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Write a peer review email with one strength and two questions
- For College students
- You practice Getting the tone right
- Time about 5 minutes
- Level Advanced
About this exercise
Write the peer review email to your workshop partner Sam: under 100 words, plain text, start with 'Hi Sam,' and end with '- Alex'. Give exactly one specific strength, then exactly two questions (not commands) about the biggest gaps against the checklist. Suggest no rewording.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Fixing Sam's draft. The AI rewrites the thesis for Sam, which defeats peer review. Try: Say: "Ask questions only. Suggest no wording."
- Generic praise. The AI says 'great job' instead of pointing to a line. Try: Add: "One strength, specific to a line in the draft."
- Missing the frame. Without greeting and sign-off the email is not ready to send. Try: Say: "Start with Hi Sam, and end with - Alex."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total and it often lands 20% over. Try: Cap each part: "each line under 12 words."
- Forgetting where it's going. AI formats for a screen, with bold and headings that show up as stray symbols. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold, no headings."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives greeting and sign-off
- Asks for one strength
- Asks for two questions
- Uses the checklist
- Bans rewording
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