Read-Through: Read the story once as a story, for its narrative.

Margin Comments: Read it again, raising questions as they come up, and writing them in the margin. Be specific and concrete in your comments. If you write "I don't like this" or "This is confusing" without saying why, you haven't helped the author. By the same token, if you thought a particular passage or narrative strategy was particularly good, write that in the margin too, and write why.

Note: Don't spend too much time on margin comments; don't comment on everything that you notice. A detailed page-by-page analysis will only overwhelm the author, and give you more work than you really need to do. Margin comments are as much for you as they are for the author, in that they highlight what you may want to return to and discuss in your End Comments.

End Comments: On the last page--or on the back of the last page, or on a separate typed page--sum up your general impressions of the story, and of its effectiveness as a story. What jumped out at you as working particularly well? What jumped out at you as particularly confusing or clumsy? Consider the story as a whole: its conflict/crisis, its character development, its plotting. Again, don’t try to hit everything that you think is going right or wrong with the story; two or three plaudits and/or problems is enough.

One More Thing: Always write your name on any story you critique. And always thank the author.

General Discussion (30-35 min): The author does not participate. Workshop members address each other--not the author--during discussion. The author is referred to as "the author," and not by his/her name. This makes the story--and not its author--the focus of discussion. The author’s role is a passive one; s/he is not expected to defend or explain the story, but rather to simply attend to our discussion of the story, assuming a fly-on-the-wall presence by listening and taking notes.

Follow-Up (5 min): Time permitting, the author is free to pursue any questions or concerns s/he had about the story that did not come up in discussion. Time permitting, workshop members are also free to ask questions of the author about the story. (There is, however, a Forbidden Question, which should never be asked: "Is this a true story?" or "Did this really happen?")

Read-Through: Read the essay once, for its narrative.

Margin Comments: Read it again, raising questions as they come up, and writing them in the margin. Be specific and concrete in your comments. If you write "I don't like this" or "This is confusing" without saying why, you haven't helped the author. By the same token, if you thought a particular passage or narrative strategy was particularly good, write that in the margin too, and write why.

Note: Don't spend too much time on margin comments; don't comment on everything that you notice. A detailed page-by-page analysis will only overwhelm the author, and give you more work than you really need to do. Margin comments are as much for you as they are for the author, in that they highlight what you may want to return to and discuss in your End Comments.

End Comments: On the last page--or on the back of the last page, or on a separate typed page--sum up your general impressions of the essay, and of its effectiveness as an essay, as we’ve been discussing them in this course. What jumped out at you as working particularly well? What jumped out at you as particularly confusing or clumsy? Consider the piece as a whole: its narrative movement (transitions, leaps, returns), its argument (the point, the thesis, the "theme," whatever you want to call it), its revelation of character (the narrating persona’s involvement in or exclusion from the essay, via reflection, exposition, dramatization). Again, don’t try to hit everything that you think is going right or wrong; two or three plaudits and/or problems is enough.

One More Thing: Always write your name on any piece you critique. And always thank the author.

General Discussion (30-40 min): The author does not participate. Workshop members address each other--not the author--during discussion. The author is referred to as "the author," and not by his/her name. This makes the essay--and not its author--the focus of discussion. The author’s role is a passive one; s/he is not expected to defend or explain the piece, but rather to simply attend to our discussion of it, assuming a fly-on-the-wall presence by listening and taking notes.

Follow-Up (5 min): Time permitting, the author is free to pursue any questions or concerns s/he had about the essay that did not come up in discussion. Time permitting, workshop members are also free to ask questions of the author about the piece.

Note: The Forbidden Question in fiction workshops--"Is this a true story?" or "Did this really happen?"-- has its counterpart analogue in the essay workshop, and goes like this: