Prompts for Straub’s “Responding to Other Students’ Writing”

What type of tone does Straub recommend you take when responding to another student’s work?

How, according to Straub, do you decide what to comment on?

15 thoughts on “Prompts for Straub’s “Responding to Other Students’ Writing”

  1. Straub recommended you should be a friendly reader but also at the same time don’t just tell them what they want to hear. You should be supportive and at the same time honest. Give the person the benefit and doubt when reading over their work.

    According to Straub, you should try to focus on a couple areas on the writing. Pay attention to the most important parts. Get familar with the concept of the writing before making corrections. For example paragraph structure and sentence style.

  2. In “Responding to Other Students’ Writing”, Richard Straub gives multiple suggestions on how to respond and edit other classmate’s work. One of the great examples he gives is to take a constructive but friendly approach. He is telling the student to respond as a student and not to imitate the teacher. As a fellow student, one shouldn’t try and change every little piece of the writing. It is very important to pay attention to what draft this writing is. If it is the early stages of the writing, don’t expect it to be perfect.

    According to Straub, you should comment from the your own natural reaction during your reading. It is important to comment from your initial reaction rather than commenting for the sake of commenting. Straub stresses a great point, you’re not the writer, you’re the reader. This writing isn’t your writing to mark up and rewrite everything. It is important to give suggestions and help the writer but not to overtake the writing. When deciding on what to comment on it is key to ask yourself questions. These can be as simple as “what kind of writing is it?” or what is the writer trying to accomplish? By using these type of methods to edit others’ writing, in the end can help yourself with you’re own writing.

  3. According to Straub, he suggests that you set a constructive tone when editing a peer’s or anyone’s work. At first, he says to sound like the teacher. Then he later mentions if you’re editing a friend or roommates work and you want to put effort into it, you should sound how you normally would if you were speaking to them directly. Make it constructive, yet don’t make it sound like a judge or a critic.

    According to Straub, he says it’s appropriate to comment in the margins throughout the reading which allows you to leave quick notes next to the piece of writing you’re talking about. He suggests leaving a comment at the end to emphasize key points in the writing as well, without having to make a summary of all your comments.

  4. In “Responding To Other Students’ Writing,” Richard Straub sheds light on “paper editing,”an activity that is typically perceived as dismal and mundane; in doing so, he reveals a side that appears more benign than one would ever suppose. As spoken for in the text, when the teacher utters the word, “editing,” it is fairly common to hear a few faint groans in the back of the classroom, highlighting the uneasiness of whats to come next. Straub directly addresses this consensus among students by deriving the problem to a feeling that stems from the possibility of offending the writer. It is because of this issue, that Straub seems to believe that the tone of the comments are the most crucial aspect of editing. He corroborates his idea of tone by suggesting the editor to not necessarily be cutthroat, but to also not be too friendly to a point where the writer will not be able to learn value from your perspective. To achieve this fine balance, Straub believes one should implement constructive criticism, and to not always worry about being nice. Through this, the editor will be able to develop a tone of not only professionalism, but one coupled with humility.

    Because Straub provides us with a plethora of advice on how to assess tone, and format comments, it would be unreasonable to omit a portion of writing devoted to the process of deciding what to comment on. As expected though, Straub delivers by touching on specific points, providing guidelines, and detailing what instances call for a comment and why. He starts by laying out a guideline, noting that one should identify the assignment; determine whether it meets the objectives of the assignment; contemplate what the goals of the writing is and assess if the writer is meeting these; then finally, to hone in on these standards. If any features of the writing, whether it be ideas, or grammatical nuances, fit these standards, then one should formulate a concise, respectful but also constructive comment on the matter.

  5. In Richard Straub’s “Responding to Other Students’ Writing,” he recommends that you should take on a friendly but constructive tone when giving feedback on another student’s writing. He says, “consider yourself a friendly reader who doesn’t set out to seek and destroy all errors and problems in the writing” but at the same time, “you should not lead them to think that all is fine and well when it’s not. Look to help the person get a better piece of writing by pointing to problems and areas for improvement in a constructive way.” A great piece of advice Straub gives in order to be able to do this is to remember to not see yourself as “an editor, judge, critic, shot gun, teacher, cruise missile or the writer” but simply as a reader who seeks to not “cover everything that comes up or even all instances of a given problem.”

