Tips for Providing Critical and Constructive Feedback
Writing good feedback can be challenging but easy to accomplish with practice. Below you will find tips for providing critical and constructive feedback. You will also find examples of how a poorly written comment could be improved. These examples will help you compose more informative feedback for your peers.
1. Relate to a rubric
A rubric articulates the expectations for an assignment, and thus helps students focus their efforts on completing an assignment in line with the expectations. You, as a peer reviewer, should also use a rubric when reviewing peer’s work so you know what you are looking for and can provide feedback around requirements.
Examples of rubric-based comments:
Rather than "Conclusion needs a lot of improvement."
- “The conclusion summarizes what the paper presented in the body but it does not really identify any limitations in the actual research but simply says further research on this method would be needed.”
- “The paper flows pretty well, and then all of a sudden a completely new idea – cognitive load theory – was added in the conclusion. The paper does not clearly illustrate how the cognitive load theory is connected to the main topic of the essay.”
2. Respond as a reader, not as a writer or a judge
Pay attention to how you are responding to each part of the paper as you read it, and provide feedback from the reader’s viewpoint. If you notice gaps in logic or supporting evidences or find the language confusing, simply tell the author where it occurs and prompt him/her to come up with a solution.
Examples of comments from reader's view point:
Rather than “You should rewrite this sentence as __________.”
- "I don’t understand the use of the underlined phrase. Can you rewrite or elaborate this sentence?”
- “This sentence is confusing to me. How is it related to the main argument?”
3. Be as specific and descriptive possible
Feedback is powerful when it is specific. For example, feedback like "Great introduction!" doesn't inform which part was done well and why it is so. Similarily, "Could be done better!" doesn't give the information on what the problem is and why it is a problem.
If possible, give specific guidance or suggestions on how to deal with the problem pointed out to make it better in the next round. Asking open questions about anything that you are curious about after reading another student’s work can also be very effective to prompt him/her to think more deeply about his/her writing.
Examples of specific and descriptive comments:
Rather than “You might want to rethink the organization of the introduction.”
- “The third paragraph in the introduction seems to be a completely different line of thought. I do not quite understand how such __________ issue that appears in that paragraph is related to the essay topic. I suggest making its explicit connection to the essay topic or consider taking that paragraph out completely."
- “The national statistics in the introduction actually contradict the point in the third paragraph in the introduction.”
Rather than "I don't understand as it is vague."
- “Can you provide specific examples to support what you mean by ……?”
- "I found it difficult to locate the main argument of this essay. Could you rewrite the main thesis statement to clarify your argument?” For example, ……”
4. Carefully craft feedback with consideration and kindness
Remember you are not a judge, but a peer feedback provider. In feedback practice, writing with the "I statements" might work better. Using the "I statements" will help you focus on the problem, not on the person whose work you're reviewing. Avoid using harsh or overly critical language. If there is anything that deserves compliments, point out those strengths. Knowing what has been done well is as important as knowing what needs to be improved.
Examples of carefully crafted comments:
Rather than “You didn't support the claim you made in the writing.”
- “This writing would be stronger with the most recent statistics to back up its claims. Consider ……"
- "I lost the thread of your argument here as the information in the third paragraph does not seem to be relevant to the main thesis.”
- "I easily understood that the main claim is …… because it was written very clearly. But I am also lost because your supporting evidence presented in the third paragraph does not seem to be relevant to the main claim. "
5. Attend to major issues, avoiding nitpicking
When reading other’s work, avoid editing and rewriting. Instead, pay attention to the most important issues so as not to overwhelm the peer feedback receiver with information. Content should be the focus of feedback. For example, when you are reviewing an essay, you might ask yourself:
- What is the purpose of this paragraph? Is it clear to me?
- What evidence is being used to make the claims in the essay?
- Do any parts seem difficult to understand or logically problematic
The rubric will help you come up with the right questions to ask yourself.
References
Washington University in St. Louis (2009). Commenting on Student Writing. Retrieved from https://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/resources/writing-assignments-feedback/commenting-on-student-writing/ Links to an external site.
Brigham Young University-Idaho. Giving and Receiving Peer Feedback. Retrieved from https://courses.byui.edu/AcademicSupport/writing-center/pdf/new/giving-and-receiving-peer-feedback.pdf Links to an external site.