Week 4 Peer Editing Assignment

Hello, everyone! I wasn't exactly sure where to put this, but I thought my blog would be as good as any place.

For this week's Peer Editing Assignment, I have proofread four student docs that were shared with me using Google Docs. For each one, I used a different proofreading technique. I just focused on surface level issues like incorrect spelling and punctuation since this is proofreading, not revising. I also used a light green text to show what I had changed.

First of all, I just have to say that there were very few surface level issues. In Seth's case, there were none that I needed to correct. I will now break my thoughts down into sections based on who's work I proofread.

Week 3 Essay: Process Analysis by Stephen Allen
On this project, I used the technique "Read backwards from the last sentence to the first". This was the most interesting technique out of the four that I chose. Because you are reading backwards, you aren't looking at things like how the paper "flows". It really put the words into focus for me. At first, it was a little confusing because I have never used this technique before. Once I got used to it, it was pretty effective since I was only supposed to look at surface level issues. Onto the actual paper, Stephen did really well. There were a few misspelled words like separate being spelled seperate, but that was about it. Very nice job, Stephen!

TAMohler Week 4 Cover Letter Draft by Travis Mohler
On this project, I used the technique "Read slowly and out loud". I was pretty comfortable with this technique since I already use it regularly. Well, as regularly as I can without disturbing my parents! It was also different from the previous technique because I actually did get into the flow of the paper. I tried to stay on the surface level, though. With all of that said, I only found one word tense mistake and the sentence about Travis' efficiency with Google Docs was a little unclear. I edited it to make it a little clearer. I believe that this last aspect is still on the surface level, but if one of you thinks it is not, let me know. Still, good job with the paper, Travis.

Week 3: Process of Recording and Mixing by Daniel Soltyka
On this project, I used the technique "Physically touch every word". While I have used this technique a few times before, I don't use it regularly. I think my biggest problem is touching the words at a fast enough pace that I don't get lost in my head. This technique combined with the previous one could be a really good combination technique, though. As far as Daniel's paper goes,
there were just a few words that were not spelled correctly. However, it was great otherwise, Daniel!

Inventory by Seth McElroy
On this project, I used the technique "Use the grammar and spell checker". This technique I try to use as regularly as possible. Almost any computer tool that we use for text creation should and often does have a spell checker. While I don't think this technique should be used alone it can be a simple and effective technique to start proofreading with. When I actually used Google Docs' spell checker, it only detected the word McElroy. This was probably because the name was not in the spell checker's library of words. Since it was not an actual misspelling, I did not change it. So, nice job goes to Seth as well!

Overall, you guys did great, and I want to thank you for sharing your docs with me. This was an interesting assignment, and I might actually add the techniques "Read backwards from the last sentence to the first" and "Physically touch every word" to my regular process. In any case, I will post my pre-writing exercise for my WPA Inventory cover page as soon as possible. Hopefully, in a few hours!