Applying Writing Feedback

Written by Quinn Gilman-Forlini

You turned in a paper! Hooray! Then you got that paper back, and … there were comments everywhere. 

Whether this was a first draft you have to turn in again, or a final version with a grade, receiving feedback on your writing can be overwhelming the first few times it happens. While it’s tempting to put the paper away and never think about it again, it’s worth taking time to consider how you can use your professor’s feedback to become a stronger writer. 

Some Feedback Myths, Debunked 

First, some common misconceptions about feedback. 

Myth #1: If there are a ton of comments on my paper, that means it’s terrible. 

We expect that the more comments we receive, the more things there are to “fix,” a la the dreaded red pen scribbled all over a paper. The truth is, the number of comments a professor provides doesn’t correlate with the number of “problems” your paper has. Take a closer look, and you’ll likely see there are a variety of comment types: some may offer suggestions, ask questions, provide ideas to consider based on class material, and point out good things about your paper. 

Remember that the goal of feedback is to help your writing, not tear it apart. It takes professors time and energy to provide thoughtful feedback, so in reality, receiving more comments shows that your professor cares enough to put in the effort to help you.   

Myth #2: Critical feedback means my professor thinks I’m a bad student/I don’t belong in this class.   

Writing can feel incredibly personal, even for an analytical assignment, so it’s natural for criticism to sting. But your writing is not you, and your professor’s feedback is in no way an indication of how they feel about you. So while it can be hard to do so at first, try to separate the feedback from you as a person or student (this gets easier and easier the more you do it). It’s one assignment, and even criticism should be constructive, aimed towards helping you improve. If you’re finding it difficult to consider feedback objectively, try taking a day or two away from the writing to gain some distance, or bring the feedback to a Writing Center for someone else to help you sort through it (important side note: take advantage of your school’s resources; more at that link). 

Myth #3: If my professor gives me only a little feedback, there’s nothing I can do to improve it. 

Some professors emphasize feedback more than others, so a little feedback (or none) isn’t an indication that the paper’s perfect. Some professors don’t want to spend time writing lots of feedback if they think students aren’t going to read it, so they may only offer extensive feedback to students who ask. If you feel you’d benefit from more feedback, never hesitate to ask. Most professors are happy to expand on feedback during Office Hours, and appreciate when students proactively seek help. 

Myth #4: Feedback on a graded final draft is useless, since it’s too late to change anything. 

When there’s no opportunity to turn in the assignment again, reading feedback can seem like a waste. But it isn’t. After all, you have another assignment around the corner. While it’s true that handling comments on a paper that’s graded and done with is different, that doesn’t mean you should ignore the feedback. Your professor wrote it for a reason: to help you on your next assignment. Whether on a first or final draft, read all comments, and separate them into two categories: 1) What is actionable now? and 2) What should I remember for later? Usually, feedback we receive on one paper indicates areas of our writing that could use improvement overall. So even if it’s too late to expand on your analysis for this particular paper, make a note to focus on analysis on your next one. 

How to Interpret a Professor’s Feedback 

You’re ready to read the comments. You’re going to try not to take them personally, and instead use them to improve. Now … how do you do that? 

Don’t put too much stock in the grade 

Okay, you probably peeked at the grade first (if there was one). That’s natural. But it’s important to decipher the comments themselves, since a grade is an incredibly limited and often arbitrary way to assess a paper. One professor’s B- might be another’s B+ (hopefully not, but it happens), a wide range of writing quality must fit into a single letter category, and the gap between a B (pretty good!) and an A (phenomenal!) can be a chasm impossible to cross over the course of a single semester. Professors (usually) have to put a grade on assignments, but receiving pages of feedback is much more indicative of how you’re doing than a single letter. 

Not every comment is created equal 

Imagine you received 3 comments. One’s about a comma splice, one reminds you to add a transition, and one suggests reconsidering your argument. At first glance, it seems like you have 3 things to fix. You fix the splice (easy!), add the transition (not too bad), and then you’re left staring at the last comment: a whole new argument? Where to begin? 

These 3 comments indicate very different levels of importance. Before you start crossing to-do’s off your revision checklist, take time to evaluate whether each comment suggests a global revision (higher-order), or a local revision (lower-order). 

Global revision has to do with content and ideas, while local revision is about sentence-level concerns. Global-level suggestions are the most important to address, and to address first, since substance in your paper is more important than style. You may not have time to change everything before your paper’s due (that’s okay), so you want to invest your time in global revision. If you turn in a paper with an insightful, nuanced argument and a few grammatical errors, that’s going to pay off much more than a paper with a bare-bones thesis and spotless grammar. 

