Reviewer (please type your name):

Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship

Manuscript Review Form

Thank you for agreeing to review this manuscript. The importance of your role as a reviewer cannot be over stated.

As editor, I rely heavily on your comments and evaluation of an article in determining its disposition. Authors look to your comments to help guide them and the work they’ve submitted to JCES. Quite often, in our role as reviewers, we may be the primary source of feedback for many of our submitters. Thus, I would ask that your narrative feedback is clear, focused, and helpful to the writer, as well as to me as the editor.

Guidelines and Things to Remember

Please provide the review by doing the following:

Prepare your comments using Microsoft Word by typing your comments directly onto this review form document. When you’re finished, save the document and e-mail the electronic file to us as an e-mail attachment. Send to . Please use the subject line “Review of _ _” (insert manuscript number).

Manuscript Review Instructions

Throughout your review, consider the degree to which the intended audience (e.g., educators, community persons, and students) is provided relevant information. Consider the overall quality of the manuscript and the contribution it makes to the community engagement scholarship field. Suggestions for areas the reviewers should consider in their critique of the manuscript are provided. Reviewers may always add areas they think are important, regardless of the topic. Please note that we customarily provide authors with anonymous review comments of their manuscripts. This helps them understand how their work was received and, where appropriate, how reviewers felt it could be improved. The comments assist authors with their current and future manuscripts. Reviewer names are never revealed to authors or other reviewers. The editor makes the final decision about what is included in the summary review to manuscript authors. If you have any questions about this review form or the review process, please feel free to contact us at Also, in the recommendation section, at the bottom of the JCES review form please provide your overall recommendation for disposition of this manuscript. Choose the category that best reflects your reaction to the piece.

COMMENTS: Use the following as guides to your detailed reaction to the manuscript. The points under each heading represent the suggested topics you may want to cover.

Scholarly Contribution and/or Expertise in Community Engagement

  • Shows originality of thought and creativity
  • Expands understanding of the topic or insightfully links to other topics or disciplines
  • Treats topic in a sound manner and provides adequate conceptualization
  • Demonstrates a logical and sufficient methodology when appropriate
  • Presents a logical and sufficient rationale regarding primary topic of manuscript
  • Reflects knowledge of relevant work/literature in the topic area
  • Provides adequate documentation and acknowledgment of sources
  • Presents conclusions and/or recommendations in keeping with the focus of the article

Add your comments here

Relevance to Education and/or Community Engagement

  • Demonstrates central involvement of students and/or community involvement
  • Discusses an important, new, innovative and/or timely issue that contributes to advancing the field
  • Audience targeted by the author is evident and the article is truly useful for this audience
  • Topic of interest or importance to a large enough segment of the journal’s readership
  • Relevant to education and community engagement
  • Pedagogical value and translation potential in teaching and scholarly and civic engagement
  • Contribution to future research, teaching, or community engagement scholarship

Add your comments here

Style and Readability

  • Abstract encapsulates: Topic or purpose of study or relevance of the discussion, methods (if appropriate), and general conclusions or major thoughts; all in up to 150 words or less
  • Presents material concisely without omitting pertinent information
  • Clearly and logically communicates information about the topic
  • Contains appropriate examples for illustration of concepts
  • Uses a minimum of jargon
  • Is readable and written so as to maintain reader’s interest

Add your comments here

Values

  • Positions own point of view clearly vis-à-vis the topic
  • Presents alternative points of view when appropriate
  • Demonstrates freedom from prejudice and bias

Add your comments here

Additional Suggested Changes

  • Indicate any needed changes that are not clearly described in the first four sections of comments. Please include suggestions that would increase the manuscript’s utility for practitioners and the intended audience.

Add your comments here

Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship

SUMMARY EVALUTATION SHEET

Bold and Italicize the selected box or Circle appropriate numbers and quantifiers

Scholarly contributions / 5
Outstanding and creative / 4
Above average / 3
Average / 2
Small contribution / 1
No scholarly contribution
Practice/community contributions / 5
Outstanding and creative / 4
Above average / 3
Average / 2
Small contribution / 1
No practice/community contribution
Pedagogical value to the classroom, scholarship, and/or civic engagement / 5
Very important / 4
Important / 3
Modest / 2
Trivial / 1
None
Adequacy of method/ approach / 5
Appropriate / 4
Adequate / 3
Minor problems / 2
Major problems / 1
Inadequate
Appropriateness of data analysis/Soundness of reasoning / 5
Appropriately chosen & properly performed/Well reasoned / 4
Adequate / 3
Minor problems / 2
Major problems / 1
Inappropriate
Clarity of writing / 5
Excellent / 4
Readable / 3
Minor problems / 2
Major problems / 1
Unclear
Interest to JCES readers / 5
Of interest to all JCES readers / 4
Of interest to majority of JCES / 3
Of interest to half or less than half of JCES readers / 2
Of interest to very few JCES readers / 1
Not relevant to JCES readers

RECOMMENDATIONS:

____ Strongly recommend publication

____ Recommend publication with minor revisions

____ Revision and resubmission (re-review)

____ Publication not recommended

____ Not appropriate for JCES. Submit elsewhere

Where ______