Peer Review Questions, Fact Sheet Draft Workshop

1. Writer’s Concerns:  The writer should talk with the group about concerns he or she has with the draft. Take notes of these concerns below and the suggestions that the group has for them.
2. Audience: Who is the audience for this text? How might the writer better connect to this audience throughout the text?
3. Overarching goal: The fact sheet must have an overarching purpose and that purpose should be clear to readers. Moreover, each item in the fact sheet should reinforce that overarching goal. What is the goal of this document? Give suggestions as to how the writer can clarify this overarching goal for readers both in the introduction and throughout the document.
4. Introduction: An introductory paragraph orients the reader to the purpose of the document, enables them to see what the following “facts” will work to prove, and provides any necessary background information that gives readers a fuller sense of this issue and the argument? Provide suggestions for revising the introduction so that it better prepares readers for the rest of the fact sheet.
5. Arrangement: The document should be arranged in a way that makes sense to readers. The order of material is very important. The writer should use headings to show readers how different information reflects different emphases. Map out the arrangement and give suggestions for change.
6. Logical Appeals: Facts alone mean nothing. It is the language around the facts that interpret them and shape the facts into an argument. How can the writer create stronger logical appeals so that readers know what conclusions to draw from the information provided? Pinpoint specific areas that could use help.
7. Specifics: The essence of a fact sheet is that it provides specific and detailed information. Fact sheets do not offer general statements without supporting these statements with details. Pinpoint places where the writer might offer more specific information.
8. Definitions / Descriptions: Sometimes sections of a fact sheet might include steps to a process or explanations of terms. Identify places where your partner makes such rhetorical moves and provide suggestions for clarifying these points in a more streamlined or more persuasive fashion. Also, identify terms or concepts that your partner does not describe or define but probably should.
9. Examples:  Examples might help readers to gain a sense of the detailed nature of the issue. The writer wants to avoid “telling a story,” but she or he might show how the situation occurred in another state, for example. How might examples help the writer to create a stronger fact sheet?
10. Repetition: Each item in the fact sheet should offer a new piece of information and should invigorate the overarching point of the fact sheet and issue in new ways. How might the writer avoid repetition?
11. Praising the Writer: What are the strengths of the fact sheet?
12. Suggesting Revisions: What should your partner work on between now and Tuesday?