What’s the point?
When writing a text the most important question to ask yourself is what’s the point? The answer to this question will always be the thesis of the text. David Hengel expands more on this by pretty much stating that this question doesn’t really have one answer, but has multiple parts to it. In fact, it may be easier to view the thesis as this question instead. Hengel breaks down the foundation for a good thesis by having you ask yourself three questions. What do you see, what do you make of it, and why does it matter? If your claim answers these three questions you are well on your way to having a good thesis. Hengel also mentions that making sure your thesis isn’t too simple, broad, or even speculative is just as important for your paper as a whole. David Hengel makes a good point when it comes to writing a well-constructed thesis. It may seem hard to explain the point of your writing in just one to three sentences, but using these techniques really do help outline the rest of your paper. The better your thesis is and the better you understand it, the easier it is to write your paper.
Responding -Really Responding- to Other Student’s Writing
When giving a peer edit there is more to it than just being a supportive person. The best way to go about responding to a writer is to understand you are the reader and not the writer. Instead of changing a piece to sound more like you, focus on parts where you were confused at, or liked, etc, as a reader. Don’t sound like a critic when giving feedback. Your man goal is to be helpful and collegial. On the other hand, when you praise a writing it’s important to be sincere and specific when you describe what you liked. This makes it easier for the writer to trust you and understand what you saw in their writing. In the end, I think that the most important thing to remember is, to be honest, supportive, and informative on what you as a reader thought of the writing. Even when you are a little hard on the piece you can still be supportive.