Read the essay down below, use the various critique features in the menu above the essay to highlight, strike out, and so on within the essay itself. Think of these markup features as primarily proofreading tools (looking at grammar, spelling, punctuation, and so on). You can give kudos, but don't forget that a critique should focus on how to help your peer develop their work versus simply congratulating them on their accomplishments. The essay should be marked up with lots of feedback. Be specific. Pretend it's your own essay you're critiquing: what sort of feedback would you give to help yourself?

"I used to hate reading and writing. Throughout elementary school and middle school, it was my least favorite thing. My mom used to try and get me to read like my siblings, however, I never wanted to. She tried everything to get me to read, do my school work, etc. I used to think my siblings were so smart, because of how much they adored reading and writing; my mom was also. It wasn't that I didn't know how to read or anything, because I did. I had just never been able to appreciate it. It was always kind of forced upon me as a kid. I always had felt incredibly behind in school and from my classmates; which I was behind. I never thought that I would be capable of loving reading and writing. My freshman year was the "Covid" year, therefore, it was mainly online. I had this one English teacher for Creative Writing, which had been a requirement for graduating. I met in the actual classroom once a month, and every day on Zoom. He had been an English teacher at the high school I went to, for about 20 years or so. He had taught my older brother a couple of years back, and my brother adored him. I felt that my freshman year I didn't get to connect with him as I would've if I was in class every day, like my brother had been. I ended up having this same teacher for my later three years of high school. I also had the same classmates for three years; it was only six students. We all had built such a connection for having spent three years with each other once a day, every day. This teacher instantly became one of our favorite teachers. I immediately saw what my brother had seen in him. His personality is incredible and his intelligence was astonishing, I feel like there wasn't one thing that I couldn't go to him for. He understood each of our different writing styles and graded off of that. As well as he always had us try new assignments and types of stories to write about. The way he taught, told us stories and helped us with our work made me the student that I am today. We had multiple papers we had to write over the few years of having him. He was an astonishing person, and he was an even better teacher. Every class I had with this teacher was a college-level course. While he never felt like a strict professor to me, he was always very fun, bright, and understanding of us. We did a personal analysis of the novel, 'Frankenstein,' and I immediately started feeling different. I finally started to appreciate reading, and what was being told to me. I finished the book in almost two weeks, which I had a month to start and finish. Most of my classmates were confused by the story and had trouble following what was going on while reading. This had been the first time where I knew what was going on, and I was enjoying the creative story. When I wrote the paper, I felt as if I was the author rewriting something; I had understood it so well. I liked the idea of the story, Frankenstein was painted as this enemy and monster towards everybody. I learned a lot from not only this teacher but the assignment that was given to us. If I were asked, "What kind of a reader/writer are you?" Which, I honestly wouldn't be able to tell you. I have no idea. However, because of this teacher I had, I'm open to any book to read or write a paper about. Even if I don't enjoy the book, I'll still do my very best to understand what is being told and what to reciprocate. The experiences that this teacher had taught me, made me the reader/writer that I am today. I definitely have him to thank for teaching me to love reading and writing."

1. What's the paper's thesis (argument) as it pertains to literacy? (Write it down.) Why do you think this sentence is the thesis statement?Keep in mind that for this genre of writing (memoir), a thesis isn't always explicitly stated. If you don't see an explicit thesis, feel free to write in your own words what you take to be the thesis. And if there doesn't appear to be a thesis, note that as well.

2. For each paragraph, write down what you take to be the main idea of that paragraph. Each main idea you write must be in a complete sentence. If you think the paragraph has two or three main ideas, write them. Or if it doesn't seem to have a clear idea, tell the writer this. Again, do this for each paragraph.

3. Where in the paper do you find yourself most unsure? Make sure to point out specific areas and explain what's unclear.

4. Which parts of the paper would you like to read about more? Make sure to point out specific areas.

5. Is there a balance of narration and analysis? Does the writer need to develop the narration and/or analysis? Explain.