UC Irvine — Information & Computer Science — ICS 139W — David G. Kay

Changing the System: Peer Review Guidelines for the Intro Tutorial

As you read and comment on each of your colleagues' papers, keep in mind the purpose and audience of the paper (that is, to introduce their system to people who are new to it).

For each paper you review, write down your comments, guided by the questions below.

1. Read your classmate's paper once through without making any comments. Then, write down briefly your first impressions:


1. How well does it do the job? Does it tell novice users what they need to know about the system? Does it give them enough background and context to get them started learning the details? If you didn't know anything about this system, would this paper help get you started?


2. Is it well organized and easy to follow?


3. Do mechanical errors get in the way of reading it?


2. Read it again, more carefully, making minor comments in the margins. Focus your comments on the organization and content; don't spend much time proofreading for spelling or grammatical errors (which is the author's job).


3. Write down brief answers to these questions:


1. What does the author assume the audience already knows? What knowledge do novice users of this system already have, and what do they need to learn?


2. What are the main points the author teaches the audience?


3. How well does the presentation explain why the reader should want to know these points?


4. How well do you think the audience will understand those points after reading this introduction?


5. What would make the presentation more effective?


6. How is the paper organized? Can you draw a clear outline or flowchart?


1. What is the point of each paragraph?


2. Does the opening paragraph engage you and make you want to read further?


3. Does the closing paragraph summarize what has been explained?