Providing feedback

Have you ever been asked to read someone's writing, and give your opinion? To give feedback, is something you do to help someone improve their writing. Providing feedback means giving clear opinions, that are useful for the writer. To say for example: "That was great!" is neither clear nor useful. Good feedback is also honest.

And that can be hard. To say "Boooring!" or "I don't understand a thing" is surely honest, but it is hardly any help to the writer. Be careful how you phrase things, so that you can help the person who has been writing to receive the feedback in the best possible way. It's better to say: "You need to develop how you describe the scene" Or "This bit is unclear, would be good to clarify your reasoning." Then, you're giving feedback that is clear, honest, and useful. You might feel nervous to give feedback.

There's the risk of hurting someone, or making them angry. Remember then, that you give feedback in order to help. A long list, that mentions every weakness and possible improvement you can find in the text, is not very encouraging. Focus on one or just a few suggestions for improvement. And remember to point out at least as many good things in the text.

A simple model for feedback is two stars and a wish. When you use that model, you pay attention to two good things about the text -- the stars -- and one thing that can be improved -- your wish. Remember to state both your stars and your wish in a clear, honest and useful way. In order to make your feedback even more clear, and much more helpful, you can adjust the feedback to the kind of writing you are providing feedback on. If you know what the defining characteristics of this type of writing are, then you can compare the text you are reading with these characteristics, and see if something is missing, or needs revision.

If, for example, you're reading an exposition, then check if the writer's opinion comes across clearly, and if there are suitable arguments presented. Every kind of writing has its set of characteristics, and it can be helpful to use a checklist. Remember also to notice the items on the checklist where the writer has done a good job! But, before you start using the checklist, it can be a good idea to read through the full text. First impressions matter, so keep your pen ready, and make notes.

Write down your thoughts, feelings, and things you wonder about. You may want to use symbols, such as a star to mark what you think works well, and an exclamation mark, for a thing that can be improved. During the first read through, you mark everything that catches your attention for some reason. Then you compare to the checklist for this particular type of writing, and note things that might be missing or need to be revised. Now you must really think: You can't give feedback on all the details.

So carefully select the comments you think are most helpful for the writer. If you provide feedback on major, structural aspects, then you don't need to comment on minor things like spelling or phrasing at the same time. Imagine that it was you who got this feedback. How would you like it to be worded? Which items would you find useful?

Remember to state your suggestions in a friendly way. When you give negative feedback, you can make it quite kind, yet still clear. So, if your feedback is now clear, honest, useful, and friendly, if it is constructive... ... then you can hand it over to the writer, and be happy that you have helped someone improve their writing!