Positive Feedback After Reading the Description Paper

What this handout is virtually

Sometimes you'd like feedback from someone else virtually your writing, but you may not be sure how to get it. This handout describes when, where, how and from whom you might receive constructive responses equally you lot develop every bit a author.

Why go feedback on your writing?

You'll get a better writer, and writing will become a less painful process. When might you demand feedback? You might be simply start a paper and desire to talk to someone else about your ideas. You lot might be midway through a draft and find that you are unsure well-nigh the management you've decided to accept. Y'all might wonder why you lot received a lower grade than you expected on a paper, or y'all might not understand the comments that a TA or professor has written in the margins. Substantially, 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 y'all understand the assignment and/or are making yourself understood. Past seeking feedback from others, you are taking positive, constructive steps to meliorate 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 remember about a piece of writing because they have a sneaking suspicion that the news will not be good. If y'all want to improve your writing, notwithstanding, constructive criticism from others will aid. Remember that the criticism yous receive is only criticism of the writing and not of the writer.
You don't know whom to ask. The person who tin offer the most constructive feedback on your writing may vary depending on when you lot need the feedback and what kind of feedback y'all need. Continue in listen, though, that if you are really concerned about a piece of writing, almost any thoughtful reader (e.g., your roommate, female parent, R.A., brother, etc.) tin can provide useful feedback that will assistance y'all improve your writing. Don't wait for the proficient; share your writing oft and with a variety of readers.
Yous don't know how to enquire. It can be bad-mannered to ask for feedback, even if y'all know whom you want to ask. Request someone, "Could you accept a wait at my paper?" or "Could you lot tell me if this is OK?" tin sometimes elicit wonderfully rich responses. Usually, though, y'all demand to be specific about where y'all are in the writing process and the kind of feedback that would help. You lot might say, "I'g really struggling with the organization of this paper. Could you read these paragraphs and run across if the ideas seem to be in the right order?"
Y'all don't want to take up your teacher's time. You may be hesitant to become to your professor or TA to talk about your writing considering you don't desire to bother him or her. The function hours that these decorated people set bated, though, are reserved for your do good, because the teachers on this campus want to communicate with students well-nigh their ideas and their work. Faculty can be particularly generous and helpful with their communication when you lot drop by their office with specific questions and know the kinds of assist y'all need. If you tin can't run across during the instructor's function 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 once more. Enquire a different person, or inquire for feedback in a new way. Experiment with asking for feedback at different stages in the writing process: when you are just beginning an consignment, when you take a draft, or when y'all recall yous are finished. Figure out when you benefit from feedback the most, the kinds of people y'all go the best feedback from, the kinds of feedback you demand, and the ways to ask for that feedback effectively.
Yous're working remotely and aren't sure how to solicit aid. Help tin feel "out of sight, out of mind" when working remotely, so information technology 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 do good you virtually? Video conferencing, electronic mail correspondence, telephone chat, 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 chat, or would it be more helpful to take written feedback to refer to as yous 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 assist provide a source of feedback?

Possible writing moments for feedback

There is no "best time" to go feedback on a piece of writing. In fact, it is oft helpful to enquire for feedback at several different stages of a writing projection. Listed beneath are some parts of the writing process and some kinds of feedback you might need in each. Continue in mind, though, that every author is dissimilar—you might recollect about these issues at other stages of the writing process, and that'due south fine.

The first/thought stage: Practise I understand the assignment? Am I gathering the right kinds of information to reply this question? Are my strategies for approaching this assignment constructive ones? How can I detect the best way to develop my early ideas into a feasible draft?
Outline/thesis: I accept an idea nearly what I want to argue, only I'm not sure if it is an appropriate or complete response to this assignment. Is the mode I'yard planning to organize my ideas working? Does it look like I'm covering all the bases? Practice I take a clear principal point? Do I know what I want to say to the reader?
Crude draft: Does my paper brand sense, and is it interesting? Accept I proven my thesis statement? Is the evidence I'm using convincing? Is it explained clearly? Have I given the reader plenty information? Does the data seem to be in the correct club? What tin I say in my introduction and decision?
Early on polished draft: Are the transitions between my ideas smooth and effective? Do my sentences make sense individually? How's my writing fashion?
Late or final polished draft: Are there whatsoever noticeable spelling or grammer errors? Are my margins, footnotes, and formatting okay? Does the paper seem effective? Is in that location 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 form I did? What else might I have washed to strengthen this newspaper? What can I learn as a writer almost this writing experience? What should I practise the side by side time I have to write a paper?

