9. Ask leading questions When you’re giving writing feedback with the intent of helping someone become a better writer, it can often be more effective to ask questions that prompt them to find a solution themselves than simply telling them what to do.
For example, if a piece’s cohesiveness and clarity need some work, you might say “Reading this, I felt confused at times about how some of the information is relevant to the main topic. Could you find a way to make it clearer how it’s all related? Could adding some connecting phrases/sentences ease the transitions between paragraphs?”
This way, the writer has a clear problem to address, but they still need to take another, more critical look at their own writing and work out the best solution for themselves.
10. Make it a dialogue It’s pretty uncommon to get a bunch of feedback and not have a question or two — or simply wonder whether the way you’re addressing a suggestion aligns with what your reviewer meant.
Or perhaps you’ve read a note and thought either “I’m an idiot” or “Jeez, they really hate my guts.” (It’s OK, we’ve all been there!)
Turning the feedback process into a dialogue softens the blow of “criticism” and makes the revision process feel more like a team endeavor (we’ve got this!), instead of an uphill climb with a scary editor/feedback giver slowing you down.
That’s one of the many reasons feedback should be an open, constructive two-way conversation. More on that below.
Why writing feedback should be a conversation Writers’ workshops and one-on-one discussions are invaluable environments for sharing and receiving truly productive writing feedback.
What makes them so much more effective and conducive to those inspiring “Ah-ha!” moments than most other feedback formats is the fact that the shared context of real-time interaction simply enables clearer communication. Miscommunications or lack of comprehension are generally easy to spot and correct, making it easier to identify which points to clarify.