Peer review--students commenting on students writing--is one of the most beneficial things you can do in any course where there's writing. But it's a skill that has to be taught. A program such as Comment helps make Peer Review easier to teach because it makes peer review visible; it makes it possible for you as a teacher to see what students are doing.

Advice on Giving and Using Peer Reviews
• Teach Students to Avoid Vague Comments.
• Descriptive Alternatives to Vague Comments
Peer review exercises from Peter Elbow's and Pat Belanoff's Sharing and Responding, (New York: Random House, 1989):
• Reading Outloud, the virtue of simply sharing for sharing's sake.
• Center of Gravity, where you describe the focal point of the paper.
• Believing/Doubting, where you support, then challenge, a writer's ideas.
• Say Back, where you recall as much as you can based on what the writer wrote.
• Metaphor, where you describe a paper in 'other' terms.
Other Popular & Useful Peer Review Activites
• Nutshelling, where you reveal the essence of a thought.
• Reading for Flow, helping writers share their logic and the connections their minds' make.
• Requirements, making sure the paper meets requirements.
  
• Hovering, where you describe what's almost said or one the verge of being expressed.
• Proof Reading, serving as your classmate's eyes.
• Reviewing Reviews, a group activity where you meet with other writers to talk about peer reviews received.