A note on request for feedback later on a newspaper has been graded

Many people go to encounter their TA or professor afterward they receive a paper back with comments and a form attached. If you seek feedback later your paper is returned to you, information technology makes sense to wait 24 hours before scheduling a coming together to talk near it. If you are angry or upset about a grade, the 24-hour interval off gives y'all time to calm down and put things in perspective. More than important, taking a day off allows you to read through the instructor'southward comments and recollect near why you received the form that you did. You lot might underline or circle comments that were confusing to you and then that you can ask about them subsequently. You will also have an opportunity to reread your own writing and evaluate it more critically yourself. After all, you lot probably haven't seen this work since you handed it in a week or more ago, and refreshing your memory about its merits and weaknesses might assist you make more than sense of the course and the instructor'southward comments.

Also, be prepared to separate the discussion of your course from the discussion of your development as a writer. It is hard to take a productive meeting that achieves both of these goals. You lot may have very good reasons for meeting with an instructor to debate for a better course, and having that kind of discussion is completely legitimate. Be very clear with your teacher virtually your goals. Are you coming together to contest the grade your paper received and explain why you think the paper deserved a higher one? Are you lot meeting because you don't empathize why your paper received the form it did and would like clarification? Or are you meeting because you want to utilize this newspaper and the instructor's comments to larn more virtually how to write in this detail discipline and do better on future written piece of work? Existence upward front about these distinctions can help you and your instructor know what to expect from the conference and avoid any defoliation between the event of grading and the effect of feedback.

Kinds of feedback to ask for

Asking for a specific kind of feedback can exist the best fashion to get communication that you tin use. Retrieve about what kinds of topics you lot want to talk over and what kinds of questions you lot want to ask:

Agreement the assignment: Do I understand the chore? How long should it exist? What kinds of sources should I be using? Do I have to answer all of the questions on the assignment canvas or are they only prompts to get me thinking? Are some parts of the assignment more of import than other parts?
Factual content: Is my understanding of the course material accurate? Where else could I await for more information?
Interpretation/analysis: Do I have a betoken? Does my argument brand sense? Is it logical and consequent? Is it supported by sufficient evidence?
Organization: Are my ideas in a useful order? Does the reader need to know anything else upward front end? Is there another way to consider ordering this information?
Flow: Do I have proficient transitions? Does the introduction ready the reader for what comes afterward? Exercise my topic sentences accurately reflect the content of my paragraphs? Can the reader follow me?
Style: Comments on earlier papers can assist you identify writing style issues that y'all might want to wait out for. Is my writing style appealing? Practise I utilize the passive voice too oftentimes? Are there too many "to be" verbs?
Grammer: Just equally with fashion, comments on earlier papers will help you identify grammatical "problem spots." Am I using commas correctly? Exercise I have bug with subject-verb agreement?
Small errors: Is everything spelled right? Are at that place any typos?

Possible sources of feedback and what they're proficient for

Yourself

Believe it or not, you can learn to be your own best reader, specially if y'all practice reading your work critically. Kickoff, remember nigh writing problems that yous know you take had in the by. Await over old papers for clues. Then, give yourself some critical altitude from your writing by setting it aside for a few hours, overnight, or even for a couple of days. Come up dorsum to it with a fresh eye, and you will be better able to offering yourself feedback. Finally, be witting of what you are reading for. You may detect that you accept to read your draft several times—perhaps once for content, once for organisation and transitions, and in one case for style and grammar. If you need feedback on a specific issue, such every bit passive vocalisation, yous may demand to read through the draft one time alone focusing on that issue. Any yous do, don't count yourself out as a source of feedback. Recall that ultimately you lot intendance the most and volition be held responsible for what appears on the page. Information technology'due south your paper.

A classmate (a familiar and knowledgeable reader)

When y'all need feedback from another person, a classmate tin can be an excellent source. A classmate knows the course material and can help you brand certain 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 before work for the grade, building your knowledge base nearly what the teacher 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 bailiwick of your paper. Your TA is also either the primary teacher of the grade or a member of the didactics team, then he or she probably had a mitt in selecting the source materials, writing the assignment, and setting upwardly the grading scheme. No 1 knows what the TA is looking for on the paper better than the TA , and virtually of the TAs on campus would be happy to talk with you lot most your newspaper.