The order of comments isn’t a ranking of their importance

It’s natural to place more emphasis on the feedback we read first, but comments near the beginning of the paper aren’t necessarily the most important ones. The order of comments is only related to where something appears in your paper, not how important it is to address. In fact, sometimes comments at the end may be the most important, since by that point your professor has the context of the entire paper and their feedback may build on what’s come before. 

That’s why it’s important to…

Look at the paper as a whole first, before diving into particulars 

When you’re setting out to revise, it’s appealing to start at the top and work your way through the comments one by one, making changes as you go. But it’s crucial to understand the big picture first: What is your professor suggesting for your paper overall? If you don’t have a sense of that larger vision, your revised paper may end up feeling disjointed. And you’ll stay much more organized if you work from the biggest changes (global) to the smallest ones (local), rather than simply from top to bottom.  

Try it! “Comment to Comment” exercise: 

This exercise will help you interpret and assess your professor’s comments, so you can go into the revision process with confidence.  

First, read through your professor’s comments once without writing anything down while also rereading your paper, so you can take in the bigger picture. Then, go back to the beginning and reread each comment. This time, for every comment from your professor, add a reply. (You can add replies to the “Tracking Changes” function in Word or add comments in Google Docs or whatever software your professor uses.) As you reply, consider the following: 

• Do you understand this comment? In your own words, what is your professor saying? Do you have question(s) about how it applies to your paper? (If you don’t understand a comment, ask your professor!) 

• Do you agree with this comment? Remember it’s okay to disagree with feedback. Maybe your professor is off-base about what you wanted to say. That doesn’t mean you have to shift directions—it may mean clarifying your point instead. In your reply, explain why you agree or disagree. 

• Do you have ideas about how to address this comment? What’s your current plan? 

• Are there any other comments or sections of this paper that this comment relates to? Does this comment suggest looking elsewhere in the paper for similar issues? 

• If you were having a conversation with your professor, what else might you say?  

Reply with whatever feels relevant. For each comment, your goal is to: 1) assess how well you understand the feedback, and 2) determine your revision plans and priorities. 

Why this exercise is so helpful: 

This exercise will help you see feedback as a dialogue with your professor, rather than a one-sided transaction. You’ll be an active participant in your revision plan and retain ownership over your writing, instead of blindly following whatever your professor says (even if you don’t understand it!). You’ll also begin to notice patterns of similar comments, indicating areas you particularly want to work on. Finally, you’ll not only become a stronger writer, but a stronger reviser. As they say, (almost) all writing is rewriting. 

Coming Up With a Revision Plan 

Now that you’ve sorted through the comments, interpreted feedback, and asked your questions, it’s time to dive into changes, right? 

Well, no. Almost. First, take a few minutes to write a plan. Revision involves juggling lots of moving pieces, so making a checklist will help you stay on track. 

1. Make a list of everything you want to change, grouping similar comments together. Translate the feedback into actionable items. If there were three comments about sharpening topic sentences, make that one item with a list of page numbers or places in the paper where you want to address that. 

2. Sort your planned changes from global to local. Organize your list from the biggest changes to the smallest. For example, you might revise your argument first, then the main ideas of each paragraph, then your use of sources, then your organization, then sentence structure. Plan to check spelling and punctuation last. 

3. Write out your revision mission statement. What are your main goals in revising this paper? Why are you doing this work? Do you hope these changes will make your argument more sophisticated, add clarity to your ideas, create balance between evidence and analysis? Specific goals will help your revision feel purposeful. When you’re finished, check your mission statement to see if you met your goals. 

4. Open a new document. Though hacking away at your draft sounds appealing, beginning with a blank page will help you stay less attached to your old version. It’ll also ensure you keep your original paper intact in case you need to reference something later. Copy and paste parts of your draft over to the new document as needed, though keep in mind it’s sometimes more useful to rewrite problematic parts of your paper instead of wrestling with the original (in fact, sometimes it’s faster to rewrite an entire paragraph while incorporating comments rather than trying to shoehorn changes into what you already have—so be wary of being attached to old drafts or ideas). 

5. Don’t do it all in one night. Revision takes time. Even with a plan, you’ll likely find new ideas come as you work. Allow yourself the space to adapt to a shape-shifting work-in-progress over multiple days. If you don’t have that time, even taking breaks every hour or so can help your mind process changes.  

Find a Method That Works for You 

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to utilizing feedback. Over time, you’ll develop practices that you find most effective. Maybe you need a couple days to marinate on your professor’s feedback before coming up with a revision plan. Or perhaps you benefit from meeting with your professor to go through their feedback together. No matter how you proceed, remember that feedback is there to guide you. It’s easy to get lost in your own writing. Feedback can help you find your way. 

Special thanks to Quinn Gilman-Forlini for writing this post and contributing to other College Writing Center resources