Peer Review | Edited Guide Writing Workshop | Alternative Writing Workshop
Flea Market | Updating an Approved Entry

Welcome to Peer Review, one of several Review Forums on h2g2. Peer Review is the part of h2g2 where you, the Community, help us to decide which Entries go into the Approved or Edited Guide¹.

Writing an Entry for Peer Review

Your Entry should follow the h2g2 Writing Guidelines. Essentially, this means it should be factual, informative and written clearly.

Researchers are much more likely to read and comment on an Entry if it's possible to read it in less than 10 minutes. It's usually difficult to adequately cover a topic in less than 250 words. If your Entry is a bit lengthy (1,200 words or more) then it's likely to need dividing into sections with headers. If it's very lengthy (2,500 words or more) then it's likely to need splitting into a series of Entries.

You should check that your chosen subject isn't already covered in the Edited Guide by searching h2g2².

Once you've submitted your Entry to Peer Review, it will stay there for at least seven days before a Scout can pick it. This allows time for other Researchers to make comments and suggestions for improvement.

• Remember we're talking about Planet Earth here. Explain anything that's peculiar to the part of it you're describing. If someone comments that they don't understand something you wrote, think about how you can describe it more clearly.

• If you disagree with a suggestion, explain why.

• If you agree with a suggestion, make the changes to your Entry.

Scouts will only pick Entries that are ready to be sent to the Sub-Editors for proofreading, so it's useful to point out when you've made any changes and are happy with your Entry as it stands. The time taken for an Entry to be picked varies hugely, so do be patient.

If you'd like to know about the next stage in the editorial process, check out What happens after my Entry has been Picked by a Scout?

Commenting in Peer Review

Before commenting on an Entry in Peer Review, you'll need to read the Entry. To do this, click on the title in the list at the bottom of this page.

Once you've read the Entry, don't click on 'Start a conversation' at the bottom of the Entry. Instead, click the 'Currently In: Peer Review' link on the right-hand side of the Entry. This will take you to the Peer Review comment thread, where you can add your comments by clicking 'Reply' to the last posting.

• If you like the Entry, say so! Everyone likes compliments. If you don't like it, try to make your comments specific.

• Edited Entries should be able to be read by h2g2's international audience. If you don't understand something in the Entry, don't be afraid to tactfully ask the author for an explanation.

• If the Entry gets picked, pop back to the Peer Review thread and congratulate the author.