Workshop questions

Our purpose for workshop is neither to tear the paper to shreds nor to merely pat the writer on the back and tell him or her how great it is. Instead, we want to talk about what is working and what is not working so well in the paper. We want to reinforce what the paper does well and be sure to call attention to what might need reworking. Never say "this paper is great; don't change anything." If you are hesitant to say something in the paper isn't working, you can always phrase your concern in the form of a question. Remember the paper and its author are two different things. Remembering this and making a distinction between paper and author helps us to give and receive negative and positive comments. We need to talk about what the paper does well or needs to change, not what the author has done well or needs to work on. There is never a need to defend your paper. Accept and offer positive and negative feedback with equal grace. Remember that you are the author and its your call about what changes you will make. You should make comments in the margin and between lines and have a longer final comment at the end of the paper. Put you name at the top of each draft that you workshop.

1st draft (focus): The first draft should be more or less a freewrite on the topic for the paper assignment. Let the ideas flow. However, the writer may already have a specific focus. If so, this is fine. The first workshopping session will concentrate on helping the reader narrow/find the focus of the paper. At this point, we are not concerned with word choice and grammar. We are not proofreading.

2nd draft(content): Now that the reader has a specific and tightened focus, the second workshopping session will concentrate on adding more detail, adding examples, developing transitions, and refining argumentation/narration. This is when we focus on sentence level issues such as word choice. Still, we are not concerned about grammar. We are not proofreading at all.

3rd draft (editing): This is in week six when we will bring all four papers in. The third session should concentrate on editing and all sentence level issues. This is when we worry about subject verb agreement, misspellings, and so forth. We are not concerned with focus or detail at this point. In short, we are only proofreading.

You might find the questions from one and two interchangeable, and as you can see I already duplicated some of them. Don't restrict yourself to just these considerations and you might add some questions to this list as you go along.

Draft One (finding the focus)

1) Is the introduction effective? If not, give suggestions for improvement.
2) Is there more than one thesis or story in this paper. Identify where they are and explain which on you think the paper should focus on.
3) What's your favorite paragraph? Why?
4) What's your least favorite paragraph? Why?
5) What could or should the writer do for the next draft?
6) What is the paper's number one strength?
7) What is the paper's number one weakness?
8) If you had to pick one color to describe this paper, would color would you pick and why?
9) Does the paper cover too much/little?
10) What would you like to hear more about?
11)What would you like to hear less about?
12) If you have nothing left to comment on, take one paragraph and rewrite it.
13)A question I have for the paper is . . .
14)I really liked . . .
15) For the next draft the paper needs to . . .

Draft Two (refining what we have)

1) Is the introduction effective? If not, give suggestions for improvement.
2) Locate and discuss the thesis if applicable.
3) Can the writer use more description? Where?
4) Could the writer use (more) dialogue? Where?
5) Does the dialogue sound natural? If not, how could it be improved?
6) What places could you suggest better or more original word choice?
7) Are the whats/whens/whys/hows of the paper clear?
8) Suggest a (different) title.
9) Where are you confused and/or need more explanation?
10) If the paper did not hold your interest, where did you lose interest?
11) What would make the paper more interesting?
12) Does the paper cover too much/little?
13) What would you like to hear more about?
14) What sentences could be combined or shortened (Give examples)?
15) Where could word choice be altered (For example, if the word red appears fifteen times in the paper, you might circle these instances and suggest using crimson and ruby as substitutions)?
16) What is the paper's number one strength?
17) What is the paper's number one weakness?
18) You need to be more specific here
19) Where can be detail and description be added?
20) What are the most descriptive and detailed parts of the paper?
21) Is there filler or dead spots in the paper that could be eliminated?
22) A question I have for the paper is . . .
23) I really liked . . .
24) I would describe the voice or tone of the paper as
Discuss the conclusion. Does it work, why or why not?
25) If you have nothing left to comment on, take one paragraph and rewrite it.


Draft Three editing

1) What sentences could be combined or shortened (Give examples)?
2) Where could word choice be altered (For example, if the word red appears fifteen times in the paper, you might circle these instances and suggest using crimson and ruby as substitutions)?
3) Do not worry about spelling. It is the writer's responsibility to run spell check. However, look for misused homonyms in the paper. For example, in the sentence "their are many ways to read poems," the writer obviously means there not their. Also look for words that don't quite fit. Perhaps the author used selected the wrong substitute from spell check.
4) Circle all instances of you in the paper. In most circumstances you should be eliminated from the paper.
5) Circle or underline and mark all fragments in the paper.
6) Underline any and all run-on sentences.
7) Are slang terms used inappropriately? Where?
8) Are commas, semicolons, and colons used appropriately?
If not, indicate where they are needed.
9) Are pronoun references clear?
If not, mark unclear pronounce references.
10) Check for subject/verb agreement.
11) Are quotes integrated properly within the paper?
If not, indicate where they are not integrated properly.
12) Are quotes properly cited?
If not, indicate where quotes are not properly cited.
13) Are interrogative sentences ended with question marks and declarative sentences with periods?
If not, indicate.
14) Are there recurring grammar problems that are major (i.e. are there constant comma splices)? Mark each mistake and explain what the problem is.
15) Suggest a (different) title.
16) Is this twelve-point Times New Roman with one inch margins?
17) Is the heading correct?
18) Are the headers set up right?