essay about giving feedback

51 Constructive Feedback Examples for Students

Constructive feedback is feedback that helps students learn and grow.

Even though it highlights students’ weaknesses, it is not negative feedback because it has a purpose. It is designed to help them identify areas for improvement.

It serves both as an example of positive reinforcement and a reminder that there is always room for further improvement. Studies show that students generally like feedback that points them in the right direction and helps them to improve. It can also increase motivation for students.

Why Give Constructive Feedback?

Constructive feedback is given to help students improve. It can help people develop a growth mindset by helping them understand what they need to do to improve.

It can also help people to see that their efforts are paying off and that they can continue to grow and improve with continued effort.

Additionally, constructive feedback helps people to feel supported and motivated to keep working hard. It shows that we believe in their ability to grow and succeed and that we are willing to help them along the way.

How to Give Constructive Feedback

Generally, when giving feedback, it’s best to:

• Make your feedback specific to the student’s work
• Point out areas where the student showed effort and where they did well
• Offer clear examples of how to improve
• Be positive about the student’s prospects if they put in the hard work to improve
• Encourage the student to ask questions if they don’t understand your feedback

Furthermore, it is best to follow up with students to see if they have managed to implement the feedback provided.

General Constructive Feedback Examples for Students

The below examples are general templates that need to be edited so they are specific to the student’s work.

1. You are on the right track. By starting to study for the exam earlier, you may be able to retain more knowledge on exam day.

2. I have seen your improvement over time. As a next step, it is a good idea to…

3. You have improved a lot and should start to look towards taking on harder tasks for the future to achieve more self-development.

4. You have potential and should work on your weaknesses to achieve better outcomes. One area for improvement is…

5. Keep up the good work! You will see better results in the future if you make the effort to attend our study groups more regularly.

6. You are doing well, but there is always room for improvement. Try these tips to get better results: …

7. You have made some good progress, but it would be good to see you focusing harder on the assignment question so you don’t misinterpret it next time.

8. Your efforts are commendable, but you could still do better if you provide more specific examples in your explanations.

9. You have done well so far, but don’t become complacent – there is always room for improvement! I have noticed several errors in your notes, including…

10. It is great that you are trying your best, but don’t stop here – keep pushing yourself to get even better results. It would be good to see you editing your work to remove the small errors creeping into your work…

11. You have put in a lot of hard work, and it is starting to show. One area for improvement is your tone of voice, which sometimes comes across too soft. Don’t be afraid to project your voice next time.

12. You are making good progress, but don’t forget to focus on your weaknesses too. One weakness to focus on is…

13. Your efforts are commendable, but it would have been good to have seen you focus throughout as your performance waned towards the end of the session.

15. While your work is good, I feel you are becoming complacent – keep looking for ways to improve. For example, it would be good to see you concentrating harder on providing critique of the ideas explored in the class.

16. It is great that you are trying your best, but don’t stop here – keep pushing yourself to get even better results! Try to improve your handwriting by slowing down and focusing on every single letter.

17. You have put in a lot of hard work, and it is starting to show. Keep up the good work and you will see your grades slowly grow more and more. I’d like to see you improving your vocabulary for future pieces.

18. You are making good progress, but don’t forget to focus on your weaknesses too. One weakness to focus on is…

19. You have potential and should work on your using more appropriate sources to achieve better outcomes. As a next step, it is a good idea to…

Constructive Feedback for an Essay

1. Your writing style is good but you need to use more academic references in your paragraphs.

2. While you have reached the required word count, it would be good to focus on making sure every paragraph addresses the essay question.

3. You have a good structure for your essay, but you could improve your grammar and spelling.

4. You have made some good points, but you could develop them further by using more examples.

5. Your essay is well-written, but it would be helpful to provide more analysis of the topic.

6. You have answered the question well, but you could improve your writing style by being more concise.

7. Excellent job! You have covered all the key points and your writing is clear and concise.

8. There are a few errors in your essay, but overall it is well-written and easy to understand.

9. There are some mistakes in terms of grammar and spelling, but you have some good ideas worth expanding on.

10. Your essay is well-written, but it needs more development in terms of academic research and evidence.

11. You have done a great job with what you wrote, but you missed a key part of the essay question.

12. The examples you used were interesting, but you could have elaborated more on their relevance to the essay.

13. There are a few errors in terms of grammar and spelling, but your essay is overall well-constructed.

14. Your essay is easy to understand and covers all the key points, but you could use more evaluative language to strengthen your argument.

15. You have provided a good thesis statement , but the examples seem overly theoretical. Are there some practical examples that you could provide?

Constructive Feedback for Student Reports

1. You have worked very hard this semester. Next semester, work on being more consistent with your homework.

2. You have improved a lot this semester, but you need to focus on not procrastinating.

3. You are doing well in most subjects, but you could improve your grades by paying more attention in class and completing all your homework.

4. You are doing well in most subjects, but you could still improve your grades by studying more and asking for help when you don’t understand something.

5. You have shown great improvement this semester, keep up the good work! However, you might want to focus on improving your test scores by practicing more.

6. You have made some good progress this semester, but you need to continue working hard if you want to get good grades next year when the standards will rise again.

7. Next semester, focus on completing all your homework on time and paying more attention in class.

8. You have worked hard this semester, but you could still improve your grades by taking your time rather than racing through the work.

9. Next semester, focus on completing all your homework in advance so you have time to check it over before submission.

10. While you usually understand the instructions, don’t forget to ask for help when you don’t understand something rather than guessing.

11. You have shown great improvement this semester, but you need to focus some more on being self-motivated rather than relying on me to keep you on task.

Constructive feedback on Homework

1. While most of your homework is great, you missed a few points in your rush to complete it. Next time, slow down and make sure your work is thorough.

2. You put a lot of effort into your homework, and it shows. However, make sure to proofread your work for grammar and spelling mistakes.

3. You did a great job on this assignment, but try to be more concise in your writing for future assignments.

4. This homework is well-done, but you could have benefited from more time spent on research.

5. You have a good understanding of the material, but try to use more examples in your future assignments.

6. You completed the assignment on time and with great accuracy. I noticed you didn’t do the extension tasks. I’d like to see you challenging yourself in the future.

Related Articles

• Examples of Feedback for Teachers
• 75 Formative Assessment Examples

Giving and receiving feedback is an important part of any learning process. All feedback needs to not only grade work, but give advice on next steps so students can learn to be lifelong learners. By providing constructive feedback, we can help our students to iteratively improve over time. It can be challenging to provide useful feedback, but by following the simple guidelines and examples outlined in this article, I hope you can provide comments that are helpful and meaningful.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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2 thoughts on “51 Constructive Feedback Examples for Students”

Very helpful to see so much great developmental feedback with so many different examples.

Great examples of constructive feedback, also has reinforced on the current approach i take.

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Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

Response: Ways to Give Effective Feedback on Student Writing

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This is the second post in a four-part series. You can see Part One here .)

The new question-of-the-week is:

What are the best ways to give students feedback on their writing?

Part One began with responses from Anabel Gonzalez, Sarah Woodard, Kim Jaxon, Ralph Fletcher, Mary Beth Nicklaus, and Leah Wilson. You can listen to a 10-minute conversation I had with Anabel, Sarah, and Kim on my BAM! Radio Show . You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

Today, Susan M. Brookhart, Cheryl Mizerny, Amy Benjamin, Kate Wolfe Maxlow, Karen Sanzo, Andrew Miller, David Campos, and Kathleen Fad share their commentaries.

Response From Susan M. Brookhart

Susan Brookhart, Ph.D., is the author of How to Use Grading to Improve Learning (ASCD 2017) and How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students (2nd edition, ASCD 2017)). She is a professor emeritus at Duquesne University and an author and consultant. Her focus is classroom assessment and its impact on teaching, learning, and motivation:

Giving feedback on writing is a special responsibility. If you ask students to write thoughtfully to you, it would be hypocritical of you not to write (or speak, if your feedback is oral) thoughtfully back to them. And students will notice! Here are five things to keep in mind as you think about feedback on students’ written work:

#1 - Before the students write, make sure they know what they are trying to learn (more specifically than just “writing”) and what qualities their writing should exhibit. Unless students are trying to learn something specific, they will experience teacher feedback as additional teacher directions they have to follow. So, for example, if students are writing descriptive paragraphs, they should know what the kind of descriptive paragraphs they are aiming for looks like. Criteria for success might be that they (1) use adjectives that describe by telling what the object of their description looks, sounds, tastes, smells, or feels like; and (2) help their readers feel like they “are there,” experiencing whatever is described themselves. If this is what students are aiming to do, then the feedback questions are already set up: Are my adjectives descriptive? Do they conjure up sight, sound, taste, smell, or touch? Did you (my teacher and my reader) feel like you really experienced what I was describing, that you were there? The best feedback on student writing tells students what they want to know to get closer to the particular vision of writing they are working on.

#2 - Describe at least one thing the student did well, with reference to the success criteria. Focus your feedback on the criteria, not on other features of the work (like handwriting or grammar, unless that was the focus of the writing lesson). Even the poorest paper has something to commend it. Find that and begin your feedback there. Students can’t navigate toward learning targets by filling in deficits only; they also need to build on their strengths. And don’t assume that just because a student did something well, they know what that is. The best feedback on student writing names and notices where students are meeting criteria that show their learning.

#3 - Suggest the student’s immediate next steps, again with reference to the success criteria. Your feedback does not need to “fix” everything possible. It only needs to take the student’s work to the next level. Select the one or two—whatever is doable in the next draft of the writing piece—things that the student should do next, given where they are right now.The best feedback on student writing moves students forward in their quest to reach a learning goal.

#4 - Make sure you learn something from the feedback episode, too. Too often, teachers think of feedback as their expert advice on students’ writing. But every opportunity to give feedback on student writing is also an opportunity for you to learn something about what your students are thinking, what kinds of writing skills they have, and what they need to learn next. The best feedback on student writing gives teachers a window into student thinking; it doesn’t just advise students.

#5 - Give students an immediate opportunity to use the feedback. Much feedback on student writing is wasted, because students don’t use it. Many teachers subscribe to the myth that students will use the feedback “next time” they write something similar. However, it’s not true that students have some sort of file drawer in their heads, with files labeled according to type of writing, that they will magically open at some point in the future.

No matter how well-intentioned the student, this just isn’t how it works. The best feedback on student writing is followed immediately by a planned opportunity, within instructional time, for students to use the feedback.

Response From Cheryl Mizerny

Cheryl Mizerny has been teaching for more than 20 years, is passionate about middle-level education, and serves on the faculty of the AMLE Leadership Institute. Her practice is guided by her belief in reaching every student and educating the whole child. She currently teaches 6th grade English in Michigan and writes an education blog, “It’s Not Easy Being Tween,” for Middleweb.com:

Good feedback on student writing is time-consuming and takes a great deal of teacher effort, but the results in the improvement of their writing is worth my time. Over the years, I have found some ways to streamline the process.

First, students can’t hit a target they can’t see. Therefore, it is important that they have a clear understanding of the goal of the writing piece. I do lots of front-loading with using mentor texts to study author’s craft. Valuable feedback will tell them how close they are to the target and how they can get closer to a bullseye.

For me, the most important consideration when giving feedback is how likely is this to be used? Whenever possible, my first step is verbal feedback via an individual writing conference during the first draft stage. This lets me correct any major errors before they get too far along. We use Google docs so that they have access to them everywhere, I can see the revision history, and I am able to type my comments right in line with the text (which is faster and neater than my handwriting). Prior to writing my first comments, I have students identify a couple things on which they’d like me to focus when reading their paper. Just as I have goals for the final piece, so should they. Then, I begin the process of reading for feedback.

For me, I’ve found that feedback works best if it meets the following criteria: It’s prompt (not saying it has to be the next day, but students get very upset if they have to wait three weeks to get a draft back and rightly so), conversational and respectful in tone, specifically identifies areas for improvement and prioritizes them, focuses on larger issues such as content over small ones like punctuation, and is strengths-based with a balance of more positive than negative commentary. Feedback such as “Good job” is not helpful nor is “This is way too short.” Students needs specific information about how to make improvements if they are going to do so. If I have an especially weak piece, I don’t provide all the ways it can be improved via written feedback to avoid the child shutting down. That student obviously needs more assistance, and a conference is warranted. I am careful to address only a few areas of improvement per paper and I also comment on the areas in which they have a personal progress goal.

As they begin revising in class, I give some individual time to students to have a conversation about their work. The rest are looking at my comments and addressing each one or reading each other’s work. Prior to them handing in the second draft, I provide a checklist of things to consider and ask students to “whisper-read” to themselves (Google Docs has a screen reader built in) to find simple errors. Once they hand in this draft, I look at their work using a single-point rubric (see Jennifer Gonzalez article ) and make comments on it as a cover sheet. I hand this back without a grade on it. In my experience, once they see a grade, the learning stops. They then have one final pass to make any corrections before I receive the final. We also have a celebration of the writing and share work with one another. In my class, it’s is all about the writing process and not the product and this method works well for us.

Response From Amy Benjamin

Amy Benjamin is a teacher, educational consultant, and author whose most recent book is Big Skills for the Common Core (Routledge). Her website is www.amybenjamin.com :

Recently I asked a group of English and social studies teachers to list the marginal comments that they typically write on their students’ papers. Many of the comments were frowny-faced reprimands ending in exclamation points: “Check spelling! Be specific! Develop! Proofread! Follow directions! Review apostrophe use! Others were milder admonitions, often in the form of questions: Where’s your evidence? This shows what? Is this accurate? Punctuation?” Then there were suggestions that, though valid, are unlikely to do much good: “Be sure to support your claim, support the quote, make an inference, anchor the quote, connect to the question, elaborate meaning of quote, explain detail, review, set up the context for the claim, work on ‘tightening up’ your writing, follow the rubric.” The teacher knows what these comments mean, but do the students? Despite the inordinate amount of time it takes to pore over essays and write these comments, we have reason to suspect that they are not accomplishing their intended purposes, which are twofold: 1) to justify the grade on top of the paper, and 2) to get students to improve their writing. The second is far more important than the first. But if there’s no follow-up to our commentary, then what is the point? What are the best ways to give feedback that actually leads to improvement?

First, let’s consider the tone of our comments: While not all of the comments I collected were negative, most were. Some of the positive ones were “nicely written, well-supported, excellent topic sentence, insightful point, great evidence provided, good intro, good sentence, good use of vocab, love your voice, I love this point.” The best way to keep someone pursuing a challenge is to encourage them. It is not so hard to find something—anything—that merits a pat on the back.

Second, let’s consider the amount of correction that is necessary to foster incremental improvement. Teachers are not copy editors. The copy editor has not done her job unless she has found and fixed every single error . But a teacher’s job should be to point out errors and weaknesses sparingly, staying within what she perceives to be that student’s zone of proximal development. All students are novice writers. Their progress will be recursive. If they take risks to produce increasingly sophisticated language in an academic register, they are likely to make more grammatical mistakes, not fewer. One positive and one negative comment or correction on a student’s paper is probably sufficient to keep the writer on a learning curve.

Think of a child learning to play the saxophone. The child has practiced and plays the rehearsed piece for her weekly lesson. Imagine a music teacher responding like this: “I heard two squeaks, one wrong note, an underplayed dynamic at Letter C, a missed quarter rest on the fourth measure, and you completely ignored the dynamics. Watch your fingering, your breathing, and your posture. Pay attention to the time signature. While you’re at it, give it some feeling. It’s supposed to sound like music, not noise.”

And, third, consider the follow-up. Rubrics are excellent tools because they establish criteria for success and help students self-monitor. But the rubric has to be written in student-friendly language. With an accessible rubric, the student can chart her progress from one piece of writing to another. You can follow-up on a writing assignment with mini-lessons, using authentic sentences from student writing as models of good writing, not only deficient writing.

If you’d like students to take real responsibility for their own writing growth, you may be interested in a resource that I’ve created called RxEdit and RxRevise. There you will find a collection of DIY lessons keyed to various writing needs. You can refer students to these lessons on an as-needed basis. It’s a great way to differentiate instruction. RxEdit and RxRevise are available for free on my website .

Response From Kate Wolfe Maxlow & Karen Sanzo

Kate Wolfe Maxlow and Karen Sanzo’s are co-authors of 20 Formative Assessment Strategies that Work: A Guide Across Content and Grade Levels . Kate Wolfe Maxlow is the Professional Learning Coordinator at Hampton City Schools and Karen Sanzo is a professor of Educational Foundations and Leadership at Old Dominion University:

How many times in school did you write something that made perfect sense to you only to have your teacher or professor write a big, red question mark next to it? The purpose of writing is to communicate thoughts and ideas to an audience, but because the writer cannot simultaneously be both the author and the audience, young writers often require a great deal of feedback in order to learn how to write clearly for an intended audience. Therefore, it is immensely important that teachers provide quality, frequent feedback to students on their writing.

To this end, it is also important to remember that the role of the teacher is to help students improve, not necessarily to expect a perfect product. Marzano (2017) explains that educators “should view learning as a constructive process in which students constantly update their knowledge.” Likewise, Hattie (2017) emphasizes the importance of helping students to engage in metacognitive strategies, such as Planning and Prediction, Elaboration and Organization, and Evaluation and Reflection. When we think of writing as a constructive process in which we should help students engage in metacognitive strategies, we realize how crucial it is that we provide students with feedback throughout the entire writing process, not simply at the end.

What does this look like? Imagine that you give students the following prompt: Explain why we remember George Washington today. Before students begin to write, have them make a plan that includes how they will conduct research, what questions they will ask, and how they will record answers. Check in with each student and then—this is key—provide feedback on their plans. As students begin to implement their plan and conduct research, collect information, and outline their paper, provide feedback on that, too.

What form does that feedback take? Well, whether it’s electronic (such as using Google Docs), verbal, or written doesn’t matter as much as the kind of thinking that the teacher asks the student to do when providing the feedback. For instance, a student has to do less work and actually learns less when a teacher writes, “George Washington did not have wooden teeth,” than if the teacher writes, “Can you find other sources that confirm that George Washington had wooden teeth?” or even “George Washington’s teeth are indeed an interesting subject; do you think we would remember him even if he had his own teeth based on his other accomplishments? What are the biggest reasons we remember him today?”

Feedback can, of course, also concern writing style. If feedback is too prescribed, we cheat students out of critical- and creative-thinking opportunities; if it is too vague, we risk frustrating them. For instance, instead of simply writing, “Vary your sentence style,” when a student starts each sentence in a paragraph with, “We remember George Washington because...,” a teacher could ask, “How can you start each sentence differently in this paragraph to keep the reader’s attention?” This points students in the right direction and also helps them understand why the change is important.

Lastly, while it’s important to give students feedback on their writing, feedback works best when we also collect it from students (Hattie, 2009). The more we ask students to self-evaluate and reflect on their work, the greater the impact on their achievement (Hattie, 2017). To that end, it can work well to have students first self-evaluate their writing using the rubric then come to a writing conference prepared with examples of what’s working in their paper and where they need help. When we give feedback like this, we encourage students not only to become better writers, but better thinkers as well.

Hattie, J (2009). Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York: Routledge

Hattie, J. (2017). Hattie’s 2017 updated list of factors influencing student achievement. Retrieved from https://www.visiblelearningplus.com/sites/default/files/250%20Influences.pdf

Marzano (2017). The New Art and Science of Teaching. Bloomington, IN: ASCD & Solution Tree Press.

Response From Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller is currently an instructional coach at the Shanghai American School in China. He also serves on the National Faculty for the Buck Institute for Education and ASCD, where he consults on a variety of topics. He has worked with educators in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, China, Japan, Indonesia, India, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and the Dominican Republic:

Because we care about our students, we often do two things wrong: We give too much feedback or we tell students the answer in the feedback. Too much feedback is often ground in the traditional “final draft” way of writing, where the teacher collects the papers and then spends hours marking and providing written feedback near the end of the unit and close to when the assignment is due. This is often too much for students to process and/or can be too late. “Why didn’t you tell me my opening paragraph needed work when I wrote it a week ago?” Instead, teachers should provide feedback in smaller chunks in a more ongoing way. This makes the feedback manageable and timely.

For the second problem, teachers should focus on prompting and asking good questions to probe student thinking in the feedback they write. Instead of correcting a large amount of punctuation errors for students, write: “I’m noticing errors in comma and other punctuation usage in your second paragraph.” Here, the student must seek out those errors and correct them. They must learn! If the teacher does all the corrections for the students, then that teacher has done all the thinking for the student. In fact, it may have robbed that student of an opportunity to learn. Feedback should cause students to think and learn, not give away all the answers.

One final rule—don’t give feedback unless you can devote time for students to use and process it. We’ve all made the mistakes where we give feedback on the summative assessment and then students don’t use it. This is because we have indicated to them that it is summative and it is too late to improve. Teachers waste their time, and students don’t find value in the feedback.

Response From David Campos & Kathleen Fad

David Campos, Ph.D., is a professor of education at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in special education, multicultural education, and instructional design and delivery. He has written books on LGBT youth, childhood health and wellness, and the schooling of Latinos. He has co-authored two books with Kathleen Fad: Tools for Teaching Writing (ASCD 2014) and Practical Ideas That Really Work for English Language Learners (Pro-Ed).

Kathleen Fad, Ph.D., is an author and consultant whose professional experience has spanned more than 30 years as a general education teacher, special education teacher, and university professor. Kathy’s specialty is designing practical, common-sense strategies that are research-based:

We also consider the idea of giving feedback from the special education perspective, and, that is, giving feedback so that it is individualized. Our experiences have taught us that in any given classroom, many students may struggle with the same writing issues, but most will have unique difficulties with their writing.

To help teachers give effective feedback on student writing, we created an evaluation protocol based on eight writing traits (in Tools for Teaching Writing, ASCD). Teachers can use this protocol to isolate the areas of writing that individual students struggle with the most. We identified qualities associated with each trait, which provides the teacher with a common language to use when she conferences with individual students.

Teachers can similarly create their own evaluation measure that has qualities associated with the traits or conventions of writing they address in their lessons. For example, teachers can ask themselves, “How does good presentation manifest in student writing?” Then, they can work toward developing the qualities of presentation they can regularly use in their instruction and student feedback. The key to effective feedback is to give students concrete qualities about the writing trait or convention and use those regularly in their conferences with students.

After teachers have developed this common language about writing, students can learn to self-reflect on their work. As a way of giving feedback, teachers can provide students with checklists associated with the qualities of the trait and have the students self-reflect or review their peers’ writing.

Thanks to Susan, Cheryl, Amy, Kate, Karen, Andrew, David, and Kathleen for their contributions.

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• 10 Types of Essay Feedback and How to Respond to Them

The moment of truth has arrived: you’ve got your marked essay back and you’re eagerly scanning through it, taking in the amount of red pen, and looking at the grade and hastily scrawled feedback at the end.

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After deciphering the handwriting, you’re able to see a brief assessment of how you’ve performed in this essay, and your heart either leaps or sinks. Ideally, you’d receive detailed feedback telling you exactly where you fell short and providing helpful guidance on how to improve next time. However, the person marking your essay probably doesn’t have time for that, so instead leaves you very brief remarks that you then have to decode in order to understand how you can do better. In this article, we look at some of the common sorts of remarks you might receive in essay feedback, what they mean, and how to respond to them or take them on board so that you can write a better essay next time – no matter how good this one was!

1. “Too heavily reliant on critics”

We all fall into the trap of regurgitating whatever scholarship we happen to have read in the run-up to writing the essay, and it’s a problem that reveals that many students have no idea what their own opinion is. We’re so busy paraphrasing what scholars have said that we forget to think about whether we actually agree with what they’ve said. This is an issue we discussed in a recent article on developing your own opinion , in which we talked about how to approach scholarship with an open and critical mind, make up your own mind and give your own opinion in your essays. If you’ve received this kind of feedback, the person marking your essay has probably noticed that you’ve followed exactly the same line of thinking as one or more of the books on your reading list, without offering any kind of original comment. Take a look at the article linked to just now and you’ll soon be developing your own responses.

2. “Too short”

If your essay falls significantly short of the prescribed word count, this could suggest that you haven’t put in enough work. Most essays will require extensive reading before you can do a topic justice, and if you’ve struggled to fill the word count, it’s almost certainly because you haven’t done enough reading, and you’ve therefore missed out a significant line of enquiry. This is perhaps a sign that you’ve left it too late to write your essay, resulting in a rushed and incomplete essay (even if you consider it finished, it’s not complete if it hasn’t touched on topics of major relevance). This problem can be alleviated by effective time management, allowing plenty of time for the research phase of your essay and then enough time to write a detailed essay that touches on all the important arguments. If you’re struggling to think of things to say in your essay, try reading something on the topic that you haven’t read before. This will offer you a fresh perspective to talk about, and possibly help you to understand the topic clearly enough to start making more of your own comments about it.

3. “Too long”

[pullquote] “The present letter is a very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter” – Blaise Pascal [/pullquote]It sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s actually much easier to write an essay that’s too long than one that’s too short. This is because we’re all prone to waffling when we’re not entirely sure what we want to say, and/or because we want to show the person marking our essay that we’ve read extensively, even when some of the material we’ve read isn’t strictly relevant to the essay question we’ve been set. But the word count is there for a reason: it forces you to be clear and concise, leaving out what isn’t relevant. A short (say, 500-word) essay is actually a challenging academic exercise, so if you see fit to write twice the number of words, the person marking the essay is unlikely to be impressed. Fifty to a hundred words over the limit probably won’t be too much of an issue if that’s less than 10% of the word count, and will probably go unnoticed, but if you’ve ended up with something significantly over this, it’s time to start trimming. Re-read what you’ve written and scrutinise every single line. Does it add anything to your argument? Are you saying in ten words what could be said in three? Is there a whole paragraph that doesn’t really contribute to developing your argument? If so, get rid of it. This kind of ruthless editing and rephrasing can quickly bring your word count down, and it results in a much tighter and more carefully worded essay.

4. “Contradicts itself”

Undermining your own argument is an embarrassing mistake to make, but you can do it without realising when you’ve spent so long tweaking your essay that you can no longer see the wood for the trees. Contradicting yourself in an essay is also a sign that you haven’t completely understood the issues and haven’t formed a clear opinion on what the evidence shows. To avoid this error, have a detailed read through your essay before you submit it and look in particular detail at the statements you make. Looking at them in essence and in isolation, do any of them contradict each other? If so, decide which you think is more convincing and make your argument accordingly.

5. “Too many quotations”

It’s all too easy to hide behind the words of others when one is unsure of something, or lacking a complete understanding of a topic. This insecurity leads us to quote extensively from either original sources or scholars, including long chunks of quoted text as a nifty way of upping the word count without having to reveal our own ignorance (too much). But you won’t fool the person marking your essay by doing this: they’ll see immediately that you’re relying too heavily on the words of others, without enough intelligent supporting commentary, and it’s particularly revealing when most of the quotations are from the same source (which shows that you haven’t read widely enough). It’s good to include some quotations from a range of different sources, as it adds colour to your essay, shows that you’ve read widely and demonstrates that you’re thinking about different kinds of evidence. However, if you’ve received this kind of feedback, you can improve your next essay by not quoting more than a sentence at a time, making the majority of the text of your essay your own words, and including plenty of your own interpretation and responses to what you’ve quoted. Another word of advice regarding quotations: one of my tutors once told me is that one should never end an essay on a quotation. You may think that this is a clever way of bringing your essay to a conclusion, but actually you’re giving the last word to someone else when it’s your essay, and you should make the final intelligent closing remark. Quoting someone else at the end is a cop-out that some students use to get out of the tricky task of writing a strong final sentence, so however difficult the alternative may seem, don’t do it!

6. “Not enough evidence”

In an essay, every point you make must be backed up with supporting evidence – it’s one of the fundamental tenets of academia. You can’t make a claim unless you can show what has lead you to it, whether that’s a passage in an original historical source, the result of some scientific research, or any other form of information that would lend credibility to your statement. A related problem is that some students will quote a scholar’s opinion as though it were concrete evidence of something; in fact, that is just one person’s opinion, and that opinion has been influenced by the scholar’s own biases. The evidence they based the opinion on might be tenuous, so it’s that evidence you should be looking at, not the actual opinion of the scholar themselves. As you write your essay, make a point of checking that everything you’ve said is adequately supported.

7. “All over the place” / “Confused”

An essay described as “all over the place” – or words to that effect – reveals that the student who wrote it hasn’t developed a clear line of argument, and that they are going off at tangents and using an incoherent structure in which one point doesn’t seem to bear any relation to the previous one. A tight structure is vital in essay-writing, as it holds the reader’s interest and helps build your argument to a logical conclusion. You can avoid your essay seeming confused by writing an essay plan before you start. This will help you get the structure right and be clear about what you want to say before you start writing.

8. “Misses the point”

This feedback can feel particularly damning if you’ve spent a long time writing what you thought was a carefully constructed essay. A simple reason might be that you didn’t read the question carefully enough. But it’s also a problem that arises when students spend too long looking at less relevant sources and not enough at the most important ones, because they ran out of time, or because they didn’t approach their reading lists in the right order, or because they failed to identify correctly which the most important sources actually were. This leads to students focusing on the wrong thing, or perhaps getting lost in the details. The tutor marking the essay, who has a well-rounded view of the topic, will be baffled if you’ve devoted much of your essay to discussing something you thought was important, but which they know to be a minor detail when compared with the underlying point. If you’re not sure which items on your reading list to tackle first, you could try asking your tutor next time if they could give you some pointers on which of the material they recommend you focus on first. It can also be helpful to prompt yourself from time to time with the question “What is the point?”, as this will remind you to take a step back and figure out what the core issues are.

9. “Poor presentation”

This kind of remark is likely to refer to issues with the formatting of your essay, spelling and punctuation , or general style. Impeccable spelling and grammar are a must, so proofread your essay before you submit it and check that there are no careless typos (computer spell checks don’t always pick these up). In terms of your writing style , you might get a comment like this if the essay marker found your writing either boring or in a style inappropriate to the context of a formal essay. Finally, looks matter: use a sensible, easy-to-read font, print with good-quality ink and paper if you’re printing, and write neatly and legibly if you’re handwriting. Your essay should be as easy to read as possible for the person marking it, as this lessens their workload and makes them feel more positively towards your work.

10. “Very good”

On the face of it, this is the sort of essay feedback every student wants to hear. But when you think about it, it’s not actually very helpful – particularly when it’s accompanied by a mark that wasn’t as high as you were aiming for. With these two words, you have no idea why you didn’t achieve top marks. In the face of such (frankly lazy) marking from your teacher or lecturer, the best response is to be pleased that you’ve received a positive comment, but to go to the person who marked it and ask for more comments on what you could have done to get a higher mark. They shouldn’t be annoyed at your asking, because you’re simply striving to do better every time.

General remarks on responding to essay feedback

We end with a few general pieces of advice on how to respond to essay feedback.

• Don’t take criticism personally.
• Remember that feedback is there to help you improve.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for more feedback if what they’ve said isn’t clear.
• Don’t rest on your laurels – if you’ve had glowing feedback, it’s still worth asking if there’s anything you could have done to make the essay even better.

It can be difficult to have one’s hard work (metaphorically) ripped apart or disparaged, but feedback is ultimately there to help you get higher grades, get into better universities, and put you on a successful career path; so keep that end goal in mind when you get your essay back.

Image credits: banner ; library ; snake ; magnifying glass ; dartboard ; suggestions box . 

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• Writing Tips

How to Give Feedback on an Essay

4-minute read

• 9th May 2019

Whether you’re teaching or just helping a friend, being asked to offer feedback on an essay can be intimidating if you’ve not done it before. We do, though, have a few tips to share on this subject.

Content vs. Quality of Writing

There are two main things you may want to offer feedback on when reading an essay. These are:

• The content of the essay (i.e. what the author is arguing)
• How it is written (i.e. how well they communicate their argument)

The exact nature of the feedback you provide will depend on the topic and type of essay you are reading. But there are some things you might want to comment on for any paper, including:

• Spelling, grammar and punctuation errors
• Overall structure and readability
• Academic vocabulary and writing style
• Factual inaccuracies or ambiguities
• Whether the author provides evidence for their arguments
• Clarity and consistency of referencing

Ideally, you’ll provide feedback on all of these. However, if you’re simply reading the first draft of a paper to help a friend, you may want to check what kind of feedback they want.

Try, too, to balance the positive and negative feedback. It’s just as important to note things that are good as things that need clarifying. After all, if the author sees nothing but negative comments, they could be discouraged. Positive feedback, on the other hand, is a great motivator.

Comments in Margins vs. In-Depth Feedback

One way of leaving feedback is to make notes in the margins (either on paper or using the comment function in Microsoft Word). These should be short notes related to a specific issue, such as highlighting a misspelled word, an incorrect fact, or a missing citation.

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Try not to leave too many comments in the margins, though. If there is a recurring problem, such as a word that the author has repeatedly misspelled, don’t comment on it every time. Instead, leave a comment noting the pattern of errors. This highlights the issue without overwhelming the reader.

You may also want to provide overall feedback at the end of the paper. Ideally, this in-depth feedback should:

• Start positive (e.g. This is a well-researched, well-organised paper ).
• Focus on one or two major issues rather than repeating everything you commented on in the margins. If there are too many big problems to pick one or two, you may want to speak to the author in person instead.
• Provide concrete criticism on specific problems, including page or section numbers where relevant, not just general criticisms (e.g. You are missing several citations in section three, so please check… rather than The referencing in this paper could be improved… ).

If you’re offering feedback on an essay that is currently in progress, focus on issues that the author could improve in the next draft. If you’re marking a final draft, however, you may want to focus on what they can learn from the essay’s overall strengths and weaknesses.

Marking Criteria

Finally, if you’re teaching on a university course – or even just marking papers – you should have access to the marking criteria. These will be set by the university or whoever is teaching the class. And, crucially, these guidelines will set out in detail what a good paper should do.

These criteria can also be useful when planning a paper, so it’s worth asking about the marking criteria even if you’re writing an essay rather than offering feedback! And if you’re not sure where to find the marking criteria for your course, check the university website or ask your professor.

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Getting Feedback

What this handout is about.

Sometimes you’d like feedback from someone else about your writing, but you may not be sure how to get it. This handout describes when, where, how and from whom you might receive effective responses as you develop as a writer.

Why get feedback on your writing?

You’ll become a better writer, and writing will become a less painful process. When might you need feedback? You might be just beginning a paper and want to talk to someone else about your ideas. You might be midway through a draft and find that you are unsure about the direction you’ve decided to take. You might wonder why you received a lower grade than you expected on a paper, or you might not understand the comments that a TA or professor has written in the margins. Essentially, asking for feedback at any stage helps you break out of the isolation of writing. When you ask for feedback, you are no longer working in a void, wondering whether or not you understand the assignment and/or are making yourself understood. By seeking feedback from others, you are taking positive, constructive steps to improve your own writing and develop as a writer.

Why people don’t ask for feedback

• You worry that the feedback will be negative. Many people avoid asking others what they think about a piece of writing because they have a sneaking suspicion that the news will not be good. If you want to improve your writing, however, constructive criticism from others will help. Remember that the criticism you receive is only criticism of the writing and not of the writer.
• You don’t know whom to ask. The person who can offer the most effective feedback on your writing may vary depending on when you need the feedback and what kind of feedback you need. Keep in mind, though, that if you are really concerned about a piece of writing, almost any thoughtful reader (e.g., your roommate, mother, R.A., brother, etc.) can provide useful feedback that will help you improve your writing. Don’t wait for the expert; share your writing often and with a variety of readers.
• You don’t know how to ask. It can be awkward to ask for feedback, even if you know whom you want to ask. Asking someone, “Could you take a look at my paper?” or “Could you tell me if this is OK?” can sometimes elicit wonderfully rich responses. Usually, though, you need to be specific about where you are in the writing process and the kind of feedback that would help. You might say, “I’m really struggling with the organization of this paper. Could you read these paragraphs and see if the ideas seem to be in the right order?”
• You don’t want to take up your teacher’s time. You may be hesitant to go to your professor or TA to talk about your writing because you don’t want to bother him or her. The office hours that these busy people set aside, though, are reserved for your benefit, because the teachers on this campus want to communicate with students about their ideas and their work. Faculty can be especially generous and helpful with their advice when you drop by their office with specific questions and know the kinds of help you need. If you can’t meet during the instructor’s office hours, try making a special appointment. If you find that you aren’t able to schedule a time to talk with your instructor, remember that there are plenty of other people around you who can offer feedback.
• You’ve gotten feedback in the past that was unhelpful. If earlier experiences haven’t proved satisfactory, try again. Ask a different person, or ask for feedback in a new way. Experiment with asking for feedback at different stages in the writing process: when you are just beginning an assignment, when you have a draft, or when you think you are finished. Figure out when you benefit from feedback the most, the kinds of people you get the best feedback from, the kinds of feedback you need, and the ways to ask for that feedback effectively.
• You’re working remotely and aren’t sure how to solicit help. Help can feel “out of sight, out of mind” when working remotely, so it may take extra effort and research to reach out. Explore what resources are available to you and how you can access them. What type of remote feedback will benefit you most? Video conferencing, email correspondence, phone conversation, written feedback, or something else? Would it help to email your professor or TA ? Are you looking for the back and forth of a real-time conversation, or would it be more helpful to have written feedback to refer to as you work? Can you schedule an appointment with the Writing Center or submit a draft for written feedback ? Could joining or forming an online writing group help provide a source of feedback?

Possible writing moments for feedback

There is no “best time” to get feedback on a piece of writing. In fact, it is often helpful to ask for feedback at several different stages of a writing project. Listed below are some parts of the writing process and some kinds of feedback you might need in each. Keep in mind, though, that every writer is different—you might think about these issues at other stages of the writing process, and that’s fine.

• The beginning/idea stage: Do I understand the assignment? Am I gathering the right kinds of information to answer this question? Are my strategies for approaching this assignment effective ones? How can I discover the best way to develop my early ideas into a feasible draft?
• Outline/thesis: I have an idea about what I want to argue, but I’m not sure if it is an appropriate or complete response to this assignment. Is the way I’m planning to organize my ideas working? Does it look like I’m covering all the bases? Do I have a clear main point? Do I know what I want to say to the reader?
• Rough draft: Does my paper make sense, and is it interesting? Have I proven my thesis statement? Is the evidence I’m using convincing? Is it explained clearly? Have I given the reader enough information? Does the information seem to be in the right order? What can I say in my introduction and conclusion?
• Early polished draft: Are the transitions between my ideas smooth and effective? Do my sentences make sense individually? How’s my writing style?
• Late or final polished draft: Are there any noticeable spelling or grammar errors? Are my margins, footnotes, and formatting okay? Does the paper seem effective? Is there anything I should change at the last minute?
• After the fact: How should I interpret the comments on my paper? Why did I receive the grade I did? What else might I have done to strengthen this paper? What can I learn as a writer about this writing experience? What should I do the next time I have to write a paper?

A note on asking for feedback after a paper has been graded

Many people go to see their TA or professor after they receive a paper back with comments and a grade attached. If you seek feedback after your paper is returned to you, it makes sense to wait 24 hours before scheduling a meeting to talk about it. If you are angry or upset about a grade, the day off gives you time to calm down and put things in perspective. More important, taking a day off allows you to read through the instructor’s comments and think about why you received the grade that you did. You might underline or circle comments that were confusing to you so that you can ask about them later. You will also have an opportunity to reread your own writing and evaluate it more critically yourself. After all, you probably haven’t seen this piece of work since you handed it in a week or more ago, and refreshing your memory about its merits and weaknesses might help you make more sense of the grade and the instructor’s comments.

Also, be prepared to separate the discussion of your grade from the discussion of your development as a writer. It is difficult to have a productive meeting that achieves both of these goals. You may have very good reasons for meeting with an instructor to argue for a better grade, and having that kind of discussion is completely legitimate. Be very clear with your instructor about your goals. Are you meeting to contest the grade your paper received and explain why you think the paper deserved a higher one? Are you meeting because you don’t understand why your paper received the grade it did and would like clarification? Or are you meeting because you want to use this paper and the instructor’s comments to learn more about how to write in this particular discipline and do better on future written work? Being up front about these distinctions can help you and your instructor know what to expect from the conference and avoid any confusion between the issue of grading and the issue of feedback.

Kinds of feedback to ask for

Asking for a specific kind of feedback can be the best way to get advice that you can use. Think about what kinds of topics you want to discuss and what kinds of questions you want to ask:

• Understanding the assignment: Do I understand the task? How long should it be? What kinds of sources should I be using? Do I have to answer all of the questions on the assignment sheet or are they just prompts to get me thinking? Are some parts of the assignment more important than other parts?
• Factual content: Is my understanding of the course material accurate? Where else could I look for more information?
• Interpretation/analysis: Do I have a point? Does my argument make sense? Is it logical and consistent? Is it supported by sufficient evidence?
• Organization: Are my ideas in a useful order? Does the reader need to know anything else up front? Is there another way to consider ordering this information?
• Flow: Do I have good transitions? Does the introduction prepare the reader for what comes later? Do my topic sentences accurately reflect the content of my paragraphs? Can the reader follow me?
• Style: Comments on earlier papers can help you identify writing style issues that you might want to look out for. Is my writing style appealing? Do I use the passive voice too often? Are there too many “to be” verbs?
• Grammar: Just as with style, comments on earlier papers will help you identify grammatical “trouble spots.” Am I using commas correctly? Do I have problems with subject-verb agreement?
• Small errors: Is everything spelled right? Are there any typos?

Possible sources of feedback and what they’re good for

Believe it or not, you can learn to be your own best reader, particularly if you practice reading your work critically. First, think about writing problems that you know you have had in the past. Look over old papers for clues. Then, give yourself some critical distance from your writing by setting it aside for a few hours, overnight, or even for a couple of days. Come back to it with a fresh eye, and you will be better able to offer yourself feedback. Finally, be conscious of what you are reading for. You may find that you have to read your draft several times—perhaps once for content, once for organization and transitions, and once for style and grammar. If you need feedback on a specific issue, such as passive voice, you may need to read through the draft one time alone focusing on that issue. Whatever you do, don’t count yourself out as a source of feedback. Remember that ultimately you care the most and will be held responsible for what appears on the page. It’s your paper.

A classmate (a familiar and knowledgeable reader)

When you need feedback from another person, a classmate can be an excellent source. A classmate knows the course material and can help you make sure you understand the course content. A classmate is probably also familiar with the sources that are available for the class and the specific assignment. Moreover, you and your classmates can get together and talk about the kinds of feedback you both received on earlier work for the class, building your knowledge base about what the instructor is looking for in writing assignments.

Your TA (an expert reader)

Your TA is an expert reader—he or she is working on an advanced degree, either a Master’s or a Ph.D., in the subject area of your paper. Your TA is also either the primary teacher of the course or a member of the teaching team, so he or she probably had a hand in selecting the source materials, writing the assignment, and setting up the grading scheme. No one knows what the TA is looking for on the paper better than the TA , and most of the TAs on campus would be happy to talk with you about your paper.

Your professor (a very expert reader)

Your professor is the most expert reader you can find. He or she has a Ph.D. in the subject area that you are studying, and probably also wrote the assignment, either alone or with help from TAs. Like your TA, your professor can be the best source for information about what the instructor is looking for on the paper and may be your best guide in developing into a strong academic writer.

Your roommate/friend/family member (an interested but not familiar reader)

It can be very helpful to get feedback from someone who doesn’t know anything about your paper topic. These readers, because they are unfamiliar with the subject matter, often ask questions that help you realize what you need to explain further or that push you to think about the topic in new ways. They can also offer helpful general writing advice, letting you know if your paper is clear or your argument seems well organized, for example. Ask them to read your paper and then summarize for you what they think its main points are.

The Writing Center (an interested but not familiar reader with special training)

While the Writing Center staff may not have specialized knowledge about your paper topic, our writing coaches are trained to assist you with your writing needs. We cannot edit or proofread for you, but we can help you identify problems and address them at any stage of the writing process. The Writing Center’s coaches see thousands of students each year and are familiar with all kinds of writing assignments and writing dilemmas.

Other kinds of resources

If you want feedback on a writing assignment and can’t find a real live person to read it for you, there are other places to turn. Check out the Writing Center’s handouts . These resources can give you tips for proofreading your own work, making an argument, using commas and transitions, and more. You can also try the spell/grammar checker on your computer. This shouldn’t be your primary source of feedback, but it may be helpful.

A word about feedback and plagiarism

Asking for help on your writing does not equal plagiarism, but talking with classmates about your work may feel like cheating. Check with your professor or TA about what kinds of help you can get legally. Most will encourage you to discuss your ideas about the reading and lectures with your classmates. In general, if someone offers a particularly helpful insight, it makes sense to cite him or her in a footnote. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to write by yourself with your books closed. (For more on this topic, see our handout on plagiarism .)

What to do with the feedback you get

• Don’t be intimidated if your professor or TA has written a lot on your paper. Sometimes instructors will provide more feedback on papers that they believe have a lot of potential. They may have written a lot because your ideas are interesting to them and they want to see you develop them to their fullest by improving your writing.
• By the same token, don’t feel that your paper is garbage if the instructor DIDN’T write much on it. Some graders just write more than others do, and sometimes your instructors are too busy to spend a great deal of time writing comments on each individual paper.
• If you receive feedback before the paper is due, think about what you can and can’t do before the deadline. You sometimes have to triage your revisions. By all means, if you think you have major changes to make and you have time to make them, go for it. But if you have two other papers to write and all three are due tomorrow, you may have to decide that your thesis or your organization is the biggest issue and just focus on that. The paper might not be perfect, but you can learn from the experience for the next assignment.
• Read ALL of the feedback that you get. Many people, when receiving a paper back from their TA or professor, will just look at the grade and not read the comments written in the margins or at the end of the paper. Even if you received a satisfactory grade, it makes sense to carefully read all of the feedback you get. Doing so may help you see patterns of error in your writing that you need to address and may help you improve your writing for future papers and for other classes.
• If you don’t understand the feedback you receive, by all means ask the person who offered it. Feedback that you don’t understand is feedback that you cannot benefit from, so ask for clarification when you need it. Remember that the person who gave you the feedback did so because they genuinely wanted to convey information to you that would help you become a better writer. They wouldn’t want you to be confused and will be happy to explain their comments further if you ask.
• Ultimately, the paper you will turn in will be your own. You have the final responsibility for its form and content. Take the responsibility for being the final judge of what should and should not be done with your essay.
• Just because someone says to change something about your paper doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes the person offering feedback can misunderstand your assignment or make a suggestion that doesn’t seem to make sense. Don’t follow those suggestions blindly. Talk about them, think about other options, and decide for yourself whether the advice you received was useful.

Final thoughts

Finally, we would encourage you to think about feedback on your writing as a way to help you develop better writing strategies. This is the philosophy of the Writing Center. Don’t look at individual bits of feedback such as “This paper was badly organized” as evidence that you always organize ideas poorly. Think instead about the long haul. What writing process led you to a disorganized paper? What kinds of papers do you have organization problems with? What kinds of organization problems are they? What kinds of feedback have you received about organization in the past? What can you do to resolve these issues, not just for one paper, but for all of your papers? The Writing Center can help you with this process. Strategy-oriented thinking will help you go from being a writer who writes disorganized papers and then struggles to fix each one to being a writer who no longer writes disorganized papers. In the end, that’s a much more positive and permanent solution.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Khan Academy Blog

Introducing Khanmigo’s New Academic Essay Feedback Tool

posted on November 29, 2023

By Sarah Robertson , senior product manager at Khan Academy

Khan Academy has always been about leveraging technology to deliver world-class educational experiences to students everywhere. We think the newest AI-powered feature in our Khanmigo pilot—our Academic Essay Feedback tool—is a groundbreaking step toward revolutionizing how students improve their writing skills.

The reality of writing instruction

Here’s a word problem for you: A ninth-grade English teacher assigns a two-page essay to 100 students. If she limits herself to spending 10 minutes per essay providing personalized, detailed feedback on each draft, how many hours will it take her to finish reviewing all 100 essays?

The answer is that it would take her nearly 17 hours —and that’s just for the first draft!

Research tells us that the most effective methods of improving student writing skills require feedback to be focused, actionable, aligned to clear objectives, and delivered often and in a timely manner . 

The unfortunate reality is that teachers are unable to provide this level of feedback to students as often as students need it—and they need it now more than ever. Only 25% of eighth and twelfth graders are proficient in writing, according to the most recent NAEP scores .

An AI writing tutor for every student

Developed by experts in English Language Arts (ELA) and writing instruction, the pilot Khanmigo Academic Essay Feedback tool uses AI to offer students specific, immediate, and actionable feedback on their argumentative, expository, or literary analysis essays. 

Unlike other AI-powered writing tools, the Academic Essay Feedback tool isn’t limited to giving feedback on sentence- or language-level issues alone, like grammar or spelling. Instead, it provides feedback on areas like essay structure and organization, how well students support their arguments, introduction and conclusion, and style and tone.

The tool also doesn’t just stop at providing feedback, it also guides students through the revision process. Students can view highlighted feedback, ask clarifying questions, see exemplar writing, make revisions, and ask for further review—without the AI doing any actual writing for them.

Unique features of Khanmigo pilot Academic Essay Feedback tool

• Immediate, personalized feedback: within seconds, students get detailed, actionable, grade-level-appropriate feedback (both praise and constructive) that is personalized to their specific writing assignment and tied directly to interactive highlights in their essay.
• Comprehensive approach: feedback covers a wide range of writing skills, from crafting an engaging yet focused introduction and thesis, to overall essay structure and organization, to style and tone, to alignment and use of evidence.
• Interactive revision process: students can interact with Khanmigo to ask questions about specific pieces of feedback, get examples of model writing, make immediate revisions based on the feedback, and see if their revisions addressed the suggestion.
• Support for various essay types: the tool is versatile and assists with multi-paragraph persuasive, argumentative, explanatory, and literary analysis essay assignments for grades 8-12 (and more, coming soon).
• Focus on instruction and growth: like all Khanmigo features, the Academic Essay Feedback tool will not do the work for the student. Teachers and parents can rest assured that Khanmigo is there to improve the students’ independent writing skills, not provide one-click suggested revisions.

How parents can use Khanmigo’s Academic Essay Feedback tool

Any student with Khanmigo access can find the feedback tool under the “Write” category on their AI Activities menu. 

For academic essays, students should simply paste their first draft into the essay field, select their grade level and essay type, and provide the essay instructions from the teacher.

Students then click “Submit” and feedback begins generating. Once Khanmigo is done generating feedback, students can work their way through the suggestions for each category, chat with Khanmigo for help, make revisions, and resolve feedback. They can then submit their second draft for another round of feedback, or copy the final draft to submit to their teacher.

Bringing Khanmigo to your classroom, school, or district

Teachers in Khan Academy Districts partnerships can begin using the Khanmigo Academic Essay Feedback tool with their students right away. Simply direct students to the feedback tool under the “Write” category on their AI Activities menu.

Like all other Khanmigo activities, students’ interactions are monitored and moderated for safety. Teachers or parents can view the student’s initial draft, AI-generated feedback, chat history, and final draft in the student’s chat history. If anything is flagged for moderation, teachers or parents will receive an email notification.

Looking ahead

With the Academic Essay Feedback tool in our Khanmigo pilot, teachers and parents can empower students to take charge of their writing.The tool helps facilitate a deeper understanding of effective writing techniques and encourages self-improvement. For teachers, we think this tool is a valuable ally, enabling them to provide more frequent, timely, detailed, and actionable feedback for students on multiple drafts.

In the coming months, we’ll be launching exciting improvements to the tool and even more writing resources for learners, parents, teachers, and administrators:

• The ability for teachers to create an essay-revision assignment for their students on Khan Academy
• More varied feedback areas and flexibility in what feedback is given
• Support for students in essay outlining and drafting
• Insights for teachers and parents into their students’ full writing process

Stay tuned!

Sarah Robertson is a senior product manager at Khan Academy. She has a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction and over a decade of experience teaching English, developing curriculum, and creating software products that have helped tens of millions of students improve their reading and writing skills.

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How to Give Feedback Effectively and Respectfully

5 rules that will help you crush your next round of performance reviews

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

Morsa Images/DigitalVision/Getty Images

Types of Feedback

The five rules of effective feedback, examples of positive and negative feedback, how to give and recieve feedback, recognizing why feedback matters.

Sometimes giving feedback can be even more stressful than receiving it. After all, we want our words to be helpful and constructive, but we also don’t want to make anyone feel bad.

It's normal to be nervous about how the other person will respond to your comments. After all, a negative reaction might hurt your relationship and make it harder for you to communicate in the future.

That's why learning how to give helpful feedback is so important.

According to Jamie Levin , a strategic communications consultant, feedback can help foster growth, contribute to effective communication, resolve conflicts, and improve motivation. "Of course, these benefits are often only noticed if the parties involved are open to giving and receiving feedback," she explains.

The good news is that you can give your honest opinions in a way that doesn't make people feel bitter, angry, or downright unappreciated.

At a Glance

Feedback is crucial not only for the group's success but also for personal growth. Great feedback can help people become even better at what they do. It can also foster greater trust and communication when it is delivered correctly.

• Choose the right time
• Be clear and specific
• Focus on actions, not traits
• Take a balanced approach
• Encourage self-reflection

Feedback is crucial not only for the group's success but also for personal growth. Great feedback can help people become even better at what they do. It can also foster greater trust and communication when these rules are followed. You can also think about these rules when you are on the receiving end of feedback.

So, what exactly do we mean when we talk about feedback? It can involve any situation where we make comments based on our direct observations. What separates feedback from criticism is that it is intended to help us learn and improve our performance.

The type of feedback that we give often depends on our goals and the situation. Giving the wrong type of feedback at the wrong time can lead to misunderstandings, hurt feelings, or conflict.

Whether you are giving quick, informal feedback to a friend or partner, formative feedback to a coworker, or formal feedback to an employee, you can follow these five rules for making your advice as effective as possible.

Some common types of feedback that you might give include:

Informal Feedback

Informal feedback is the type of feedback you probably give the most—sometimes without even thinking about it. It tends to happen naturally. It's often something people initiate or ask for on their own (like asking your co-worker, "How does this look?" or "Does this sound right to you?").

While informal feedback can be helpful, it can also be hurtful or harmful if it comes across as unsolicited advice . Telling a colleague what you really thought about their presentation (when they didn't ask for your opinion) is a good example.

Formative Feedback

Formative feedback, often referred to as constructive feedback, is designed to help us gain skills and improve our work. It involves pointing out areas where we can improve, which is super important when we are learning a new skill.

It's not necessarily about saying that there is anything wrong with what we've done. Instead, it is about pointing out some ways we might make it even better.

Constructive feedback is sometimes misunderstood as being purely negative. Such comments can point out problems, but the entire point is to help us learn and do even better.

Constructive comments can be positive feedback—it really all depends on delivery as well as acceptance.

Formal (or Performance) Feedback

Formal feedback is structured and used to assess how we perform in a specific role. Performance reviews and educational assessments are a few examples. Formal feedback often points out areas that could be improved, but it also highlights our strengths.

Performance feedback can help measure our progress and recognize how much we've have grown in our roles. It can also be helpful when it comes to achieving specific performance goals.

It's important to remember that each kind of feedback serves a different purpose. Before choosing which type to use, you need to consider why you offer feedback, the goals you are trying to achieve, and the recipient's needs. 

Consider the situation and the needs of the individual before choosing which type of feedback is the most appropriate. You can make your comments more effective when you deliver it with consideration and empathy .

Generally speaking, there’s no universally agreed-upon set of rules for how and when to give feedback (although your workplace or organization might provide some specific guidelines to follow).

Levin says that how people perceive your feedback depends on several factors, including how you speak, the communication channel you use, whether there is an audience, and the context. Whether or not the other person is open to hearing what you have to say is also a critical factor.

Some basic recommendations that can help make sure your feedback is helpful and not hurtful.

Choose the Right Time

It's essential to give feedback in a timely manner. Don't wait until too long after a project is finished or a performance has been given to provide your comments. 

Waiting too long might make your feedback less meaningful. If someone has already moved on to a completely different project, it’s understandable that your words might carry less weight.

Delivering it too soon can also create problems, particularly if comments are more critical in nature. For example, someone enjoying a sense of accomplishment after giving a presentation might not be receptive to feedback that describes things they did wrong or ways they could have done better.

Most importantly, make sure that the feedback recipient knows they are going to be getting feedback. Don't blindside people with surprise performance reviews.

Be Clear and Specific

Avoid making vague comments or general statements about how a person did. Instead of saying, "You did good," give specific details and explanations.

For example, you might say something like, "I think you really handled [this situation] well by [taking this action]."

Be sure to utilize non-verbal communication that reinforces what you are saying. Frowning when you're complimenting the other person might cause mixed signals.

Focus on Actions, Not Personality Traits

Feedback should focus on a person's specific behaviors and actions, not on their traits and characteristics. Attributing performance to a person's character can lead to feelings of anger or defensiveness, particularly when feedback centers on addressing problems in performance.

For example, instead of saying someone is "unmotivated" or that they "lack commitment," you might say something like, "I noticed that you seem to be struggling to feel excited about this project" or "It appears that you missed your last three deadlines."

Focusing on behavior, rather than attributing it to a person’s innate characteristics, can also help foster more of a growth mindset vs. a fixed one .

When people think outcomes are caused by personal characteristics that can’t be changed, feedback is less likely to result in change. However, shifting this perspective to focus on how people can take action to improve can help them feel more motivated and capable.

Take a Balanced Approach

Great feedback should include both positive and constructive comments. If you go a little too heavy on the constructive feedback, the other person is much more likely to walk away feeling pretty terrible about themselves. In other words, focusing too much on what they're doing wrong can be upsetting, hurtful, and demotivating.

Instead, try providing some comments on ways people can improve and grow, but balance it by delivering recognition and acknowledgment of what they've done well.

Positive comments can build confidence and motivation –and take some of the sting out of constructive feedback.

Look for Ways to Encourage Self-Reflection

Feedback shouldn't just be a list of pluses and minuses. Deliver it in a way that encourages people to reflect on how they are doing , what they've done well, and ways that they might be able to improve.

How do you do this? Getting the other person involved is a great way to start. When noting things that might need improvement or areas that didn't meet expectations, you might ask, "What are some things you might do differently next time?" or "Do you have any ideas for how to change this?"

How you phrase your feedback can also make a big difference in how other people feel about it.

Positive Feedback Sounds Like...

Positive feedback is often easier to deliver. After all, most people welcome some kind words and compliments on a job well done.

For example, you might want to deliver positive feedback to an employee has shown consistently great performance. You might say something like, "I really appreciate that you took the initiative to finish the project in a timely manner. You're hard work and commitment definitely paid off!"

In other cases, you might want to deliver feedback meant to positively reinforce a team member's progress. You might say, "I'm really impressed by how much improvement you've made over the past few months. Keep it up, and you're really going to continue to shine!"

Negative Feedback Sounds Like...

Negative feedback can be a bit more challenging. This is where skills like balancing constructive comments with encouragement can be useful. 

When you need to call out shortcomings, you might say, "It's clear you put a lot of effort into the project, but a few areas need to be corrected. Let's talk about what we can do to help you make these improvements."

Using " I feel" statements when delivering negative feedback can also be helpful. Instead of phrasing feedback like, "You're always late," you might try phrasing it differently, such as, "I've noticed that you've been late several times this month. This has created some disruptions for other people in the office, so it's really important to be on time and respect other people's schedules."

Delivering negative feedback isn't easy, but sometimes there's just no getting around it. Just remember that you can get your message across without making someone feel bad. A little tact and empathy can ensure that people get the message without feeling defensive or upset.

Fortunately, giving (and receiving) feedback is a skill you can learn. "We learn a lot by being open to feedback and constructive comments,” Levin says, "It fosters healthy conversation, acceptance and shows that people have respect for one another."

When You’re Giving Feedback

Know Your Audience

Levin suggests thinking about the person who will be receiving your feedback. For example, if they prefer one-on-one communication, they might feel embarrassed or defensive if you give your feedback during a team meeting.

"Not only have you unintentionally made them feel this way, they may also be completely closed off to whatever feedback you provide as they may be so focused on how they feel rather than what you are saying," Levin says.

Give Feedback Privately

Try to give your feedback in a private setting. Even if your comments are balanced between constructive and positive statements, keeping this feedback private (or at least as private as possible) can help prevent feelings of embarrassment or defensiveness.

Suggest Solutions

Feedback should be more than a laundry list of problems. When there are shortcomings, try to be supportive and suggest solutions that can help the individual succeed in the future.

Ask Questions That Encourage Reflection

This approach can reinforce the positives while allowing the other person to think about improving things. You might ask the other person what they think went well and what they might do differently in the future.

When You’re Receiving Feedback

Try to Be Open-Minded

It isn't always easy to hear what other people say about your work. Stay open-minded and look at it as an opportunity to hone your skills.

Clarify Any Misunderstandings

Don't be afraid to ask questions if the feedback is unclear or confusing. Focus on being specific to ensure you understand what the reviewer or commenter is trying to convey.

Show Appreciation

Even if the feedback isn't exactly what you want to hear, thank the other person for their time and thoughts. It might not be easy, but it's a great way to show that you are willing to listen.

Give Yourself Time to Reflect

Avoid reacting immediately (like firing off an angry email to a co-worker or manager). Instead, give yourself time to sit with the feedback and decide what it means and how you might want to respond. You'll feel less emotional and defensive if you stop and take some time to reflect.

Try to Stay Positive

The fact is that getting negative feedback isn't any fun. Try to remember that feedback isn't meant to be a personal attack. Even though you might feel bad, remember that it's something that can help you learn and grow.

Feedback can be an important tool for both personal and professional development. It isn't always easy to evaluate your own work, so getting others to offer their comments, experiences, and expertise can help you gain new insights.

It can also help you better understand how others perceive and relate to your work.

Good feedback can also be motivating. Positive comments from colleagues, supervisors, or clients can help you feel good about your work. Experts suggest that feedback is more meaningful when it comes from someone they see as a role model.

Sometimes, it's the constructive comments that give information about what might be missing that can be your greatest source of inspiration. This type of feedback challenges you to keep learning and growing. It gives you something to work toward so that you can see your progress and be proud of how far you've come.

Continuous improvement is important to many of us, and the perspective of others is extremely valuable, even in instances when someone may not agree with it. Feedback provides perspective.

Giving and receiving feedback can sometimes be challenging, especially since you don’t want to make anyone feel bad. It’s a skill worth working on, so be willing to accept some feedback on how you give it!

Honest, well-delivered feedback can be an essential communication tool that helps people learn, grow, and learn more about themselves. Practicing feedback skills—such as being specific, action-focused, and balanced—can help ensure that people welcome what you have to say.

Jug R, Jiang XS, Bean SM. Giving and receiving effective feedback: A review article and how-to guide . Arch Pathol Lab Med . 2019;143(2):244-250. doi:10.5858/arpa.2018-0058-RA

Hardavella G, Aamli-Gaagnat A, Saad N, Rousalova I, Sreter KB. How to give and receive feedback effectively . Breathe (Sheff) . 2017;13(4):327-333. doi:10.1183/20734735.009917

Burgess A, van Diggele C, Roberts C, Mellis C. Feedback in the clinical setting . BMC Med Educ . 2020;20(Suppl 2):460. doi:10.1186/s12909-020-02280-5

Ramani S, Krackov SK. Twelve tips for giving feedback effectively in the clinical environment . Med Teach . 2012;34(10):787-791. doi:10.3109/0142159X.2012.684916

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Examples of Feedback on Student Writing

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As an undergraduate, my first writing assignment in Jim Faulconer’s philosophy of religion course changed me. More specifically, it was the feedback on my first paper. The combination of what I thought an abysmally low grade and margins drenched in the red of electronic comments felt as though academic open season had been declared on me personally. I was devastated. Following a period of self-indulgent mourning I forced myself to read through Faulconer’s comments and realized that he had undermined the possibility of consoling myself by blaming him. Overall, I experienced a genuine aporia and ultimately took advantage of the opportunity to re-write my paper.

This has remained with me, and to the degree possible within the specific constraints of each class, I make revision, feedback, personal interaction, and the opportunity to rewrite central to class assignments. The attempt is to allow the student, wherever they are in their progression as a writer, to improve, and especially to improve in their ability to narrow in on and articulate a well-supported argument.

One of the real challenges then, is to offer feedback for students at very different levels. In order to see my efforts at work, I’ve copied below actual feedback that I’ve given—two on papers I considered “A” quality, one on a paper that I considered well below average, and additional, general feedback given to an entire class after grading their papers. When grading student papers I make in-margin comments throughout and then articulate my overall feedback at the bottom. Additionally, I compose a document with general feedback for the entire class based on positive and negative trends in the papers submitted. You’ll notice in the examples below that my attempt is always to state concretely what’s working well and specific ways in which both this particular draft and also their writing more generally might be improved. In doing so, I try to impart to my students that their work, whatever its quality, is always a work in progress.

Feedback on superior papers Feedback on an inadequate paper General feedback for a class

From superior papers:

Dear Student,

You have a clever argument. Importantly, you build in very plausible objections to your claims and then seek to respond to those objections. Your three points of criticism build very well on each other, and you end with a satisfying resolution. As noted throughout, the biggest weakness of the paper is the occasional lack of clarity. I suspect that a lot of this has to do with the difficulties of writing in a second language. I encourage you to avail yourself of the writing center. Also, as noted, your opening needs to be more clear. Don’t worry about giving away your main point upfront – in philosophy that’s a good thing. Finally, it’s significant that you overlook Sen’s comments on comparing in the absence of an ideal standard.

I’m impressed with your ability to write concisely. Not only did you fulfill the assignment, you also wrote a long-ish intro and answered questions that went beyond the prompt. Doing so within the word limit and doing it well deserves recognition. One result is that outside of the opening paragraph the entire essay is focused exclusively on the arguments –there’s no excess fat in this essay. Given the nature of the assignment, that’s great. As noted throughout, however, some of your specific arguments need developed –your paper would’ve been better served had you eliminated one of the arguments in order to better develop the others along the lines mentioned in my comments above. Overall, it’s clear that you understand each of the philosophers you address and you present interesting ideas.

From an inadequate paper:

The following was written in response to a student in a first year writing class. Both the nature of the class and its small size facilitated more substantive feedback than is always possible. My comments below, however, are indicative of the tone and approach I take toward papers I consider to be significantly inadequate.

Dear Student

As noted above, you do well “synthesizing”several insights from multiple studies as you make different points, rather than flatly summarizing one study at a time. I’ve tried to make clear in my comments the things that I think you can do to strengthen this paper and your writing in general. Specifically, I want to emphasize the following:

• Argument. This is critical. Your paper is almost exclusively a report of various points of consensus among the authors you cite. This does not meet the specifications of the assignment. What’s needed is to utilize this ability –the ability to extract important and overlapping ideas from the literature –in the service of your own independent argument. A clear and specific thesis sentence stated up top will help you to organize and tie together the various parts of your paper. The conclusion section should also help to do the same thing. Your conclusion here is a bookend, bringing up the same (or at least a similar) point as the one you began with concerning the different kinds of attraction that exist. More than just a bookend, however, you want your conclusion to be in the service of your argument. It should both summarize and highlight the most important points you’ve tried to establish in the body of your paper and state how these points support your thesis. At each stage, however, ask yourself –how does this support my argument? Is this fact clear to my reader?
• Structure. Some of the different sections and points you’re making in the paper are clearly flagged for the reader with transition words. Remember, however, that the paper is not just a list of points. This is closely related to my comment on argument. At any given point in the paper it should not only be clear to the reader what you’re saying but also why you’re saying it. Transition language needs to be accompanied by explicitly tying together or explaining the relationship between the different sections of the paper. Doing so is an important way to highlight your overall argument and make the paper cohere.
• Counterargument. As discussed in the assignment, a critical part of your argument is exploring a counterargument. Either in making specific claims to support your thesis or after articulating your argument, consider countervailing evidence or interpretive frameworks or objections to your reasons and conclusions. Doing so will strengthen your case. This is not just true when attempting to make your own argument, but is also an important element of explicating the academic dialogue for your reader. If all of the authors you cite were locked in a room would they all agree on the question you’re exploring? Help your reader to understand the tensions, contradictions and questions that are left in the wake of their studies. Then argue for why –given these tensions, contradictions and questions –your reader ought to side with your own claims.
• Proofreading. The host of punctuation and grammar errors, along with the frequently awkward phrasing of the paper makes it read like a first draft. This is very distracting and inhibits your ability to keep the attention of the reader or convince the reader of your point.

Again, the paper shows a good grasp of some of the basic points made in the literature, weaving together a number of overlapping ideas. I’m confident in your ability to improve.

General feedback:

The following is an example of the general feedback given in the wake of a recent “ ordinary ” paper assignment. Although given in response to a specific set of papers, it models the type of general feedback I give:

• First, make sure it’s free of errors—typographical, stylistic, or substantive. Poor grammar, misspelled words, and inaccurate statements are impression killers.
• Likewise, avoid trite opening lines — generic or obvious statements that usually say little more than “ I don ’ t know how to begin my paper, but I have to say something. ” For example, “Throughout history, people have argued about ethics,”or “Different people have different ideas about the value of the environment”are trite openers and should be avoided.
• In your opening, above everything else, you want to make it clear to your reader what your paper is going to be about. A clear, easy to pick out thesis sentence is crucial . Since the thesis sentence is the most important part of your opening, make sure it’s as polished and articulate a sentence as you can make it. The thesis ought to tell your reader exactly what you will be arguing in your paper. In addition, it ought to give the reader some hint about why you ’ re going to argue that way . Note the difference in the following thesis sentences from your peers: “In this paper, I will argue that religion provides a better basis for Leopold’s land ethic than the philosophers we studied;”and “Despite a sophisticated argument that successfully disarms many of the attacks typically used to support human superiority, Taylor’s biocentric theory of equality is simply too radical to adequately serve as a land ethic.”The first example states clearly what will be argued in the paper. The second example does so as well but also clues the reader in and sets the tone of and expectations for the paper. It gives the reader more specifics and serves as a better standard against which one can judge the success of the paper.
• First, remember that (as noted in the assignment) you’re not simply giving me an argument in support of your thesis; you’re also dealing with the argument of a philosopher. A very common mistake made was to merely state a philosopher ’ s conclusion and then either argue against or in support of it. Remember, you must actually present the philosopher ’ s argument in favor of the thesis and then address THAT . And remember that there is an important difference between listing premises and explaining the argument.
• A common logical problem is to assume that if two positions or theories have a number of important, identifiable similarities, then they must be compatible or largely the same. Most theories we look at in this class will have plenty of readily identifiable, important similarities. This doesn ’ t mean either that they argue for the same thing or that they are compatible . For instance, if I focus only on things like belief in representative government, commitment to liberty, honoring the principles of America’s founding fathers, belief in transparency, fundamental desire to benefit the American people, and the like, I can give my audience the impression that U.S. President Barak Obama and his opponent Governor Mitt Romney have views that are perfectly compatible. This is a common strategy taken in polemical debates, and you see it used in popular media all the time (another, more entertaining/offensive example, is when people use this strategy to convince you that certain political figures are “just like”Hitler). But it certainly doesn’t prove anything. Once again, by giving the philosopher ’ s overall argument , you’re (more honestly) enabling your reader to judge and evaluate your own argument.
• Many of your papers would be improved by narrowing in on one specific part of the philosopher’s argument—for example, you might highlight and attack or defend a key premise. Many of you made very high-altitude and general criticisms but struggled (especially given the space constraints) to grapple with specific aspects of an argument.
• A number of papers were tempted to take something of a broadside approach: that is, they gave a list of every specific claim that they could pick out that the philosopher makes and then attacked it. This is a sort of hail-Mary approach, a desperate hope that something on your laundry-list of criticisms will stick and give merit to your paper. Sometimes this is the best you can do in the circumstances, but it is almost always less effective. A broadside is good in the brainstorming stage; but then pick out the one or two points that you think are most relevant or promising, and then develop them as best you can. Narrow in on something specific and do your best to develop your evaluation or critique (i.e., your answering of the assigned question).
• Another common (and related) approach was to give a paragraph by paragraph regurgitation of the text. This strategy, besides being stylistically awkward, hints to the reader that you’re really not sure what the argument is, or which parts are more important, and so you’re just going to try and say everything exactly how the philosopher did. You don’t have time in a short paper for much summary. Rather than a point by point regurgitation, be judicious in what you include. You ’ re attempting to explicate not summarize the argument . As already mentioned, you do want to give an overview, you want to articulate the argument. But this doesn’t mean you’ll make all of the same points or use all of the same examples in the very same way. The point of articulating the philosopher’s argument is to help you in writing your paper and arguing your ideas. Highlight or emphasize the parts that are more important or relevant to your own thesis. Cut out the fluff, unimportant illustrations, or side tangents. Reorder things for your benefit. Say what needs to be said to inform your reader and set him up for your own argument.
• You don’t have to completely destroy or defend an argument. Perhaps you think that a philosopher is largely correct in her views, but that she’s a little off on an important issue. You can argue that she needs a slight modification to her position. Or perhaps you’re comparing two philosophers –you don’t have to argue that one of them is completely right and the other entirely wrong. You can argue that they both have some things right and some things wrong, and then argue for a hybrid position.
• Finally, on argumentation, I want to make a suggestion that has more to do with how you word your claims than anything else. It is highly unlikely that any of you will “prove”anything one way or the other. Philosophers use the word ‘prove’in a technical way, and are rather reserved about it. More often than not when they use it they at least qualify it in some way (e.g.. “I will attempt to prove…”). I suggest avoiding the word all together when writing philosophy—at least for now.
• Structure: Again, I’m not against creativity, and not married to rigid and explicit structures, but your reader ought to be able to tell exactly where he is in your argument. Whether or not you use meta-language, you need to give your reader signals and have a clear structure that is easy to follow. Avoid rambling or tangents, and clearly mark transitions.
• Superfluous stuff: Part of maintaining a good structure and writing a strong, clear paper is cutting out all of the superfluous material. Especially on short papers like this, just get rid of anything extra or anything that doesn ’ t directly contribute to the point of the paper (of course, you can keep your creative stuff if you’re writing in that kind of style). Also, make sure you’ve got the right sort of balance or proportion. If the point of your paper is to defend Katz theocentric approach to environmental ethics, but you feel the need to give context (often a good idea), don’t spend a full page of pre- and post-argument context, with only a quarter page of actual argument. Instead, write a sentence or two of pre- and a sentence or two of post-argument context, and take a page to carefully, explicitly set out the argument.
• Sexist Language: This is almost always a problem with undergraduate papers. Don’t let the sexist language of the older philosophers we’re reading (like Leopold) or that of your own culture lull you into thinking you can write this way. The point is not primarily about equality or the like. Using sexist language is simply unprofessional and stylistically immature. It’s at least as much of an eyesore as bad grammar or misspelled words. Specifically, don’t simply use “man”to represent humanity or “he”every time you need a neutral pronoun. You can almost always avoid a gendered pronoun (e.g., use “human”or “one”). Sometimes this is very difficult or would sound very awkward. In such cases, it’s fine to use either “she”or “he,”but you should rotate between the one and the other (e.g., in one paragraph or section of the paper use “she”and in the next paragraph or section use “he;”but again, avoid either whenever you can do so naturally). Sometimes you can write “she or he,”though this too can be awkward. Finally, don’t use “s/he”as a neutral pronoun. I recommend consulting a style guide for more details.
• Never let quotes stand on their own — explain them. There is one skill for picking out relevant quotes from a text, and another skill involved in understanding what it says. Again, see a style guide for details.

I hope this is helpful to you as you begin work on your next papers.

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Giving and Receiving Feedback

In many writing classes, students are expected to learn how to give feedback to their peers. This task is usually called peer review, a concept you will also learn about when you begin to use academic research. At first, this may seem intimidating. Writers may think, “I’m not a teacher–how can I give useful feedback to another writer?” What writers CAN do is give their peers an honest reaction as a reader and give advice based on their own experience. It is ultimately up to the writer to decide if they want to make sure of the feedback given. If you feel unsure of your ability to give feedback, remember that you are learning from the process. In a class, the other students will also receive feedback from the instructor.

This understanding may also help students who don’t feel that other students are qualified to give feedback. If you feel that the advice given to you by a peer isn’t right, you can choose to ignore it or decide to check with your instructor first. Remember that your peers are learning how to give feedback, just as you are.

Giving feedback on writing is a powerful skill that you may use outside of school for work projects, for personal writing, or even to help your children with their homework.

Giving Peer Feedback

When your role in peer review is to give feedback, your job is to help the writer by giving your reaction as a reader to the writing. Think about the kind of feedback you would like to get and also how you would like that feedback to be given. What follows here are some basic rules to follow for responding to someone else’s writing.

• First, listen to the writer . What kind of feedback are they asking for? Do they want to know if their thesis is clear? Do they have questions about citing sources? Make a note about what kind of feedback the writer has requested and keep that in mind as you respond.
• Be kind. When you are receiving criticism, isn’t it easier to hear if the person giving the criticism is kind and respectful to you? Do the same for your peer.
• Comment on the higher order concerns first. That means asking questions about anything that confuses you, checking to see if the writing did what the assignment called for, and considering if the order of the paper makes sense. Sometimes your instructor will give you specific things they want you to comment on; if so, be sure you do so.
• Use “I” statements to help stay focused on your reaction to the writing. For example, instead of saying, “You aren’t clear in this paragraph,” try saying, “I’m confused in this paragraph. Did you mean X or Y?”
• Be specific. Never say “I liked it” or “It was good” unless you follow up with an explanation of exactly what you liked or thought was good. The same goes for criticism; say exactly what confused you or what was missing.
• Ask questions. Use questions to clarify what the writer means, what the resources given are saying, and what the writer is trying to do.
• Offer advice based on your own experience. For example, you could say “if this were my paper, the two things I would do next are A and B.” Provide options such as, “If you wanted to expand this, you could do A, B, or C.”
• Don’t try to make the writer sound like you. If a word is the wrong word, note that, but if you just think of a word you like better, that’s just a matter of style and voice.
• Don’t edit your peer’s writing for them. Only comment on editing when the writing is a final draft or when your instructor has included checking for errors in the instructions for peer review. Correcting errors is important at some point, but it makes no sense to spend time editing a paragraph if that paragraph may needs to be deleted or changed. It’s okay to remind the writer to run spell check and grammar check if you notice minor errors. Otherwise, only ask about editing errors if you have trouble understanding the sentence because of the mistakes. If your instructor does want you to comment on editing, be sure to follow the instructions. Remember that the responsibility for correcting the errors lies with the writer, not with you.

When providing peer feedback, it can be helpful to have an understanding of higher order and lower order concerns. 

Make the Most of Peer Feedback

Now let’s consider your role in receiving feedback, not giving it. Are you eager to get feedback? Scared to share your work? If you are receiving feedback from your peers, remember that ultimately you get to decide what feedback to accept. If you don’t think the feedback is correct, ask your instructor what they think. And give your peers a break; they are also just learning how to give feedback.

One way to improve the feedback you get is to ask for the kind of feedback you want. Don’t be afraid to give your peer reviewer some direction.

Listen to or read the feedback with an open mind. Consider that the peer reviewer is your reader. It’s good to know what a real reader got out of your writing.

If you aren’t sure about the feedback or feel upset about it, reconsider the suggestions after a break. It’s okay to say, “I’ll think about that.” If you feel that the reviewer is trying to change your style so that the paper doesn’t sound like you anymore, consider whether the feedback helps you make the paper better. If not, feel free to set that feedback aside.

Why Meet with a Writing Tutor?

Sometimes your instructor may ask you to visit the Writing Center, or it may even be a requirement for your class. Or you may just be curious about what a writing tutor has to offer. Many colleges have writing centers or subscribe to online services that provide tutoring in writing. What’s the benefit?

Writing tutors offer you another perspective on your writing. They serve as a real audience for your words and ideas. In addition to that, they have some additional expertise either because they are more experienced writers or they are writing instructors. Writing tutors also have experience with resources for writing that you may not be aware of.

Preparing to Meet with a Tutor

To prepare for a Writing Center session, print your paper out and consider printing a second copy to make it easier for both you and the tutor to read along at the same time. Be ready to take notes and listen carefully. It’s helpful if you bring the assignment or have access to it online. Your tutor will spend a few minutes in the beginning of the session figuring out what you are writing, what the requirements are, and when your work is due. They may ask what you have already done to improve the writing, and they will almost always ask you what you would like help with.

Keep in mind that your tutor will want to focus on a few important things rather than try to catch every little thing in your paper. Tutors won’t edit your paper for you, but they can help you learn how to edit your own work better. Don’t be surprised if your tutor shows you how to use a writing resource such as a handbook or the Purdue OWL online; part of the tutor’s job is to help you learn to navigate resources on your own, so that you eventually have the same tools as the tutor.

At the end of a session, the tutor will probably ask you what you plan to do next with your writing. That’s how they check to see that you got what you needed from the session and that you understood the advice given. After you revise your writing, you may want to schedule another tutoring session to work on additional aspects of the assignment.

What about Getting Help from a Friend or Family Member?

Getting feedback from a reader outside of your class can sometimes be a good idea. If you want to ask a friend or family member for feedback, set some ground rules. They should follow the same rules as a peer reviewer. At the very least, asking a friend or family member to read your paper aloud will help you hear how your paper sounds. You will probably catch more errors, too.

Preparing for a Student/Teacher Conference

Getting in-person help from your instructor is one of the best ways to receive feedback. You can prepare for a conference with your instructor so that you get the most out of it. Usually, a conference happens with just you and your instructor. Friends aren’t invited, and parents can only attend with your permission due to the Family Educational Rights to Privacy Act (FERPA). See this handy link to “FERPA General Guidance for Students” from the US Department of Education (found at www2.ed.gov ).

Bring your best work to the conference. The more effort you have already made means that the instructor won’t waste time telling you things you already know you need to fix. Re-read your work before the conference and prepare some questions. What do you think is working? What do you need help with? During the conference, take notes. If the instructor writes anything down, ask if you can take their notes with you. At the end of the conference, work with your instructor on an action plan to revise your work.

This content comes from The Word on College Reading and Writing , by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear; it is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License . Please keep this information on this material if you use, adapt, and/or share it. 

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Writing Feedback Mastery: 8 Tips to Triumph

Table of Contents

Writing feedback is a crucial tool. It’s the hidden key that can unlock the full potential of a manuscript, an article, or even a simple blog post. Every writer, regardless of experience, encounters moments of uncertainty about their work. That’s where feedback becomes invaluable.

Whether you’re penning a novel or drafting a business report, writing feedback serves as a guide, offering direction where there’s doubt. But beyond just the validation or criticism it provides, feedback paves the way for growth, enhancing skills and refining ideas. As we delve deeper, we’ll see why feedback isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential.

The Profound Essence of Writing Feedback

Writing feedback, at its core, is a mirror reflecting a writer’s strengths and weaknesses. It provides an outside perspective, highlighting overlooked errors and offering praise for the elements that truly shine. But it’s not just about spotting mistakes; it’s about understanding why they are mistakes in the first place.

For budding authors, feedback can be a rite of passage. It’s their introduction to the world of literary critique. Every piece of advice, every constructive criticism, molds them, chiseling away the rough edges. As they absorb this feedback, they learn, adapt, and evolve, inching ever closer to mastering their craft.

The feedback process is like a dance, a delicate balance of give and take. For the writer, it’s about learning to separate the wheat from the chaff—identifying which pieces of feedback will elevate their work and which might lead them astray. Ultimately, with the right feedback, a decent draft transforms into an impeccable final piece.

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Tips for Writing Feedback

Effective feedback is a crucial component in the writing process. When offering insights on someone’s writing, it’s essential to approach the task with a balanced perspective, highlighting both the strengths and areas of improvement. Here are some best practices to keep in mind:

• Begin on a Positive Note : Recognize and highlight the strengths in the writing. This lays a foundation of trust and ensures the writer remains receptive.
• Share Personal Reactions : As you navigate through the content, share your immediate responses. For instance, “This sentence made me think about…” Always encourage a dialogue by posing questions.
• Address the Content, Not the Author : Always focus on the work itself. Instead of making it about the writer’s skills, discuss the content, like “This section might benefit from a clearer alignment with the main topic.”
• Be Detailed in Your Feedback : General comments can be ambiguous. When discussing aspects like flow or coherence, always provide specific examples from the text.
• Hierarchy in Comments : Address the major concerns first, such as the argument’s clarity or the overall structure. Subsequently, touch upon finer details like grammar or punctuation.
• Conclude with a Summary : Offer a succinct recap of your observations. Instead of rewriting segments for the writer, provide concise remarks that they can refer back to during the revision process.
• Empathy is Key : Offer feedback with kindness and understanding, reflecting the kind of constructive critique you’d appreciate receiving.
• Acknowledge the Writer’s Voice : Every writer has a unique style. While offering feedback, ensure you’re not pushing them to conform to a standard template but helping them refine their authentic voice.
• Suggest Resources : If you notice recurring challenges, recommend articles, books, or courses that might help the writer overcome those specific hurdles.
• Offer Encouragement : Remember to highlight the potential you see in the piece. A little encouragement can make the revision process feel more like an opportunity for growth rather than a chore.
• Avoid Overwhelming with Details : Too much feedback can be as detrimental as too little. Strive for a balance. If there are numerous areas of concern, prioritize them, ensuring the writer doesn’t feel swamped.

