He nodded and began to read. He was an amazing writer, and his vocabulary was awesome. He described the food and the atmosphere at Dirt Treats, and his description of the Amazing UnBurger in particular was incredibly detailed. He went into all sorts of references from vegetarian food experts, and he gave quotes from the people at the truck. Also, he’d returned for two more visits—for both lunch and dinner on Wednesday—and he compared the different things he’d tried, as well as the things he’d tried repeatedly. I was so blown away by his piece that I think my jaw was actually hanging open. There was NO WAY I’d ever read a piece in the class now. NO WAY!

When he finished, there was ecstatic clapping from the class, and Ms. Gallo said, “Wow! That was so well done, Sam. You did major research, and your writing is gorgeous. I’m impressed. Now, what we usually do in a workshop is go around the room and have each person give a compliment to the author and then a tip for improvement. Because there are sixteen of us here, I think we’ll just go with four people. Otherwise it will take too long. Okay?”

I liked the way Ms. Gallo referred to Sam as “the author.” That was cool. But I was not about to volunteer to criticize anything Sam had written. I thought it was perfect, and anyway, it really wasn’t my place to give advice to such a good writer. Plus, I’d written about the same topic, and mine wasn’t nearly as good or as long. Anything I said would just sound like sour grapes.

Taylor volunteered to critique first. He noted that Sam’s adjectives throughout were very effective and strong, making Taylor’s senses come alive as he listened. Sam smiled. It was a really nice compliment. For his tip, Taylor said to maybe give more description of who the experts were that Sam was quoting, since he didn’t know them and wasn’t sure why he should trust them. Sam nodded in agreement and made a note in his notebook. I smiled at Taylor. What he’d said was good. A couple of other kids went, and their compliments were huge while their advice was tiny.

“Come on, writers, don’t be shy with your tips!” counseled Ms. Gallo. “Learning to look critically at writing will help your own writing as well as the person you’re critiquing. It’s community service! It’s the gift that keeps on giving! Now, who wants to read next?” She scanned the room, and her eyes alighted on me. “Would you like to go next, my M. J. Connor friend? What’s your name again?”