Peer writing conference record

This is the form we have been using in class for peer assessment interviews. Do read the notes posted after the image.

Notes

A. Writer, you need to consider what you need help with: ideas, images, organization, beginning, end, title…etc. Also, find out if the piece is as funny or shocking as you thought

B. Responder, when you agree to confer with a writer, your job is to help the writer think and make decisions about the writing:

- Ask what he or she needs help with.

- Read attentively. If there are parts that confuse you or you don’t understand, or you’d like to know more about, ask the writer about them.

- Respond to the text as a reader and a critic. Did you like the piece? Why or why not? How can the writer make it better? Be encouraging and helpful at the same time.

- Use the space on your peer’s record sheet to jot down these questions and comments, but tell them orally.

Critical Reading Task

Dear students-

Now that most of the stories are published, the task you have to do is the following.

Please read all of the stories and comment on at least THREE of them.

The idea is to give feedback to your classmates based on the assessment criteria we worked on in class. So tell them what you liked: surprises, openers, imagery, etc. Also, don't feel shy to ask for clarification if necessary. (Is there anything you didn't inderstand?)

At the same time, try to make genuine and meaningful comments about stories that interested YOU.

Finally, make sure your name is somewhere when you make the comment.


The deadline for this activity is 6 May.

Good reading and congratulations for your writing
alfonso

Micro fiction assessment checklist (tentative)

This story…(tick as applicable)

Makes us laugh or at least smile – it is funny
Presents a powerful, captivating imagery
Allows us to look at daily life and familiar situations in a new light (comic? tragic?)
Is rich in metaphor
Is rich in irony
Has a final sentence or ending that makes us want to reread the story
Manages to defeat our expectations – it’s surprising
Implies a lot about the characters involved, despite the short length
Is tight – no unnecessary detail
Has powerful openers / closers
Is open to different interpretations
Makes us relate to one or more of the characters
Has a moral or a lesson to be learnt
Has an attractive title

Can you find these qualities in any of the stories we have read? Which?

Betrayed

She thought that they made a great couple. They were planning to marry soon.
One afternoon when she went out to work she saw her great love with another woman. She decided to follow them. She saw them going into a hotel. She only felt hatred for him.When she get home she pretended to have seen nothing. But the following days were spent following her boyfriend. She could not believe it.Months later came the wedding day.All the guests were there, the groom was waiting for the bride. Finally her car arrived, but inside came only a messenger with a note that said, "I know everything"



By Mercedes Pérez

Admiration

Every morning he sat in the subway car in the hope of seeing this girl that caused him great admiration. One day he saw her at the door and went to help her.

-    Don't worry, people want to go to work on four wheels and mine are standard.

She smiled.

By Laura Ruiz 

Memories

She put his hand in the water while the boat was rolling. She needed to refresh. Finally she could remember the days before without feeling sadness, She even smiled remembering good times. She would miss him, but it was timefor each to start a new life. A white bird landed on the boat.

By Patricia Soto

Faces

David was tired of his complex, so he gave the surgeon pictures of the faces he wishes he had, including his boyfriend's. 

When the doctor came out to the waiting room to announce that the operation was over, he paled when he saw David's face there, but David was even whiter when he saw himself in the mirror.

By Marta Franco