Offering constructive feedback is an art. By adhering to these guidelines, not only can we help fellow writers hone their craft, but we also foster a supportive community that values growth and collaboration.

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The Weight of Professional Critiques

In the world of writing feedback, professional critiques hold a place of reverence. These aren’t just off-the-cuff remarks from casual readers. They are structured analyses from individuals steeped in the industry’s standards and nuances. Their words carry the weight of experience.

When a manuscript lands on the desk of a seasoned editor, they don’t just skim through it. They dive deep, assessing not just grammar and syntax, but theme, pacing, character development, and more. Their feedback is holistic, addressing both the macro and micro elements of a piece.

For writers, such professional feedback is golden. It offers a roadmap, pointing out the bumps and detours, but also highlighting the scenic views worth lingering on. It’s a collaboration of sorts—a melding of minds, with both parties working towards the shared goal of literary excellence.

It’s important to note that while professional feedback is invaluable, it’s not infallible. Every editor, every critic, brings their own preferences and biases. So, while their feedback provides a solid foundation, the writer’s voice and vision must always remain at the forefront.

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Navigating Online Feedback Platforms in the Digital Era

The dawn of the internet has reshaped the writing feedback landscape. Platforms like Medium, Wattpad, and others have surged in popularity, offering writers instant access to readers and, by extension, their feedback. The barriers have crumbled, and now feedback flows freely, unbounded by geography or status.

But with this newfound access comes a challenge. The digital space is vast, and feedback here can range from insightful critiques to mere trolling. For a writer, this means developing a discerning eye, learning to differentiate between genuine feedback and mere noise.

Genuine feedback, even when it stings, offers value. It sheds light on overlooked flaws, suggests improvements, and sometimes even sparks fresh ideas. On the other hand, superficial or malicious comments offer little beyond momentary frustration. For writers navigating this digital terrain, the mantra is clear: seek depth, not just volume.

But there’s a silver lining to this digital feedback flood. It offers diversity. Writers now get a global perspective on their work. They understand how readers from different cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies perceive their narratives. This diverse feedback, when harnessed correctly, can elevate a piece, making it universally relatable.

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The Unsung Value of Peer Reviews

In the vast landscape of writing feedback, peer reviews hold a unique and significant place. Unlike professional critiques, peer reviews come from individuals who are often on the same journey as the writer—struggling, learning, and growing. This shared experience creates a bond, making their feedback more relatable.

When a fellow writer offers feedback, it’s grounded in empathy. They understand the blood, sweat, and tears that go into crafting a piece. Their critiques aren’t just about the technicalities but often delve deeper into the heart and soul of the narrative. Their insights can pinpoint nuances that a professional might overlook.

Engaging in peer reviews also benefits the one giving the feedback. Analyzing someone else’s work hones analytical skills and provides a fresh perspective that can be applied to one’s own writing. It’s a symbiotic relationship, with both parties gaining valuable insights.

However, it’s essential to approach peer reviews with an open mind. Every writer has their own style, voice, and vision. The goal isn’t to mold someone’s work in your image but to help them refine and amplify their unique voice.

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Writing Feedback in Academic Settings

In academic environments, writing feedback plays a pivotal role. Whether it’s an essay, research paper, or dissertation, feedback guides students in aligning their work with established standards and criteria. But it goes beyond mere grades; it’s about molding scholars and researchers.

Instructors and professors don’t just look at content; they assess structure, logic, coherence, and argument validity. Their feedback becomes a roadmap for students, showing them areas of improvement and strengths to build upon. It teaches them to think critically, not just about the subject matter but about their presentation and argumentation.

It’s also in these academic settings that students first experience the rigorous process of revision. A first draft is rarely the final one. Feedback drives multiple iterations, each refining ideas, sharpening arguments, and enhancing clarity. This iterative process, guided by feedback, lays the foundation for academic excellence.

But the significance of writing feedback in academia isn’t just confined to grades or graduation. It instills a discipline, a rigor that students carry forward into their professional lives, whether they venture into research, teaching, or any other field.

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The Ghostwriting Connection: Feedback’s Silent Partner

Ghostwriting, the art of writing on behalf of someone else, often thrives on feedback. It’s a unique relationship, where the ghostwriter must capture another’s voice, tone, and perspective. And to achieve this, writing feedback becomes the guiding light.

When a client provides feedback to a ghostwriter, it’s not just about corrections or edits. It’s about alignment—ensuring that the written piece resonates with the client’s voice and intentions. Every piece of advice, every suggestion, is a clue for the ghostwriter, guiding them closer to the desired outcome.

But this relationship is a two-way street. Experienced ghostwriters also provide feedback. They advise on structure, flow, and content, leveraging their expertise to enhance the piece’s quality. It becomes a collaborative dance, with feedback being the rhythm that keeps both partners in sync.

The ghostwriting realm underscores the universality of writing feedback. Whether you’re writing for yourself or someone else, feedback remains the bridge between intent and execution, ensuring that the final piece is not just well-written but also authentic and resonant.

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Feedback in the Digital Age

The digital age has revolutionized the way we seek and receive writing feedback. Platforms like blogging websites, social media, and online writing communities have opened up a world of possibilities for writers. Now, feedback isn’t just confined to a closed group; it’s global.

Writing in the digital age means that your work can be read, critiqued, and appreciated by someone from a different continent. This broadens the horizon for writers, exposing them to diverse perspectives and critiques. Feedback from different cultural, social, and individual backgrounds enriches a writer’s growth, making them more adaptable and versatile.

However, with this global audience comes the challenge of filtering feedback. Not all online feedback will be constructive. It’s crucial for writers to differentiate between constructive criticism and plain negativity, using the former for growth and ignoring the latter.

Moreover, digital platforms provide instant feedback. Unlike traditional methods where writers had to wait for days or weeks, now it’s a matter of hours or even minutes. While this instantaneity is beneficial, it also requires writers to be resilient and not get swayed by every piece of feedback that comes their way.

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The Future of Writing Feedback

The landscape of writing feedback is continually evolving. With advancements in technology, AI-driven feedback tools are making their way into the writer’s toolkit. These tools, equipped with advanced algorithms, offer grammar checks, style suggestions, and even content critiques.

While they offer efficiency, it’s essential to remember that writing is an art—a blend of intellect and emotion. Machines can catch grammatical errors or suggest structural changes, but the soul of writing, the emotional depth, is a human domain. Feedback from fellow humans will always hold unmatched value.

The future might see a blend of human feedback and AI-driven insights, each complementing the other. AI can handle the technicalities, while human feedback will delve into the depths of narrative, character development, and emotional resonance. This balanced approach can redefine how feedback shapes the writers of tomorrow.

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The journey of a writer is filled with highs and lows, and writing feedback is the compass that guides them through this odyssey. Whether it’s a simple grammar check, a deep dive into narrative structure, or understanding the emotional undercurrents, feedback shapes, refines, and often redefines a writer’s work. Embracing feedback, be it from peers, mentors, or even AI tools, is the key to growing and evolving in the vast and ever-changing realm of writing.

Takeaway : Writing feedback isn’t just about corrections or affirmations. It’s the mirror that reflects a writer’s strengths and vulnerabilities, pushing them to rise above their limitations and craft stories that resonate, inspire, and endure.

Click here to contact The Writing King to discuss your project today!

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16 thoughts on “ Writing Feedback Mastery: 8 Tips to Triumph ”

Great tips and a very informative post. Love the tips on giving feedback and how we can do it. Thank you for sharing!

I think acknowledging the writer’s voice is so important! I’m a freelance writer and have had major outlets take out my voice, and I feel like it just falls flat.

These are great tips and I love how you highlighted that it is important that we address the content and not the author. This is most significant, especially during negative feedback. I agree with you that we must also offer this with kindness and understanding. Think of the end goal which is to help the writer improve his work — not to attack or bash. 

Your article on mastering writing feedback is a goldmine of insights. The 8 tips provided are practical and well-explained, offering a clear roadmap for improving feedback skills. It’s an invaluable resource for anyone aiming to enhance their feedback-giving abilities.

Oh yes, Richard. Thank you for these tips! I try so much to receive and give feedback because without it, growth is always hard!

Brilliant post! I am currently getting back into my creative writing and loving it so, so much!

Feedback is key with a writing journey. I learned so much from critiques of college papers from both professors and fellow students.

Very informative article and a very helpful one also for all of us looking for writing feedback. Like in any craft, one should ask for feedback and advice from an experienced and proven craftsman.

Best tips are here for aspiring wordsmiths and keyboard warriors! I’m always here eager to learn some wisdom 

Its so true that t he journey of a writer is filled with highs and lows. Its not always glamour and we need expert tips from others from time to time. Thank you for your article!

This is such an artful way to provide feedback! I especially love starting off with commendation and also providing suggestions.

My boys both dislike writing more than any other subject in school right now. I try to help them with their writing homework but don’t always know how to give feedback, this is so helpful!

Fantastic information! I can see these tips applying to feedback on just about any topic, not just when leaving feed back on a written piece.

Richard, as you know I am not a writer, just dabbling in blogging but I am always amazed at the depth of your posts and learn so much from you every time I visit a blog post.

Yes, I regularly ask for feedback on my blog, what people think, to get some insight into what they wish to see, and to me, it’s very useful to hear from various bloggers their views and insight as this does help me to grow and expand and be there for the readers.

Agreed! Feedback is always a good idea because it can really add to the individual as well as their writing. When you don’t know what you have to improve on, it can be hard to trudge forward. Plus, who doesn’t want to get better with their writing or craft?

Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com

Feedback is one key thing that communicates back the feeds from a writing. I think mastering it is crucial. Thanks for the tips.

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16 constructive feedback examples — and tips for how to use them

Giving constructive feedback is nerve-wracking for many people. But feedback is also necessary for thriving in the workplace. 

It helps people flex and grow into new skills, capabilities, and roles. It creates more positive and productive relationships between employees. And it helps to reach goals and drive business value.

But feedback is a two-way street. More often than not, it’s likely every employee will have to give constructive feedback in their careers. That’s why it’s helpful to have constructive feedback examples to leverage for the right situation. 

We know employees want feedback. But one study found that people want feedback if they’re on the receiving end . In fact, in every case, participants rated their desire for feedback higher as the receiver. While the fear of feedback is very real, it’s important to not shy away from constructive feedback opportunities. After all, it could be the difference between a flailing and thriving team. 

If you’re trying to overcome your fear of providing feedback, we’ve compiled a list of 16 constructive feedback examples for you to use. We’ll also share some best practices on how to give effective feedback . 

What is constructive feedback? 

When you hear the word feedback, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? What feelings do you have associated with feedback? Oftentimes, feedback conversations are anxiety-ridden because it’s assumed to be negative feedback. Unfortunately, feedback has this binary stigma, it’s either good or bad.

But in reality, there are plenty of types of feedback leveraged in both personal and professional relationships. They don’t all fall into one camp or the other. And each type of feedback is serving a purpose to ultimately better an individual, team, or work environment. 

For example, positive feedback can be used to reinforce desired behaviors or big accomplishments. Real-time feedback is reserved for those “in the moment” situations. Like if I’ve made a mistake or a typo in a blog, I’d want my teammates to give me real-time feedback . 

However, constructive feedback is its own ball game. 

What is constructive feedback?

Constructive feedback is a supportive way to improve areas of opportunity for an individual person, team, relationship, or environment. In many ways, constructive feedback is a combination of constructive criticism paired with coaching skills. 

16 constructive feedback examples to use 

To truly invest in building a feedback culture , your employees need to feel comfortable giving feedback. After all, organizations are people, which means we’re all human. We make mistakes but we’re all capable of growth and development. And most importantly, everyone everywhere should be able to live with more purpose, clarity, and passion. 

But we won’t unlock everyone’s full potential unless your people are comfortable giving feedback. Some employee feedback might be easier to give than others, like ways to improve a presentation. 

But sometimes, constructive feedback can be tricky, like managing conflict between team members or addressing negative behavior. As any leader will tell you, it’s critical to address negative behaviors and redirect them to positive outcomes. Letting toxic behavior go unchecked can lead to issues with employee engagement , company culture, and overall, your business’s bottom line. 

Regardless of where on the feedback spectrum your organization falls, having concrete examples will help set up your people for success. Let’s talk through some examples of constructive feedback. For any of these themes, it’s always good to have specific examples handy to help reinforce the feedback you’re giving. We’ll also give some sample scenarios of when these phrases might be most impactful and appropriate. 

Constructive feedback examples about communication skills  

An employee speaks over others and interrupts in team meetings.

“I’ve noticed you can cut off team members or interrupt others. You share plenty of good ideas and do good work. To share some communication feedback , I’d love to see how you can support others in voicing their own ideas in our team meetings.” 

An employee who doesn’t speak up or share ideas in team meetings.

“I’ve noticed that you don’t often share ideas in big meetings. But in our one-on-one meetings , you come up with plenty of meaningful and creative ideas to help solve problems. What can I do to help make you more comfortable speaking up in front of the team?” 

An employee who is brutally honest and blunt.

“Last week, I noticed you told a teammate that their work wasn’t useful to you. It might be true that their work isn’t contributing to your work, but there’s other work being spread across the team that will help us reach our organizational goals. I’d love to work with you on ways to improve your communication skills to help build your feedback skills, too. Would you be interested in pursuing some professional development opportunities?”  

An employee who has trouble building rapport because of poor communication skills in customer and prospect meetings.

“I’ve noticed you dive right into the presentation with our customer and prospect meetings. To build a relationship and rapport, it’s good to make sure we’re getting to know everyone as people. Why don’t you try learning more about their work, priorities, and life outside of the office in our next meeting?” 

Constructive feedback examples about collaboration 

An employee who doesn’t hold to their commitments on group or team projects.

“I noticed I asked you for a deliverable on this key project by the end of last week. I still haven’t received this deliverable and wanted to follow up. If a deadline doesn’t work well with your bandwidth, would you be able to check in with me? I’d love to get a good idea of what you can commit to without overloading your workload.”  

An employee who likes to gatekeep or protect their work, which hurts productivity and teamwork .

“Our teams have been working together on this cross-functional project for a couple of months. But yesterday, we learned that your team came across a roadblock last month that hasn’t been resolved. I’d love to be a partner to you if you hit any issues in reaching our goals. Would you be willing to share your project plan or help provide some more visibility into your team’s work? I think it would help us with problem-solving and preventing problems down the line.” 

An employee who dominates a cross-functional project and doesn’t often accept new ways of doing things.

“I’ve noticed that two team members have voiced ideas that you have shut down. In the spirit of giving honest feedback, it feels like ideas or new solutions to problems aren’t welcome. Is there a way we could explore some of these ideas? I think it would help to show that we’re team players and want to encourage everyone’s contributions to this project.” 

Constructive feedback examples about time management 

An employee who is always late to morning meetings or one-on-ones.

“I’ve noticed that you’re often late to our morning meetings with the rest of the team. Sometimes, you’re late to our one-on-ones, too. Is there a way I can help you with building better time management skills ? Sometimes, the tardiness can come off like you don’t care about the meeting or the person you’re meeting with, which I know you don’t mean.” 

A direct report who struggles to meet deadlines.

“Thanks for letting me know you’re running behind schedule and need an extension. I’ve noticed this is the third time you’ve asked for an extension in the past two weeks. In our next one-on-one, can you come up with a list of projects and the amount of time that you’re spending on each project? I wonder if we can see how you’re managing your time and identify efficiencies.” 

An employee who continuously misses team meetings.

“I’ve noticed you haven’t been present at the last few team meetings. I wanted to check in to see how things are going. What do you have on your plate right now? I’m concerned you’re missing critical information that can help you in your role and your career.” 

Constructive feedback examples about boundaries 

A manager who expects the entire team to work on weekends.

“I’ve noticed you send us emails and project plans over the weekends. I put in a lot of hard work during the week, and won’t be able to answer your emails until the work week starts again. It’s important that I maintain my work-life balance to be able to perform my best.” 

An employee who delegates work to other team members.

“I’ve noticed you’ve delegated some aspects of this project that fall into your scope of work. I have a full plate with my responsibilities in XYZ right now. But if you need assistance, it might be worth bringing up your workload to our manager.” 

A direct report who is stressed about employee performance but is at risk of burning out.

“I know we have performance reviews coming up and I’ve noticed an increase in working hours for you. I hope you know that I recognize your work ethic but it’s important that you prioritize your work-life balance, too. We don’t want you to burn out.”  

Constructive feedback examples about managing 

A leader who is struggling with team members working together well in group settings.

“I’ve noticed your team’s scores on our employee engagement surveys. It seems like they don’t collaborate well or work well in group settings, given their feedback. Let’s work on building some leadership skills to help build trust within your team.” 

A leader who is struggling to engage their remote team.

“In my last skip-levels with your team, I heard some feedback about the lack of connections . It sounds like some of your team members feel isolated, especially in this remote environment. Let’s work on ways we can put some virtual team-building activities together.” 

