Peer Review

Peer review has a new meaning to me now than before.  That phrase used to have a negative connotation when I heard it but now I have come to realize the effectiveness of peer review.  Before I always thought of it as an opportunity of someone to downplay someone's hard work.  Now I see it was an opportunity to help and receive help some others.  A mutual service in a sense.  The reviewer has the responsibility to correct and advise the essay he is reviewing and in turn he learns about writing style and has just helped someone improve their essay.  The same is for the writer, to be able to recieve critical responses lets us see our essay from a different perspective and thus improve the clarity and strength of it.  I enjoyed the opportunity to review my peer's essays and have mine reviewed as well.  I found that I had overlooked many key points and grammatical errors that I would have overwise overlooked.  I always try to be open to critizism, even the negative and unproductive ones.  The same responsibilities of a reader and writer apply here in which we must take account for bias and try to get the positive side of the critizism.  "Take everything with a grain of salt" I always heard growing up, look for the best in everything.  This is why I believe attitude plays a big part in peer review.  In conclusion, I found peer review effective and rewarding.