I instantly recall familiarity in response to the sentence of ‘just wanting to get it over with’. I often want to get reviewing papers over with. I feel as if they won’t truly value my opinion, and that my opinion is often not worth giving. I am also often scared of being too pushy. I want to be supportive; I don’t want to bring anyone down. People’s writing often feels very personal to them, whether or not the subject is personal to them (if it is then even more so) so I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I am very careful with my words and I often venture too far in the realm of ‘everything’s great!’. I want to be helpful, but I don’t want to overstep my boundaries. What comment is too much? What is too unnecessary? Which suggestions are helpful to me as a peer advisor and not as a teacher, or a grader, or real critic? My harshness or seriousness in depth of my comments depends on what stage of writing the paper is currently at. I always keep in mind if it is a rough draft versus a final draft. If it is a rough draft I will make many comments and if it is a final draft I will make many comments, however the nature of the comments differs. If it is a rough draft I will make a lot of broader comments on the structure of the paragraphs or things that I would like to hear more of. If it is a final draft it would be more finishing touches, respecting the person’s stylistic choices for what they want to do with their paper. I learned from this paper to be more specific, as I always thought the short and sweet message was preferred but I realize that if you are going to be talking about something as sensitive as someone’s writing one should take the care to properly explain their opinion, you owe them that much, at least.
2 thoughts on “Responding to other Students Writing”
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I can relate to the latter part of your response. I, too, always thought that keeping my comments brief on paper will clue the writer in as too when something sounds awkward or lacks detail and leave it up to him or her to interpret what to do with it. I see now that adding suggestions and thoroughly explaining the reason for critique is very important for the writer because it allows him or her to make changes accordingly. I also thought that my peers would feel discouraged if they saw many sentences throughout their paper, but I see now how that might be helpful.
I like your honesty in your response , I feel like everyone has had moments like this before honestly. I never want to be insensitive or discourage anyone as well. But just like your response, honesty is the best way to help someone improve or see a problem in their writing that they didn’t notice before. Who knows your feedback could turn a b- paper to an A.