Re: Peer Reviews -Reply

[Rose Wilcox <RWILC -at- FAST -dot- DOT -dot- STATE -dot- AZ -dot- US>]

Dave Meek wrote:

>On those occasions when I actually re-write someone's work, I try
>to explain my reasons for doing so.  Then I leave it for them to
>be the final judge; they decide to accept or reject my input.

Another option to re-writing the sentence, paragraph, or section is to let
the other writer know they need to rewrite it, with a brief notation as to
why:  "Awkward construction", "Too much passive", or even "I don't
understand this!"

You can usually trust a professional writer either to recognize the specific
flaw you have pointed out ("Oh, yeah!  He's right!  That is a kind of
awkward sentence... hmm... I'll snip this and move this phrase to the front
and make that one a separate sentence and...."), come back to you and
question you ("What do you mean 'I don't understand this!'???", or to return
to you and argue about it until you are convinced ("This section requires
passive voice because we are trying to evade responsibility! :-))

In a training situation, you might want to rewrite a sentence or two and
meet with the person and explain why.  Then, as they start picking up the
concepts, switch to the notation method.  Using the notation "Rewrite --
mixed voice" is a mark of respect for the professional writer -- and it
saves you time when editing!

Rose A. Wilcox (The "A" stands for "Awkward Construction".)
rwilc -at- fast -dot- dot -dot- state -dot- az -dot- us
ncrowe -at- primenet -dot- com