What are the most valuable types or strategies of commentary you've seen?
For most academic assignments, I prefer direct and specific comments that clearly illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of my writing--what Lanham describes as comments that look "at" the text. That doesn't always translate into liking the comments themselves, and sometimes they are hard to read from a "feelings" standpoint, but I know that the negative feedback ("constructive criticism"??) highlights areas I need to address and weaknesses I must overcome. On the other hand, I take pride in the occasional "well written" notation and strive to model those structures or that style in future assignments. Conversational comments about the content of the text, feedback gleaned from the reader's ability to look "through" the text, are also helpful. These comments may not be as directed or specific, but notes, questions, and dialogue can still yield pragmatic and thought-provoking direction.
From a teaching standpoint, I try to provide more "looking through the text" comments with my students, but I am not always successful. The pull to the "dark side" of marking errors and making sentence level comments is sometimes difficult to overcome! Additionally, I find that many students get overwhelmed when they see a lot of writing from their instructor on the page. Many simply choose not to read feedback. In the end, I suppose I vacillate on my approach based on feedback from classes or even individual students.
As a side note, I think technology has made a difference in how I create and perceive feedback. I don't use electronic feedback frequently yet, but I like the MSWord mark-up tool. I do not know all of the intricacies of this tool, but I like how the program allows the editor to pinpoint areas and create legible comments. For me, there is something about typing the comment that seems more formal and maybe encourages me to look at a document differently. Seeing the document in print, providing feedback that will be saved electronically, knowing that no matter how many times the "delete" key is struck the comments are permanently archived somewhere makes me weigh my words more carefully. (Terrible sentence opener, I know! Maybe I'll play with it later). From the writer's standpoint, the editor's comments seem more objective and detached in some regards, and for the writer, maybe that makes them easier to read. I know they are neither detached nor mechanical, but their neat, orderly presentation seems to lend more authority than opinion. If it's in print, it must be true??
What worked or didn't work on comments offered by Dr. Rice?
I appreciate the comments that Dr. Rice offered and the format in which they were presented. He provided some good direction for sentence level revision as well as questions and statements that will aid in content revision. The questions clearly require addressing changes in content. "Can't journals be for external audiences though?" points to an obvious void in my text. But even statements provide cause for reflection (and revision): "Perhaps; or, perhaps it is a trademark of the writer's ability to meet the needs of an audience, which is anti-individuality." I'm going to have to ponder that one!
Hey, Deb,
ReplyDeleteI will have to think about your last sentence/question. Good one. I'm not sure what I think about that yet.
I am also intrigued by your thoughts about the differences in written comments in margins and typed comments in MSWord. I hadn't thought about that before, but I do feel similarly. Good thoughts.
When I comment on papers, I try to put comments in about how I feel when I read -- how I respond. I tell the writer where I get stuck, where I have to re-read, where I finally get the meaning (if it's different after a 2nd or 3rd pass), and where I have to stop & start with their text. But, this is only how I respond, and I am only one reader. What's to say that I'm in a bad mood and just overly critical; what's to say that I'm having a great day and everything looks good? The next reader may have completely different responses than I do.
Thanks for bringing up these questions. They are good ones.
~Rhonda
You wrote, "Additionally, I find that many students get overwhelmed when they see a lot of writing from their instructor on the page. Many simply choose not to read feedback."
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent point. When you have so many comments crowded together on the page that you cannot read them, you may tend to give up entirely on that particular feedback.
I like the idea of looking through the text. However, in my line of work, I have to look at the text. It is good to see other viewpoints.
Good thinking about looking at vs. through text. I could see how that approach would work well with teaching. There are certainly differences between holistic commentary and in-text commentary and marginal commentary. The tone tends to change. There are differences when you use speech-to-text, as well; more of a teacherly voice. You're write about too many comments sometimes. This is the genesis of the book, ERRORS AND EXPECTATIONS, by Mina Shaunessey. Great book. She recommends focusing on what she calls "universal errors," which are mistakes students repeat in the draft a number of times.
ReplyDelete