    According to Straub, you begin deciding on what to comment on by letting the writer know what your first immediate reaction was when reading their text and keeping firmly in mind “the circumstances or context of the writing, the situation it is looking to create, the terms of the assignment, the writer’s particular interests and aims, the genre of writing, the work you’ve been doing in class” and whether it is “a rough draft or a final draft.” He says you should make a mental note of the intended “purpose and audience” of the text and pay attention to the intended tone-whether it be “serious or casual, straight or ironic.” With these in mind, Straub says then you should “address issues that are most important to address in the paper at that time” by “focusing on a couple of areas of writing by glancing through the paper quickly first then getting an idea whether you’ll deal mostly with the over-all content and purpose of the writing, its shape and flow, or local matters of paragraph structure, sentence style, and correctness.”

  6. 1- The tone that Straub recommends you to take when responding to a student’s work is to be a reader. Straub illustrates that the reader is not the writer. The reader can only critique, give advice or give some examples of what the reader might want to be added. The reader should write suggestions and comments on the margins and perhaps at the end of the essay. These examples and suggestions should not be in a strict tone that sounds like a teacher or a judge, it should be from a friend or a colleague that is trying to give constructive criticism to guide the writer. The reader should also keep in mind what draft they are reading and determine the level of criticism. If it is a first draft, the reader should focus on the structure and the general focus of the essay not spelling errors.

    2- Straub explains in “Responding To Other Student’s Writing” that the reader should be very careful what to comment on. If the reader notices examples or structural problems they should be noted and explained, to help guide the writer. This can be done by asking the writer questions to elaborate on a particular point that might lead the writer to a better thought process that can directly enhance the essay without the reader rewriting the essay.

  7. Well according to Straub it is important to not sound critical or like a “judge”, but to choose a tone that reflects how you ordinarily speak. Make it personal and not sound like a teacher. Be supportive and respond simply as a reader and not someone who is trying to fix or alter the writing. Be their friend first and compliment the work and point out all the good things within the writing and when you do go on to give your helpful pointers make it pleasant sounding and not like your barking or upset in the way you say it.
    How, according to Straub, do you decide what to comment on?
    Straub suggest we focus on “the content and development” of the piece of witting in line with the assignment. You want to make sure your comments are clear and consider and very detailed. Leave the minor details and revising to the author and focus on the meat of the essay unless the flaw alters the point they are trying to make. And if the point is unclear it is always okay to ask the writer to elaborate or speak more on a certain topic. This can prompt the writer to perhaps come up with a better example of their point or to simply dive deeper into the topic they are writing about.

  8. Basically Straub wants you to take an approach that strays from sounding too disciplinary. He wants you to speak in a tone that makes the comments and suggestions sound casual as if having a regular conversation with a friend. In addition Straub doesn’t want you to tell them what they want to hear or be to lenient but instead be critical by pointing specific spots where improvement might be needed. You want to offer suggestions that push the writer to their fullest extent in an attempt to help them display their full ability in whatever it is you are critiquing.

    Straub mentions that prior to the reading take some time to understand the writers audience. This allows you to get into a mood where you fully understand the context in which the writer is speaking. I felt this was important because it affects what you’re looking for which spirals into what you comment on. Aside from that Straub states that you want to look for stuff like structure, purpose and correctness. Structure implies paragraph structure, shape and flow, sentence style. Secondly, Purpose simply means the purpose of the writing. Lastly, correctness refers to certain aspects of grammar and punctuality. Straub states that you want to comment of things that are relevant to that paper at that moment.

  9. Straub recommends that we respond in our natural way. He talks about speaking our mind as critics and expressing exactly how we feel to the writer. This is the best way for the writer to improve him/herself. But Straub emphasizes methods to do so. He mentions to suggest alternatives rather than force it upon the writer. Forcing it upon the writer may repell the writer from taking the suggestion. But if you put the alternative on the table for the writer to take if he’d like to use it, that would be a different story.

