What does this say about active participation using one or two sentences? Studies have established that peer review can help improve students' writing and that students are capable of offering high-quality feedback. Less research has been conducted on the peer-review process and how specific strategies affect the peer-review process. This study aimed to contribute to this knowledge gap in three ways. First, this study examined the drafts student writers submitted when the peer-review date was scheduled 4weeks before the final paper was due. Second this study evaluated the kinds of feedback student reviewers offered when the structured feedback form required reviewers to write formative comments. Finally, this study analyzed the kinds of changes student writers made in their papers after engaging in this peer-review process. Peer review is an established strategy for improving the quality of students' writing. This study moves beyond the focus on outcomes to assess the peer-review process. In particular, this study focuses on the timing of the peer review, a highly structured feedback form, and student writers' revisions after engaging in peer review. This study draws from a peer-review assignment conducted over 3years in upper-division, discipline-specific courses. The data reveal these strategies force students to begin writing earlier in the semester, help the students offer formative feedback to their