. What part of the person’s story was your favorite/most interesting? Why?
4. What two songs did you listen to? Name the artists and song titles or just say what the main chorus of the songs are if you don’t know the artists.
5. Now reread the person’s story. How well did you do on remembering the story? Why do you think you remembered the things you did?
6. Looking at the story, copy down the best sentence/phrase the person wrote. Explain why this is the best.
7. What’s another possible title for this story?
8. Make one suggestion for improving this story.
9. List one writing/story idea the person’s story gave you. In other words, after reading this person’s story, what’s one thing you now think you could write about (the idea might be related or unrelated to the story you read).
10. What’s something positive you can say about your classmate’s writing which will encourage them?