    You comment on things you believe can be ASSISTED rather than REWRITTEN. Because Straub emphasizes that we should know our place as readers, and that we are READING what a WRITER wrote, we should not tell them how to write. We can however, offer our input and leave it to them to decide upon how to take that input, whether its with action or with enlightenment.

  10. Straub reccomend to take the tone of a “friend or acquaintance” (139). He advises not trying to sound like a figure of authority because you are not the individual grading the paper, your are just trying to help and be “supportive” of the writer (which he says you can still be even if you are critiquing their work.

    According to Straub, you decide what to comment on by making yourself a “mental checklist” (137) of thjngs you are expecting to come across in the writing. This way of reading helps you understand the “circumstances” that the draft was written in and also help you know what to focus on while reading. It is not effective to try and fix every little detail of another persons writing, it is more important to “address issues that are most important” (139) because it will help the writer Understand what is being understood or taken away after their writing has been read. The “mental checklist” also helps the reader focus more on what the assignment is asking as opposed to the writers “interests and aims” (138).

  11. “Not like a teacher. Not like a judge.” The author makes sure to point out that we should never be too strict, because we wouldnt want to sound like a critic. We should give friendpy critiques and act as if we’re having a conversation with the writer.
    The author gives us a few clues on what to comment on; The assignment – comment on the type of essay and how they achieved it. The writers interests and aims- what they were trying to accomplish. And the Draft- keeping in mind if its the first or second draft anf the level the paper is at

  12. Straub states that while editing your tone should be casual. You should not act as a teacher or as an editor as you are not one. Your tone should not be critical or serious, “Sound like you normally sound when speaking to a friend or acquaintance.” You should always be supportive regardless of what you comment or think. Straub mentions how when critiquing someone’s writing it is not your place to change the writing as you are the reader not the writer. You may strongly urge the writing to make slight changes but your tone should continue to stay casual as your job is not to intimidate the writer.
    Before you begin to comment Straub suggests to skim through the writing first, it’s relevant to know what the writing will generally be about and how the writing itself flows. The next suggestion is to make out full comments opposed to a few words, make your advice clear to the writer. You should comment by placing questions throughout the writing as well as elaborating on them by asking follow up questions. Straub says to praise the writer as well when commenting, but only a certain amount of praise should be given to the writer, to prevent straying away from criticism.

  13. When giving someone feedback on their paper, Straub recommends that you take into account what you are reading, and also the circumstances. If it is a draft, there is no need to ‘go hard’ on all the punctuation errors, and spelling mistakes. Straub urges readers to keep in mind that they are not editors, but rather readers that are giving honest feedback. Straub recommends that you keep a happy tone. One that offers honest feedback while also being supportive, and encouraging.

    Straub recommends that you leave comments in the margins, as you read, in order to give the writer an idea of how you perceived the writing as you were reading it. Straub also recommends that a letter be written to the writer, when you have finished reading the work as a whole. This will help the writer to get an idea of how you see the writing after you have taken everything into account.

  14. Starub responds that you shouldn’t sound like you above the person that you are responding. You are not above the person in any sort of way so there is no point of trying to sound like you know more than him/her. He says to try and have a tone of a friend who is trying to help you that is the best way to help the writer whose work you are reading as he wont deny the suggestions you are making.

    He says that you should keep in mind while reading the peace what you want to look and the mistakes you think will come up while reading the peace. He also says that we should comment on things that we can help with not things that we think need to be completely changed because we dont like it.

  15. Straub recommends that we should be friendly and comfortable while editing to other students writing. He says you’re not the writer in this situation, you’re the reader. Although you aren’t the writer, you can still make small suggestions. You have to be respectful while giving reviews and recommendations.

    You first make a mental checklist, according to Straub. You have to make sure whatever you read fits into the checklist. If it doesn’t then you start writing a recommendation for what isn’t on the checklist. Make sure you comment if the overall flow is solid. The writing cannot be all over the place.

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