Melissa makes to points that most of us have gone through peer review in our English courses. It is very helpful to receive insight from people who know and understand the assignment. It is useful to also read your work from the perspective of your readers if you are unable to have someone read over it. I liked Melissa’s thought about reading papers out loud and slowly. This can give great perspective and make it easier to find errors or places where the wording doesn’t work. When revising, it helps to read the paper several times correcting for different aspects of revision each time.
Melissa discusses the performance test in which someone reads the document and tries to complete the task as outlined. For manuals, this can be a great way to test for usability. Although, I will not be writing directions in my career, I believe this approach can be used for many topics. After having someone read over your paper, you can ask them what they believe the assignment was, what your main points were, and what was the thesis. This information can help you to decide if the paper makes sense and if your writing is clear.