A leader who is micromanaging , damaging employee morale.

“In the last employee engagement pulse survey, I took a look at the leadership feedback. It sounds like some of your employees feel that you micromanage them, which can damage trust and employee engagement. In our next one-on-one, let’s talk through some projects that you can step back from and delegate to one of your direct reports. We want to make sure employees on your team feel ownership and autonomy over their work.” 

8 tips for providing constructive feedback 

Asking for and receiving feedback isn’t an easy task. 

But as we know, more people would prefer to receive feedback than give it. If giving constructive feedback feels daunting, we’ve rounded up eight tips to help ease your nerves. These best practices can help make sure you’re nailing your feedback delivery for optimal results, too.

Be clear and direct (without being brutally honest). Make sure you’re clear, concise, and direct. Dancing around the topic isn’t helpful for you or the person you’re giving feedback to. 

Provide specific examples. Get really specific and cite recent examples. If you’re vague and high-level, the employee might not connect feedback with their actions.

Set goals for the behavior you’d like to see changed. If there’s a behavior that’s consistent, try setting a goal with your employee. For example, let’s say a team member dominates the conversation in team meetings. Could you set a goal for how many times they encourage other team members to speak and share their ideas? 

Give time and space for clarifying questions. Constructive feedback can be hard to hear. It can also take some time to process. Make sure you give the person the time and space for questions and follow-up. 

Know when to give feedback in person versus written communication. Some constructive feedback simply shouldn’t be put in an email or a Slack message. Know the right communication forum to deliver your feedback.   

Check-in. Make an intentional effort to check in with the person on how they’re doing in the respective area of feedback. For example, let’s say you’ve given a teammate feedback on their presentation skills . Follow up on how they’ve invested in building their public speaking skills . Ask if you can help them practice before a big meeting or presentation. 

Ask for feedback in return. Feedback can feel hierarchical and top-down sometimes. Make sure that you open the door to gather feedback in return from your employees. 

Start giving effective constructive feedback 

Meaningful feedback can be the difference between a flailing and thriving team. To create a feedback culture in your organization, constructive feedback is a necessary ingredient. 

Think about the role of coaching to help build feedback muscles with your employees. With access to virtual coaching , you can make sure your employees are set up for success. BetterUp can help your workforce reach its full potential.

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Unlock the power of clear and persuasive communication. Our coaches can guide you to build strong relationships and succeed in both personal and professional life.

Madeline Miles

Madeline is a writer, communicator, and storyteller who is passionate about using words to help drive positive change. She holds a bachelor's in English Creative Writing and Communication Studies and lives in Denver, Colorado. In her spare time, she's usually somewhere outside (preferably in the mountains) — and enjoys poetry and fiction.

5 types of feedback that make a difference (and how to use them)

Are you receptive to feedback follow this step-by-step guide, handle feedback like a boss and make it work for you, how to give constructive feedback as a manager, should you use the feedback sandwich 7 pros and cons, how to get feedback from your employees, why coworker feedback is so important and 5 ways to give it, feedback in communication: 5 areas to become a better communicator, how managers get upward feedback from their team, similar articles, 30 customer service review examples to develop your team, how to give feedback using this 4-step framework, how to give negative feedback to a manager, with examples, how to embrace constructive conflict, 25 performance review questions (and how to use them), stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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How to give better feedback on writing: 10 top tips

How to give feedback on writing: A guide to transforming this challenging task into a successful collaboration that leaves writers inspired.

November 23, 2022

Ever heard of Maxwell Perkins ?

Probably not, but you should have. He was the editor responsible for launching and nurturing the careers of authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Thomas Wolfe, to name a few.

If you ever find yourself doubting the value of a good editor, do yourself a favor and look into the editorial relationship Perkins had with the writers in his stable. Celebrated works like The Great Gatsby certainly wouldn’t have been the books we know today if not for Perkins’ insightful interventions.

Now, of course, not all of us are editors at publishing houses. But if you find yourself in a position where you have to give feedback on writing and need a hand to do a great job, you’ve come to the right place.

Whether you’re

• A marketing lead giving feedback to content writers
• A content manager giving a freelancer style tips
• An editor giving a journalist a detailed critique
• A beta reader who’s helping an author improve their novel
• A teacher giving feedback on student papers or writing assignments
• An academic supervisor/advisor helping a student fine-tune their thesis
• A member of a writing group giving other writers suggestions, or
• A tutor, coach, or writing instructor teaching writing skills —

We’ve got you.

Keep reading for our top tips on how to give feedback in a way that’s not only effective but actively inspiring.

10 Practical tips for giving effective feedback on writing

Good feedback can transform writing from just OK to memorable and share-worthy.

There are few things more inspiring and gratifying than the experience of co-creation, and when you get it right, the process of giving a writer feedback and watching their work develop can be immensely rewarding.

Here are our top tips on giving writing feedback, so you can experience this feeling too.

1. Understand the level of feedback required

There’s a big difference between editing, proofreading, and giving constructive feedback , and not just in terms of the amount of time each takes.

The level of feedback you’re giving will depend on:

• The type of content — Is it a blog post, a novel, a friend’s creative writing project, or a piece of student work ? Is there a rubric or handout to follow, or are you on your own?
• The context — What is your relationship with the writer? Is your aim to correct the writing, or to provide constructive criticism to develop the writer’s potential? Do you have an existing editorial relationship and feedback “shorthand,” or do you need to explain every suggestion? 
• The content’s stage of development — Which stage of the writing process are you in? Are you reviewing an early draft, or are you polishing a “finished” final draft for publication? Are they seeking writing advice or thorough proofreading?

Having a clear understanding of the level of input expected of you (and how granular your feedback should be) can save a lot of time and effort — there’s no point doing a fine proofread if you’re critiquing an early draft that will still change a lot.

2. Give feedback in context

When providing feedback on writing, make sure your suggestions are easy to understand (and find) by providing them as close as possible to the copy in question. It’s easy for feedback to get lost or forgotten when it’s removed from the context to which it applies — or not recorded at all. 

Margin comments are good, but electronic feedback is far superior to scrawling notes in ant-writing on a hard copy.

Most word processing tools let you highlight text and attach comments, making them better-suited to giving feedback than, say, a CMS (content management system) used for publishing blogs to a website. As a result, it’s generally good practice to use these for content approval workflows and then upload the copy to the CMS.

Also, don’t sleep on the various markup settings available in word processing tools like Microsoft Word and Google Docs. You can choose between “Edit Mode” and “Suggestion Mode” and toggle on “track changes” so the writer can see (and resolve) every change you’ve made or suggested. This helps them learn more than if you’d made the changes yourself. On this note, consider enhancing the effectiveness of your feedback by recording a Bubble . This approach allows you to not only annotate the work but also deliver a more personalized and clear response. The visual and interactive nature of a Bubble can better illustrate your suggestions and advice, potentially motivating the recipient to implement the recommended changes more effectively.

3. Approach feedback with the right mindset

Be empathetic and respectful when giving writing feedback. Put yourself in the writer’s position and follow the golden rule — treat others as you’d want to be treated. Remember, you’re here to help the recipient of your feedback, not break their spirit.

Sadly, some writers need writing classes, not an editor — but that doesn’t mean you can’t offer them useful feedback. Tailor your feedback to the writer’s proficiency or level of development, and avoid giving feedback that punches above their writing weight class.

A good framework for approaching scenarios in which you have to give any kind of feedback is Kim Scott’s Radical Candor philosophy, which focuses on finding the sweet spot between “caring personally” and “challenging directly” — basically, providing feedback that is clear and specific while being kind and sincere.

4. Start with a readthrough or two

Before you start commenting, read through the piece.

Make notes of any major issues (and less major ones), but resist the urge to start word-vomiting all over the copy until you’ve assessed the appropriate level of input to provide, and which pointers, if acted on, will have the biggest impact.

If you’re giving feedback on things like flow and punctuation, reading the piece out loud is a great way to find the bits that need a comma, period, or surgery — like those paragraph-length run-on sentences and unpronounceable polysyllabic words.

5. Begin with higher-order feedback

Start by addressing the bigger issues that impact whether or not the writing achieves its purpose before moving on to lower-order feedback.

Here’s a quick overview of what constitutes higher-order and lower-order feedback:

Higher-order concerns

Overall effectiveness — Does the piece of writing achieve its goal? Is the point clear? Are the tone and language suited to its audience?

Clarity of communication — Is the structure, organization, and flow of information logical and cohesive?

Credibility — Are claims backed up with quality, relevant evidence?

Conciseness — Is the piece as concise as it can be?

Reader-friendliness — Is the piece easy on the eyes? (headings, paragraph breaks, bullets, short words, and short sentences, etc.)

Lower-order concerns

SPAG — Spelling, punctuation, and grammar issues

Syntax issues — Individual sentence structure, specific phrasing, etc.

Minor stylistic issues — Word choices, wordiness, use of passive voice, etc.

Pick your battles, and unless you’re specifically doing a proof or you’re an actual editor, don’t sweat the small stuff.

6. Give specific and actionable feedback

A mountain of feedback, no matter how constructive, can be overwhelming. Pick your battles and choose a handful of key changes the writer can make for the biggest improvement.

For each suggestion you offer, be as specific as possible and explain why you’re suggesting each change. Whenever possible, offer an example or parallel to help illustrate your point.

Make sure your feedback is actionable, ie. that each comment gives the writer a specific objective to achieve. Avoid making vague comments like “this doesn’t work” or “elaborate” — explain precisely what isn’t working, why , and how the writer can make the text more effective.

7. Point out what works

Don’t just offer critique. Only receiving “negative” feedback can be disheartening for even the most seasoned writers.

Make a conscious point of sincerely complimenting on what the writer did well, but don’t do that sh*t sandwich thing where you wedge your critique in between two compliments. Pretty much everyone agrees that that doesn’t work because human brains tend to latch onto the compliments and forget the criticism.

8. Don’t be too prescriptive

Avoid being too prescriptive. It’s their writing, not yours — so don’t try to make it read like your own work. Your goal is to help them develop their own writing style and use their own voice more effectively.

Think about your gut reaction to the copy in question, try to identify what prompted this reaction, and then ask yourself whether this helps or hinders the writing’s overall effect .

For example, if a sentence makes you pause as a reader, identify what feeling accompanies the pause. If you feel confused , it could be because the sentence structure is placing emphasis on the wrong part of the sentence, or because a word choice is creating ambiguity.

Depending on the context, this could have a positive or negative impact. Making the reader do a double-take might be useful in the context of an advert but in other contexts, this can negatively impact the clarity and effectiveness of the message. 

You might also ask yourself whether the copy that made you pause is a legitimate error or a matter of individual writing, and how other readers might experience and interpret it.

9. Ask leading questions

When you’re giving writing feedback with the intent of helping someone become a better writer, it can often be more effective to ask questions that prompt them to find a solution themselves than simply telling them what to do.

For example, if a piece’s cohesiveness and clarity need some work, you might say “Reading this, I felt confused at times about how some of the information is relevant to the main topic. Could you find a way to make it clearer how it’s all related? Could adding some connecting phrases/sentences ease the transitions between paragraphs?”

This way, the writer has a clear problem to address, but they still need to take another, more critical look at their own writing and work out the best solution for themselves.

10. Make it a dialogue  

It’s pretty uncommon to get a bunch of feedback and not have a question or two — or simply wonder whether the way you’re addressing a suggestion aligns with what your reviewer meant.

Or perhaps you’ve read a note and thought either “I’m an idiot” or “Jeez, they really hate my guts.” ( It’s OK, we’ve all been there! )

Turning the feedback process into a dialogue softens the blow of “criticism” and makes the revision process feel more like a team endeavor ( we’ve got this! ), instead of an uphill climb with a scary editor/feedback giver slowing you down.

That’s one of the many reasons feedback should be an open, constructive two-way conversation. More on that below.

Why writing feedback should be a conversation

Writers’ workshops and one-on-one discussions are invaluable environments for sharing and receiving truly productive writing feedback.

What makes them so much more effective and conducive to those inspiring “Ah-ha!” moments than most other feedback formats is the fact that the shared context of real-time interaction simply enables clearer communication . Miscommunications or lack of comprehension are generally easy to spot and correct, making it easier to identify which points to clarify.

Plus, bouncing ideas around (or “brainstorming” or “workshopping”) can have an incredible effect on creativity and problem-solving. In these scenarios, each party is feeding off and building on the other’s input and responses, resulting in a larger, more diverse pool of ideas, increasing the likelihood of those evasive really good ideas getting sparked.

On the other hand, text-based feedback (comments, edits, etc.) leaves so much room for misinterpretations. Not to mention it can be isolating, alienating, and discouraging — Hell, even infuriating. Who among us hasn’t felt a twinge of resentment when seeing what we view as an unwarranted revision to our beautiful writing?

Two-way conversations around feedback make it easier to get on the same page (heh) by exploring each party’s creative choices — and the perspectives behind them — creating opportunities for both the writer and the reviewer to learn and be inspired in the process.

Let’s get practical: How to give two-way feedback 

For all the productivity benefits of conversational feedback, what does this look like in practice?

At first glance, the obvious downside of this feedback approach is that nobody has time to have actual real-time chats every time they need to offer or solicit feedback — never mind in-person meetings.

With the rise of remote collaboration , flexible schedules, and globally-distributed teams, finding a mutually convenient time for a meeting or call is only getting more challenging. Studies have shown that constant meetings and task-switching are massively disruptive to getting deep, focused work done.

Luckily, we live in the age of asynchronous collaboration . There’s a growing number of amazing technologies that make working together asynchronously not just as effective as collaborating in real-time, but more so.

Allow us to introduce Bubbles , the perfect async collaboration tool for giving feedback in context and turning that feedback into a productive two-way conversation.

Bubbles is a free collaboration tool that lets you make screen recordings and annotate time-stamped comments using text or voice or screen recordings (with or without a webcam).

This means you can make a video where you scroll through your feedback and highlight key points, explain your suggestions in more detail , and ask the writer questions you didn’t feel like typing out — all with the benefit of being able to use your voice and facial expressions to convey your tone.

The writer can then watch the video and respond in context by annotating comments to the relevant part of the video, and you can respond in turn, creating conversation threads that are nicely contained and easy to find and reference going forward.

And as we mentioned, with Bubbles, you can leave comments using text, voice, video, or screen recordings. This means you can tailor the format of your feedback conversation to your needs (and level of comfort).

Use bubbles to turn giving writing feedback into a conversation

Sign up for bubbles today and start providing more effective and creatively inspiring feedback on writing by turning every copy review into a two-way conversation.

Our signup process is so quick we refer to it as “nonboarding” — it literally takes seconds to get started.

Make your meetings matter

Use AI to record, transcribe, and summarize meetings into actions. Bubbles is your home for after-meeting collaboration.

Collaborate better with your team

Get your point across using screen, video, and audio messages. Bubbles is free, and offers unlimited recordings with a click of a button.

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Giving Performance Feedback Problem Solution Essay

Introduction, best ways to enhance performance feedback, shortfalls in the process of giving performance feedback, ways of managing results, how to enhance your performance feedback skills, list of references.

Managing the performance of the employees is not a simple task, especially in large multinational organisations. According to Cardy (2011), employees are the most important stakeholders within a firm. They implement the policies developed by the top managers in a real-life situation.

The success of a firm relies on their ability to understand and put into practice the concepts developed by the top managers. The management will always want to monitor the performance of the employees at a regular interval.

Many organisations around the world are now embracing performance contracts as a way of managing the output of their employees. In the past, Shield (2007, p. 46) notes that the performance was analysed at the department level. Each department had to ensure that its employees are performing optimally.

However, this has changed over the past one decade. Many organisations are now basing their performance analysis at individual levels. The performance of individual employees would be analysed in order to determine their importance to the organisation.

Compensation in many firms around the world is now based on the performance of the employees. As a manager, giving the performance feedback is something that cannot be avoided. The feedback may be an appreciation for an outstanding performance of an employee.

Sometimes it may be a reminder to an employee that he or she is performing below the expectation. The ultimate aim of the performance feedback process is to tune the employees to act in a given desirable manner.

In this paper, the researcher will look at the challenges of giving the performance feedback and how these challenges can be addressed in order to have an effective way of communicating to the employees about their performance.

According to Armstrong (2012, p. 53), many organisations have various mechanisms of assessing the performance of their employees.

It is very critical that the management ensures that their process of assessing the employees’ performance is effective in order to ensure that the management knows the true capacity of individual workers.

This will avoid cases where an employee feels that all his or her efforts are not appreciated. In many cases, the managers will only focus on the negative performance of the employees. In such cases, exemplary performance are ignored or casually appreciated by the managers.

On the other hand, any underperformance is cautioned all the times. This is not how the performance feedback should be approached. Shield (2007) says that many managers always use wrong methods of communicating the performance feedback to the employees.

They take the combative approach that does not actually solve the problem. It is important to know how to communicate to the employees about their feedback in a way that they will remain positive at their work.

There are specific parameters that should be taken into consideration when giving performance feedback. The following factors should be observed.

According to Aguinis (2009, p. 36), the performance feedback should be as specific as possible. In many cases, the managers or supervisors give a very general feedback to the employees. Telling an employee that his performance was good or bad is vague and does not add any value to the performance.

