Peer review has two distinct meanings in an academic context. At the scholarly level, peer review is the professional process by which designated disciplinary experts review another scholar’s work to confirm that it meets methodological standards, cites relevant and appropriate source material, and generally follows other communication expectations of the discipline’s discourse community.
At the student level, peer review is the practice of reading a peer’s work to provide feedback. Many teachers use some version of peer review in their classes. Students can learn from each other and can teach themselves by looking at each other’s work. Peer review workshops are designed so that students provide feedback to their group members about drafts of their papers.