Moodle Janet Ayoub

For Week 5, which focuses on revising, editing, and peer feedback, the most suitable choices are:

• Video: Peer Review: How to Give Effective Feedback — University of Southampton (2024) — because the Moodle Workshop peer review activity is the centrepiece of Week 5, and students need to understand how to give genuinely useful feedback before they do it
• Reading: Revising Drafts — UNC Writing Center — because it gives students a clear, step-by-step framework for approaching revision systematically rather than just fixing surface errors
• Tool: Hemingway Editor — because it is free, requires no account, gives instant visual feedback on clarity and readability, and is simple enough for first-year students to use independently before submitting their revised essay

📹 Video Instructions — Peer Review: How to Give Effective Feedback (University of Southampton, 2024) Watch this video before you begin reviewing your classmates' essays in the Moodle Workshop activity: (Duration: approximately 8 minutes)

As you watch, take notes on the following:

1. What is the difference between feedback that is helpful and feedback that is not? Write down one example of each from the video.
2. The video suggests a structure for giving feedback. What is it? Note the key steps.
3. What do the student speakers say about how receiving feedback made them feel? Why does this matter when you are writing feedback for someone else?

After watching, before you open the Moodle Workshop to review your peers' essays, write down three principles you will follow as a reviewer. For example: "I will always explain why something works or does not work, not just say it is good or bad." Keep these visible while you write your feedback.

Remember: your peer feedback is graded on quality. Vague comments such as "Good essay, I liked it" will receive little or no credit. Specific, evidence-based feedback — pointing to a particular sentence or paragraph and explaining clearly what could be improved and how — is what earns full marks.

📖 Reading Instructions — Revising Drafts (UNC Writing Center) Visit the following page before you begin revising your Week 3 essay: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/revising-drafts/

The UNC Writing Center is one of the most respected academic writing resources available online. This guide will help you approach revision as a deep, purposeful process — not just a quick read-through.

Follow these steps:

1. Read the full page. As you read, note the distinction the guide makes between global revision (big-picture issues like argument, structure, and clarity) and local revision (sentence-level issues like grammar and word choice).
2. The guide suggests several revision strategies. Choose two strategies that are new to you and write a brief note on how you will apply each one to your essay.
3. Before you begin revising, read your Week 3 essay draft once all the way through without making any changes. Then ask yourself the three questions the guide recommends. Only after that should you begin making changes.
4. Revise for global issues first — does your thesis still hold? Are your paragraphs focused? Is your argument logical? Only then move to editing for grammar and language.

Tip: The guide recommends leaving time between drafting and revising. Even waiting a few hours before re-reading your essay will help you see it with fresh eyes and catch things you missed the first time.

🛠️ Tool Instructions — Hemingway Editor Go to: https://hemingwayapp.com/

The Hemingway Editor is a free, browser-based tool that analyses your writing for clarity and readability. It highlights sentences that are too long, overly complex, or hard to follow — exactly the kinds of issues that affect academic writing quality.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the Hemingway Editor in your browser. No account or download is needed.
2. Copy and paste your revised essay draft into the editor.
3. Read through the colour-coded highlights. Focus especially on:
   • Red highlights — sentences that are very hard to read; rewrite these first
   • Yellow highlights — sentences that are harder to read than necessary; simplify where possible
   • Purple highlights — words that could be replaced with simpler, clearer alternatives
4. Work through the highlighted sections one by one and revise your essay accordingly.
5. Aim for a readability grade of 10 or below before you submit your final revised essay.

Important note: Hemingway Editor favours very short, simple sentences. In academic writing, some complexity is appropriate and expected. Use it as a guide, not a rulebook — if a long sentence is grammatically correct and clear, you do not need to shorten it just because the tool highlights it.