The manager should strive to identify what the employee did that is regarded as positive. If it was about addressing the needs of the customers in a timely and friendly manner, then this should be clearly specified.

On the other hand, if the employee’s behaviour of coming to work late or inaccuracy in accounting affected the overall performance of the organisation, then this should also be communicated.

The ultimate aim of this process is to ensure that the employees understand their strengths and weaknesses at work. If possible, the management should propose ways in which these weaknesses can be addressed.

In many organisations, the performance feedback is always given at the end of an accounting year. Each supervisor would compile the performance record of individual employees and hand them over to the superiors.

The top managers will then review the performance and give a feedback to the employees either before or after starting a new financial year. There are cases where the feedback would involve dismissing an employee due to dismal performance.

Armstrong (2009, p. 37) says that this is a very wrong strategy that should be avoided at all cost. The ultimate aim of an organisation should be to retain its employees in order to eliminate the costs of training new recruits.

When an employee does something wrong, this should be addressed as soon as possible when it is still fresh in the mind of the employee. The employee will find it easy to appreciate that they actually made a mistake when it is addressed immediately.

A serious decision such as dismissal of an employee can only be taken after it is confirmed that the employee does not add any value to the organisation even after serious attempts to change his or her performance.

Armstrong and Murlis (2007, p. 73) say that statements such as ‘pull up your socks’ are clichés that managers should avoid using in the contemporary business environment. As a supervisor or manager, it is important to identify the specific issue that is affecting the ability of an employee to perform as per the expectations.

Once this fact has been established, the manager should find a way in which it can be addressed to have a positive change in the performance. Telling an employee to make an effort of reporting to work in time is an actionable feedback. The employee will know what is expected of him.

In some cases it may be necessary to give a performance feedback that is measurable. The managers will be interested in seeing a change in the performance of an employee in case it was not satisfactory before.

As such, giving a measurable performance feedback will make it necessary for the employees to know how much effort they can put to achieve the expected outcome. Telling an employee to adjust his output from two units to three units is a measurable feedback.

The sacred aim of a business entity is to increase the value of investor’s money. This means that an organisation will do everything within its powers, including overstretching the employees, to achieve this aim. However, this may sometimes be counterproductive.

When giving a performance feedback, the manager should ensure that it is achievable within the time frame and resources provided. It means that before giving a feedback, the manager will first need to assess the ability of the individual employee. The feedback should then be given as per their capacity and resources provided.

Hannaway and Hunt (2012) say that giving negative feedbacks is the biggest challenge that many organisations face. When employees do something wrong, then it may be challenging to face them and tell them that what they are doing is unacceptable.

As a result, a manager may consider summary dismissal as the solution in such instances. In case the employee is invaluable to the organisation and cannot be dismissed easily, then the manager may take a combative approach in giving the feedback.

Such strategies are counterproductive. When an employee makes mistakes or is underperforming, the manager should make an effort to ensure that the feedback is as positive as possible. The manager should identify the mistake and inform the employee why such mistakes may cost the organisation.

Non-evaluative

Performance evaluation is the most common way of determining the capacity of the employee. In many instances, the managers would give performance feedback in an evaluating approach. This may appear to be an easy way of addressing the underperformance, especially when dealing with a large number of employees.

However, Armstrong and Baron (2005) say that the management should make an effort to make this process non-evaluative. The employees should not feel that they are subjected to some form of exams that seeks to test their capacity. This will eliminate anxiety among the employees.

Establish a dialogue

The golden rule when giving the performance feedback is to establish a dialogue. Sometimes it may not be clear to the evaluator why an employee is behaving in a given manner. It may be due to sickness, wrong task assignment, or other personal issues that cannot easily be identified by the evaluating team.

For this reason, it may be necessary to engage the employees in a dialogue in order to establish what the problem could be that is making them to underperform. Gillen (2012) says that when they are engaged in a dialogue, an employee may reveal some factors that will help the managers make them better performers.

Such dialogues also eliminate any forms of misunderstandings that may affect the relationship between the employer and the employee.

Criticise in private

It is important to note that the above tips do limit the need to criticise the actions of the employees within an organisation. Positive criticism is very important in influencing the performance of the organisation.

When criticism of an employee’s performance is made in public, it will be a humiliation. They will get demoralised instead of getting motivated. Such criticism should be made in private to avoid putting to shame employees before their peers.

Make follow-ups

Finally, it is necessary to make regular follow-ups. After giving performance feedback, the manager will expect the employees to make necessary changes as suggested. To determine if the proposed changes are being implemented, a regular follow-up will be necessary.

However, Umiker (2008) says that this should not be done in a way that will make the employee feel that he is being pressured. The follow-up may be employee-based instead of making it supervisor-based.

This means that the manager will encourage the employees to make regular reports about the steps they have taken to address issues that had been identified.

According to Greve (2014), there are a number of shortfalls in the process of giving performance feedback. One common shortfall is inadequate or ineffective performance measurement system. Any employee would want to be given a credit whenever it is due.

However, when an organisation uses an ineffective performance analysis system, it may not be easy to determine the specific performance of an employee.

In such instances, the manager may summon an employee to criticise him of a bad performance while the truth is that such an employee has registered an outstanding performance.

When this happens, the employee will not only be dissatisfied but also demoralised. This means that instead of the performance feedback having the intended positive impact on the employee, it will actually have a negative impact (MacLean, 2001).

Another shortfall common in the process of giving the performance feedback is the inability of the manager to communicate to the employees in a clear and positive manner. Some managers may be carried over by a performance that is considered outrageous.

When this happens, instead of the manager communicating the issue to the employee in clear terms, he may start accusing the employee of the mistakes committed. Sandler and Keefe (2004) say that in such forums, the employee may become defensive instead of admitting their mistakes.

They will start looking for slightest issues that may justify why they acted in that manner. Such arguments are not productive. They make employees combative every time the issue of their performance is brought to question.

Such employees may not even take positively a comment that is appreciating their performance. They may mistake such comments as sarcasm.

Misplaced or mistaken praise or criticism is another issue that may affect the performance feedback process. According to Fletcher (2006), in the past, success or failure of a department will be considered a failure of success of the manager in charge of such departments.

This may partly be true. However, it is important to be as specific as possible when giving performance feedback. Credit should be given when it is due.

Although the manager may share the blame or praise for events that happen under his supervision, the management should make an effort to identify the individuals who should bear the blame or get the credit. This will motivate all the members of the department irrespective of the positions they hold.

They will know that the management is interested in what an individual does to ensure that the firm succeeds instead of what is done at the organisational context. It is a fact that the individual performances always define the overall performance of an organisation.

Personal interests may also get in the way of giving proper performance feedbacks. According to Garber (2004), one of the biggest threats to effective performance feedback in many organisations is the romantic relationships.

When an employee has a romantic relationship with the immediate supervisor, then the process of analysing the performance becomes almost impossible. All the mistakes done by the junior employee will always be ignored or blamed on someone else.

Whenever it is necessary to give the performance feedback, the supervisor will only focus on the positive factors, ignoring all the negatives. This is so because the supervisor lacks the moral authority to identify the weaknesses and communicate them to the junior employees as expected.

These cases always affect the overall performance of an organisation. Other employees may feel discriminated against when their mistakes are criticised while others receive special treatments. Things may get worse when the romantic relationship comes to a bitter end.

Things get very awkward between the two former lovers. Everything that the junior employees do will always have a mistake, a complete opposite version of what used to take place. On the side of the junior employee, the respect that he or she had to the superior is always gone.

An instruction from such a superior will always be seen as attempts to frustrate or punishment. Other personal interests may also exist that may cloud the ability to give an effective feedback.

Cases where the feedback is to be given to a wife, relative or friend, there will always be an attempt to manipulate the whole process in order to eliminate issues that may be seen negative.

In order to manage the outcomes of performance feedback process, it is necessary to manage the above shortfalls.

The management should start by establishing effective performance measurement systems. The system should capture specific issues about an employee in order to avoid cases where one is blamed for mistakes that were committed by other people.

The communication between the manager and the employee should be effective. According to Daley (2006), some employees use McGregor’s Theory X when assessing the performance and giving the feedback to the employees.

This means that they consider the employees to be individuals that are lazy and needs constant supervision in order to yield the expected results. Such managers prefer making constant physical supervision in order to establish what the employees are doing.

This may be received negatively by the employees. For this reason, it is necessary to use McGregor’s Theory Y. the manager should always consider his employees as self-motivated individuals who have the capacity to deliver incredible results even without close supervision.

This means that the management will allow the employee to make decisions as long as they make necessary consultations with the manager in order to harmonise all the operations.

According to Grote (2002), enhancing an individual’s performance may not be a walk in the park. It requires dedication and commitment to do what is right at all times.

It requires the management to find a way of making the employees motivated on what they do. This is teamwork, and therefore all the stakeholders should be included as much as possible in the processes that are involved. The following issues should be observed.

Learn to be Ethical

Ethics is a major contributor to high rates of employee satisfaction. Many managers approach the issue of ethics from a biased angle. Being ethical entails doing the right thing at the right place, with the right people, and for the right reasons.

As mentioned before, a supervisor or manager should avoid being involved in romantic relationships with the junior employees.

This can be the highest level of being unethical. It erodes morality and ethics. It limits the ability of the manager to control that specific employee and other employees who may be aware of the relationship.

Learn to be Flexible

The world is changing rapidly, and as a leader, it is important to embrace these changes. In order to enhance performance feedback skills, one needs to understand how to manage change when they occur. Being rigid may affect the ability of the employee to make progressive steps in understanding the emerging technologies.

It may be necessary to use some of the theories of change in order to know how to react whenever there is a need to change the approach used in addressing a given issue. Kurt Lewin’s Change Model is one of the popular ways of introducing change within an organisation.

As shown in the figure above, this theory proposes three stages of addressing change. The first stage is to unfreeze. This involves identifying weaknesses in the existing systems and coming up with a proper justification why it is necessary to introduce change within the organisation.

As Garber (2008) says, it involves preparing the employees for the ultimate change that is eminent. The primary aim of this stage is to eliminate any possible resistance to change that may be witnessed when the stakeholders are subjected to a sudden change.

The second stage is to change. The leader and individuals involved in bringing the change will introduce it to the stakeholders. The last stage is to freeze. At this stage, the relevant stakeholders will be helping the employees to adapt to the new system that has just been introduced.

Learn to Make Sound Judgment

Performance feedback skills can be enhanced by learning to make sound judgement. When dealing with people, respect is very important. When the employees respect their supervisor, then it will be easy for the supervisor to define the path they should take when addressing various tasks with ease.

However, this respect must be earned. One of the ways of earning this respect is by making sound judgments every time a manager is faced with a complex situation.

Making sound judgment involves making necessary consultations, engaging the stakeholders, and being decisive even when faced with a situation that requires bold steps. The results of such decisions should yield the fruits expected by the stakeholders.

Learn to Influencing and Inspiring

Enhancing performance feedback skills may be a big challenge when a leader is dealing with a large number of people with a highly diversified background. He may not be present at all times to monitor and direct every activity of the employees.

In such circumstances, a leader may need to learn how to influence and inspire the employees. According to Tapamoy (2008), influencing and inspiring of the employees depend on what the manager says and does to the employees.

Using Transformational Leadership Theory may be of help at this stage. The leader will need to understand the capacity of the employees through effective performance measurement indicators. Once this is done, the leader will need to challenge the current capacities as a way of motivating the employees to expand their capacity.

Managing the performance of employees is one of the biggest tasks that a manager should understand. To do this, it is necessary to have performance feedback skills that will have positive impacts on the employees instead of demoralising them.

This paper has identified a number of issues that a manager should observe. They include regular communication, ability to understand the employees, the need to embrace change, among others. These skills are learned, they do not come naturally.

For this reason, a leader should strive to learn about the skills and new concepts about performance feedback management within an organisational context.

Aguinis, H 2009, Performance Management, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Armstrong, M & Baron, A 2005, Managing performance: Performance management in action , Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London.

Armstrong, M & Murlis, H 2007, Reward Management: A handbook of remuneration strategy and practice , Kogan Page, London.

Armstrong, M 2012, Armstrong’s handbook of reward management practice: improving performance through reward , Kogan Page Ltd, New York.

Cardy, R 2011, Performance management: Concepts, skills, and exercises , M E Sharp, New York.

Daley, D 2006, Performance appraisal in the public sector: Techniques and applications , Quorum Books, Westport.

Fletcher, C 2006, Appraisal and feedback: Making performance review work , Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London.

Garber, P 2004, Giving and receiving performance feedback , HRD Press, Amherst.

Garber, P 2008, Performance feedback , HRD Press, Amherst.

Gillen, T 2012, Leadership skills for boosting performance , Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London.

Greve, H 2014, Organisational learning from performance feedback: A behavioral perspective on innovation and change , University Press Cambridge, London.

Grote, D 2002, The Performance Appraisal Question and Answer Book: A Survival Guide for Managers , AMACOM, New York.

Hannaway, C & Hunt, G 2012, The management skills book , Gower, Aldershot.

MacLean, J 2001, Performance appraisal for sport and recreation managers , Human Kinetics, Champaign.

Sandler, C & Keefe, J 2004, Performance appraisal phrase book: The best words, phrases, and techniques for performance reviews , Adams Media, Avon.

Shield, J 2007, Managing Employee Performance and Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies , Cambridge University Press, New York.

Tapamoy, D 2008, Performance appraisal and management: Concepts, antecedents and implications , McMillan Publishers, London.

Umiker, 2008, Management Skills For New Health Care Supervisors , Jones & Bartlett Pub, New Jersey.

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IvyPanda. (2024, April 11). Giving Performance Feedback. https://ivypanda.com/essays/performance-feedback-skills/

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IvyPanda . "Giving Performance Feedback." April 11, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/performance-feedback-skills/.

• Supervisors' and Subordinates' Interactions
• The Influence of Leaders' Feedback
• The roles and functions of a supervisor
• The Supervisor Role and Functions in the 21st Century
• Feedback Loops. Types of Organizational Feedback Loops
• Employee Performance Evaluation
• Performance Appraisal, Its Benefits and Drawbacks
• 360-Feedback Assessment System and Its Feasibility
• Ways to Measure Team Performance
• Managers’ Training Proposal
• Process and Change Management: DUCAB Manufacturing Company
• GM's Committal to People With Disabilities
• Using Crowdsourcing instead of Outsourcing
• Change Management Strategy: Verizon
• Critical Decisions Made by Rick Stallsworth

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• Writing Tips

How to Give Feedback on an Essay

4-minute read

• 9th May 2019

Whether you’re teaching or just helping a friend, being asked to offer feedback on an essay can be intimidating if you’ve not done it before. We do, though, have a few tips to share on this subject.

Content vs. Quality of Writing

There are two main things you may want to offer feedback on when reading an essay. These are:

• The content of the essay (i.e. what the author is arguing)
• How it is written (i.e. how well they communicate their argument)

The exact nature of the feedback you provide will depend on the topic and type of essay you are reading. But there are some things you might want to comment on for any paper, including:

• Spelling, grammar and punctuation errors
• Overall structure and readability
• Academic vocabulary and writing style
• Factual inaccuracies or ambiguities
• Whether the author provides evidence for their arguments
• Clarity and consistency of referencing

Ideally, you’ll provide feedback on all of these. However, if you’re simply reading the first draft of a paper to help a friend, you may want to check what kind of feedback they want.

Try, too, to balance the positive and negative feedback. It’s just as important to note things that are good as things that need clarifying. After all, if the author sees nothing but negative comments, they could be discouraged. Positive feedback, on the other hand, is a great motivator.

Comments in Margins vs. In-Depth Feedback

One way of leaving feedback is to make notes in the margins (either on paper or using the comment function in Microsoft Word). These should be short notes related to a specific issue, such as highlighting a misspelled word, an incorrect fact, or a missing citation.

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Try not to leave too many comments in the margins, though. If there is a recurring problem, such as a word that the author has repeatedly misspelled, don’t comment on it every time. Instead, leave a comment noting the pattern of errors. This highlights the issue without overwhelming the reader.

You may also want to provide overall feedback at the end of the paper. Ideally, this in-depth feedback should:

• Start positive (e.g. This is a well-researched, well-organised paper ).
• Focus on one or two major issues rather than repeating everything you commented on in the margins. If there are too many big problems to pick one or two, you may want to speak to the author in person instead.
• Provide concrete criticism on specific problems, including page or section numbers where relevant, not just general criticisms (e.g. You are missing several citations in section three, so please check… rather than just The referencing in this paper could be improved… ).

If you’re offering feedback on an essay that is currently in progress, focus on issues that the author could improve in the next draft. If you’re marking a final draft, however, you may want to focus on what they can learn from the essay’s overall strengths and weaknesses.

Marking Criteria

Finally, if you’re teaching on a university course – or even just marking papers – you should have access to the marking criteria. These will be set by the university or whoever is teaching the class. And, crucially, these guidelines will set out in detail what a good paper should do.

These criteria can also be useful when planning a paper, so it’s worth asking about the marking criteria even if you’re writing an essay rather than offering feedback! And if you’re not sure where to find the marking criteria for your course, check the university website or ask your professor.

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