What was most helpful about today’s peer conferencing? What are your next steps?

I think the most helpful thing about today’s peer conferencing was The Great College Essay Test. I thought the questions it asked helped me to understand what a college essay should consist of. I also thought it was good that someone else could compare my essay to the test because I’m not sure if I would be able to evaluate my own paper. Although I think some parts of my personal narrative are important, it was helpful for a peer to tell me what is taking away from the main story I want to share. I think the question from the test asking about “so what” was important for me to consider because I included a lot of background information, but this will help me to see what isn’t necessary. My next steps are revising my essay with this test and my peer revisions in mind. I think the main thing I need to work on is deciding what isn’t completely relevant to the story, especially since I’m a little over the word limit.