Look at the list below to see things you might want to comment on (based on class discussions)
Please take the time to tell the writer what he or she did well, underlining your favorite sentences and phrases and making a note explaining why they are good.  Most writers are really good at finding flaws in their work and that of their peers, but we are not so good at identifying what works--especially in our own writing.  This kind of feedback is really important for all of you, therefore.   You will find that it is also helpful to read and comment on other people's essays and then directly afterwards read and comment on your own essays using the same criteria. 

List of things to pay attention to as you read and comment: 

1. What works? Why? 
2. Which sentence/phrases struck your attention because they worked so well?  What did you like about them?  Why?  (underline them) 
3. Which images/descriptions caught your attention because they work so well? Why? (underline them) 
4. Which aspects of this essay should the author absolutely NOT change?  Why? (underline them) 
5. Who is speaking in this essay. To whom is he or she speaking?  Do we have a clear sense of what fascinates this person and how he or she is able to see what others miss?  (if so, where?) 
6. How does the author use description and specific word choices to help make readers equally fascinated? (be specific) 
7. Is the author writing as a tourist or a traveler? What makes you say this? Does it work? 
8. What do you learn about the author by accompanying him or her on the journey in this essay?  Do you need to learn more (or less)? 
9. How does the essay move you as a reader, or show you how the writer was moved? 
10. For the unfamiliar place essay:  Do we get a sense of the author and how he or she was able to see beyond the unfamiliarity of this place? 
11. For both place essays:  How does the author use description and specific word choices to help make readers equally able to enter into the life of this place? 
12. For the narrative essays:  Does the author "hook" us at the beginning with a strong lead paragraph and develop a theme throughout the narrative.  Where was this most effective?  Why? 
13. Where did you get lost or feel confused about the sequence of events or the relationship of one part of the journey to another? 
14. Where was the connection most effective?  (underline these places) 
15. Where did your attention wander ever so slightly?