Critiquing a Bestselling Book

Today was our first major peer critique of the bestselling book project.

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Eagles have brainstormed ideas; chosen a topic and finished (most of) a rough draft. Next comes the hard part, revision, where main points must be clarified, ordered, deleted and supplemented.

Revision is the most difficult part of writing, more like major surgery as opposed to the finer shaping and tucking that occurs while editing.

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If you a Guide, now is when your palms get sweaty.  Have we asked too much?  After all, it’s crazy to expect middle schoolers to write, produce and sell a book in an eight week period. Right?

Today the Eagles formed into three to four student critique groups.  Each was asked to force rank each rough draft based on the following criteria:

  1. Main point: The main point or question of the book is crystal clear and stated in the introduction.
  2. Chapters: Each main point or question clearly and seriously contributes to the overall  main point.
  3. The order of the chapters makes sense.
  4. There are enough facts, quotes and stories to back up the main points in each chapter.
  5. The perspective (first, second or third person); tense (past, present, future, other) and mood are consistent.
  6. The introduction: immediately engages me; makes the audience and main point or question clear by making a promise and describes the journey we will go on together (the main points.)  The conclusion restates the main point or question; describes the journey we have gone on (main points) and makes a persuasive case that the promise has been fulfilled.

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Some books were surprisingly bad. No central point. Little organization. Evidence of wholesale “cutting and pasting.” (This brought forth a spirited discussion about plagiarism.)

These will improve.

Other books were surprisingly good. Original. Witty.  In need of work, but with some revisions and refining, viable projects.

How will all of this end?  That’s a very good question.

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