Written Feedback
Students need concrete, handwritten feedback to improve their academic writing. Doctoral students, at least those with a good advisor, receive detailed written feedback. During my Ph.D. studies, my supervisors returned my assignments covered with helpful corrections, which I slowly assimilated into my writing. If a native English speaker with fifteen years of American schooling needs high-quality feedback, what about non-native English speakers?
When my husband was writing his dissertation at Princeton University, his advisors, classmates, and friends proofread drafts, writing comments and corrections that he typed into his documents. This process highlighted Nikolas' mistakes, many of which were linked to his Greek writing style, and introduced him to phrases and structures that he still uses today.
Based on this and many additional experiences with non-native English writers, I strongly believe that students need and deserve high-quality written feedback on their academic writing. The Writing Center at San José State University agrees. In her helpful guide titled “Providing Feedback on Student Writing,” Sara Cook explains that “the quantity of in-text marks matters.” She asserts that a lack of “in-text grammatical, mechanical, or stylistic marks” falsely communicates success.
A common pitfall of feedback is its vagueness, such as overusing "awk" for poorly written sentences. My students bristle when they see “awk” in the margins because they cannot diagnose the cause. If you don’t want students turning to AI, give them concrete examples to improve their writing. In order for students to become better writers, they must understand the mistakes they are making. More importantly, they need to repeatedly find and fix the problems. It is only with constant practice that writers develop rhythms and habits.
The following example from Sara Cook’s handbook shows how adding a little more detail to comments will help a student understand the mistake:
Of course, students need help understanding that “mm” stands for misplaced modifier. I plan to tackle that in a future blog explaining all those fun squiggles and shorthands we use to proofread and edit. [Is this getting a little too nerdy?]
Unfortunately, Sara Cook’s advice is rarely followed, and my opinion is decidedly out of fashion. Writing centers in the United States have embraced “minimal marking,” where tutors identify and communicate global problems without giving suggestions or edits. I believe this trend emerges not from the needs of students but from the increased teacher workloads and packed classrooms.
In any case, concrete feedback helps all writers grow and improve. If you have the time, reflect on your own feedback style and consider finding ways to add more explanation.