Offering Effective Comments on Student Papers:
When making marginal comments in the body of the paper:
When you are ready to write final comments at the end of the student's paper:
Remember that students usually see these end-of-the-paper comments as justification of the grade.
In writing commenting on papers, teachers should be careful to avoid:
When making marginal comments in the body of the paper:
- Balance advice and criticism with praise;
- Be clear in your comments. For example, don't just put a question mark if you have a question; spell out your question. If reasoning is faulty, tell the student what is wrong and give some direction for revision;
- Keep them short--single sentences or phrases;
- Create a system for marking errors, and keep these notations separate from marginal comments;
- Ensure your comments reflect your priorities;
- Ask for more information on a point the student makes;
- Mirror or rephrase the student's ideas in a nonjudgmental way;
- Share personal information about times when you have felt or thought similarly;
- Respond to patterns in errors that are made;
- Offer guidance for where and how the student can find sources and ways to address any repeated grammatical errors;
- Explain good elements to reinforce good writing practices.
When you are ready to write final comments at the end of the student's paper:
- Document the strengths and weaknesses of the paper;
- Let students know whether they responded appropriately to the assignment;
- Encourage and discourage specific writing behaviors;
- Set specific goals for the student to meet in future writing assignments or revision of the current writing assignment;
- Focus on general qualities, presenting your impression of the paper as a whole;
- Maintain a serious yet interested tone;
- Avoid using unnecessary or excessive negative or inappropriate comments.
Remember that students usually see these end-of-the-paper comments as justification of the grade.
In writing commenting on papers, teachers should be careful to avoid:
- Writing no comments: students may wonder whether the instructor read the paper or think their grade was due to your mood or personality;
- Offering vague and sparse comments: the student is left to puzzle over the purpose, tone and the implications of these fragmented words or symbols;
- Offering too many comments: students become discouraged or confused about what is most important for them to attend to in revision or the next paper;
- Changing the student's text: students learn more from rewriting ineffective or problematic passages themselves, even if it takes them several tries.
- Responding to grammar only: students learn nothing about global elements of writing, such as purpose and organization; students also do not learn to recognize and correct errors on their own.
- Writing only negative comments: students become discouraged, thinking they did nothing right.
