As a peer reviewer, you help to ensure that a submission is accurate and publishable by providing feedback on the substance and structure of what is written. You will be selected from our pool of peer reviewers based on the areas of interest and expertise you have listed on your Essex Student Journal profile. This enables you to provide an alternative expert opinion on the submission.
The specifics on which you should focus will vary based upon the type of submission you review. For example, creative writing requires a different approach from academic writing and, within these areas, the different types of submission may prioritise elements differently.
Peer review is conducted by current Essex PGRs. You can sign up to be a peer reviewer here.
The video below provides an overview of peer reviewing with the Essex Student Journal, including some essentials tips for reviewing effectively.
You can find more written guidance on how to peer review below, including differences between reviewing academic writing and creative writing, and different submission types. If you have any questions or would like further guidance, please contact the Essex Student Journal Team.
The Journal accepts a variety of different types of submission. The most common are listed below with some pointers on what might be different when you are reviewing them.
Blog Posts
Blog posts tend to be shorter, less formal academic pieces. Whilst the language is less formal, and opinion can be expressed, claims that are not clearly opinion still need to be referenced. If in doubt of whether it is too informal, leave a comment for the Editorial Team to review.
Case Studies
Case studies are in-depth studies of a specific, real-world problem. Generally, a case study has one of three purposes:
Bear these purposes in mind when reviewing, and think about how effectively they are achieved.
Dissertations
Dissertations are in-depth explorations of a research question. They may have multiple sections, and include original data/research. Dissertations are typically the longest academic submissions we have, so take that into account when scheduling time to review and re-read the submission.
Essays
Essays are papers that give ideas based on reading, structured by the arguments/ideas being presented. The three main types include:
Bear these purposes in mind when reviewing, and think about how effectively it achieves them.
Research Papers
Research papers report research findings and are most common in Business, the Sciences, and Social Sciences. They tend to follow a fairly strict structure (although this can vary by discipline), typically:
If you notice significant deviations from this structure (e.g. missing sections, content in the wrong section, etc.) flag it up.
Additional Support
The above guidelines will usually be sufficient to peer review most submissions. We sometimes accept submission types that do not fit the categories listed. If you are asked to review an alternative type of paper, it will either be similar enough to another category for you to be able to use the guidance here, or you will be given guidance specifically for the review.
If you have any questions about how to peer review a submission, please get in touch with the Journal Team.
Making a recommendation for a submission can be difficult and requires some judgement. The Journal Editor will make the final decision on how to deal with a paper, but your recommendation helps inform their decision. Please be mindful of what type of submission you are reviewing when you make your recommendation; a blog post will have different reviewing criteria compared to an academic dissertation, for example. Below are the recommendations you can make, with example reasoning:
Accept with minor revisions:
Accept with major revisions:
Reject:
Where possible, avoid outright rejecting papers and make sure to suggest improvements. The Essex Student Journal is intended to be an educational tool, and so providing effective feedback helps both authors and reviewers improve their skills.
You can sign up to be a peer reviewer here.
If you have any questions about how to peer review a submission, please get in touch with the Journal Team.
Making a recommendation for a submission can be difficult and requires some judgement. Please pay close attention to the peer reviewing guidance to help maintain objectivity. The Journal Editor will make the final decision on how to deal with a paper, but your recommendation helps inform their decision. Please be mindful of what type of submission you are reviewing when you make your recommendation, as different creative writing pieces can have vastly different criteria for being effective. Below are some examples for what to recommend for submissions.
Accept with minor revisions:
Accept with major revisions:
Reject:
Where possible, avoid outright rejecting papers and make sure to suggest improvements. The Essex Student Journal is intended to be an educational tool, and so providing effective feedback helps both authors and reviewers improve their skills.
You can sign up to be a peer reviewer here.
If you have any questions about how to peer review a submission, please get in touch with the Journal Team.
Except where otherwise noted, this work by University of Essex Library and Cultural Services is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.