Responding to Another's Writing
Barriers and Fears
One of your first assignments was to answer four questions about responding to another student's writing. The comments submitted by the class are being collected and categorized so that we can all learn about giving feedback to each other.
The links in the questions below will take you to a page which summarizes the comments submitted by the class. (Be patient, some of the comments haven't been categorized yet, so those summaries are not yet available.)
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What is your biggest fear about giving feedback to other students about their writing?
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What is your biggest fear about receiving feedback from other students about your writing?
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What is the biggest barrier to giving feedback?
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What is the most important thing you want from other student's feedback?
Suggestions
The answers that everyone posted in response to these questions about giving and receiving feedback lead to some simple suggestions.
When giving feedback to others...
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Support the writer!
Take time at the beginning of your comments to focus on the positive. Comments about time spent and effort involved in the writing process or comments about the good ideas and thoughtful content are always appreciated (especially when genuine). Make it a habit to find meaningful aspects of the paper to comment on in a supportive way. -
Be honest!
Remember that honesty is what everyone wants. Even if they're a bit worried about receiving criticism, they'd rather hear honest criticism than fake appreciation. -
Comment confidently on the clarity and engagement of the writing.
As the reader, you are the expert on clarity and engagement. Speak from your own experience and use the first person.- Did the writing get you interested and hold your attention?
- In your opinion, was the writing clear? Identify one or two (not more) specific sentences or paragraphs that you felt were either unclear or wonderfully clear.
- What did the paper help you learn or understand? Telling the author this, even if it involves some repetition of the author's words, will help the author know if he or she has been successful.
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Do one thing to help the author either expand or deepen the paper.
Use what you have learned in class or your own experiences related to the content of the paper to suggest one way to take the paper further. Notice that you are adding to, not 'correcting,' the author's ideas. Here are some possibilities.- Connect the authors ideas to one of the other readings in class.
- Apply the ideas of the paper to a specific situation, either actual or hypothetical.
- Generalize the author's ideas and see where that leads.
- Add to the author's list of main points.
- Synthesize the ideas of the author with some ideas of your own.
- Explore a political, moral, or ethical aspect of the author's ideas.
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Don't comment on the spelling, grammar, or other writing conventions except when the author's disregard of those conventions impedes the clarity and engagement of the writing.
Your role is not that of an editor. You and the author are writing to learn. The discussion as a whole is about ideas.
When receiving feedback from others...
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Don't be defensive; ignore your ego.
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Focus on the issues of clarity and engagement.
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Engage in a conversation about ways to expand or deepen the paper.