Your professor (a very skilful reader)

Your professor is the nigh expert reader you lot can find. He or she has a Ph.D. in the subject that y'all are studying, and probably also wrote the assignment, either lonely or with help from TAs. Similar your TA, your professor can be the all-time source for information about what the instructor is looking for on the newspaper and may be your all-time guide in developing into a stiff academic author.

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

It can be very helpful to get feedback from someone who doesn't know anything well-nigh your newspaper topic. These readers, because they are unfamiliar with the discipline thing, often ask questions that help you realize what you need to explain further or that push y'all to recall nearly the topic in new means. They can also offer helpful general writing communication, letting you know if your paper is clear or your argument seems well organized, for instance. Enquire them to read your paper and so summarize for yous what they recollect its main points are.

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

While the Writing Center staff may not accept specialized knowledge nearly your paper topic, our writing coaches are trained to assistance you with your writing needs. Nosotros cannot edit or proofread for yous, but we tin can help you place bug and accost them at whatever stage of the writing process. The Writing Center'southward coaches run across thousands of students each year and are familiar with all kinds of writing assignments and writing dilemmas.

Other kinds of resources

If y'all want feedback on a writing assignment and can't observe a real live person to read information technology for you, in that location are other places to turn. Check out the Writing Center's handouts. These resource tin can give you tips for proofreading your own work, making an argument, using commas and transitions, and more. You tin can too endeavor the spell/grammar checker on your computer. This shouldn't exist your main source of feedback, but it may be helpful.

A word virtually feedback and plagiarism

Request 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 lot can go legally. Nigh 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 manner to avoid plagiarism is to write by yourself with your books closed. (For more on this topic, see our handout on plagiarism.)

What to practice with the feedback y'all 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 desire to run across you develop them to their fullest past improving your writing.
By the same token, don't feel that your paper is garbage if the instructor DIDN'T write much on information technology. Some graders simply write more than others practise, and sometimes your instructors are too busy to spend a great deal of time writing comments on each individual newspaper.
If yous receive feedback earlier the newspaper is due, think about what yous can and tin can't do earlier the borderline. Yous sometimes take to triage your revisions. By all ways, if you retrieve y'all have major changes to make and you lot have time to make them, go for information technology. But if you have two other papers to write and all 3 are due tomorrow, y'all may take to decide that your thesis or your arrangement is the biggest effect and but focus on that. The paper might non exist perfect, just you can learn from the experience for the adjacent assignment.
Read ALL of the feedback that you go. Many people, when receiving a paper dorsum from their TA or professor, will but look at the grade and not read the comments written in the margins or at the end of the newspaper. Even if yous received a satisfactory grade, information technology makes sense to advisedly read all of the feedback you become. Doing then may assistance you come across patterns of mistake in your writing that you need to address and may help you improve your writing for time to come papers and for other classes.
If you don't understand the feedback you receive, past all means ask the person who offered information technology. Feedback that you don't understand is feedback that you lot cannot benefit from, so ask for clarification when y'all need information technology. Think that the person who gave you the feedback did and then because they genuinely wanted to convey data to you that would help you become a improve writer. They wouldn't want you to be confused and will exist happy to explain their comments farther if you lot ask.
Ultimately, the paper you volition plough in will be your own. You have the terminal responsibility for its course and content. Take the responsibility for beingness the concluding judge of what should and should non be done with your essay.
Only because someone says to change something most your paper doesn't hateful you should. Sometimes the person offering feedback tin misunderstand your assignment or make a proffer that doesn't seem to brand sense. Don't follow those suggestions blindly. Talk near them, think nearly other options, and decide for yourself whether the advice you lot received was useful.

Terminal thoughts

Finally, we would encourage you lot to recollect about feedback on your writing as a style to help you develop improve writing strategies. This is the philosophy of the Writing Centre. Don't look at private bits of feedback such as "This paper was desperately organized" as evidence that you ever organize ideas poorly. Think instead near the long haul. What writing process led you to a disorganized newspaper? What kinds of papers practise you lot have organization problems with? What kinds of organization problems are they? What kinds of feedback accept yous received about system in the past? What can you do to resolve these bug, not just for one paper, but for all of your papers? The Writing Heart tin assist yous with this process. Strategy-oriented thinking will help you get from being a author who writes disorganized papers and and so 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.

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You may reproduce it for not-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Eye, University of Northward Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Source: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/getting-feedback/