positive essay feedback examples

51 Constructive Feedback Examples for Students

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Constructive feedback is feedback that helps students learn and grow.

Even though it highlights students’ weaknesses, it is not negative feedback because it has a purpose. It is designed to help them identify areas for improvement.

It serves both as an example of positive reinforcement and a reminder that there is always room for further improvement. Studies show that students generally like feedback that points them in the right direction and helps them to improve. It can also increase motivation for students.

Why Give Constructive Feedback?

Constructive feedback is given to help students improve. It can help people develop a growth mindset by helping them understand what they need to do to improve.

It can also help people to see that their efforts are paying off and that they can continue to grow and improve with continued effort.

Additionally, constructive feedback helps people to feel supported and motivated to keep working hard. It shows that we believe in their ability to grow and succeed and that we are willing to help them along the way.

How to Give Constructive Feedback

Generally, when giving feedback, it’s best to:

• Make your feedback specific to the student’s work
• Point out areas where the student showed effort and where they did well
• Offer clear examples of how to improve
• Be positive about the student’s prospects if they put in the hard work to improve
• Encourage the student to ask questions if they don’t understand your feedback

Furthermore, it is best to follow up with students to see if they have managed to implement the feedback provided.

General Constructive Feedback Examples for Students

The below examples are general templates that need to be edited so they are specific to the student’s work.

1. You are on the right track. By starting to study for the exam earlier, you may be able to retain more knowledge on exam day.

2. I have seen your improvement over time. As a next step, it is a good idea to…

3. You have improved a lot and should start to look towards taking on harder tasks for the future to achieve more self-development.

4. You have potential and should work on your weaknesses to achieve better outcomes. One area for improvement is…

5. Keep up the good work! You will see better results in the future if you make the effort to attend our study groups more regularly.

6. You are doing well, but there is always room for improvement. Try these tips to get better results: …

7. You have made some good progress, but it would be good to see you focusing harder on the assignment question so you don’t misinterpret it next time.

8. Your efforts are commendable, but you could still do better if you provide more specific examples in your explanations.

9. You have done well so far, but don’t become complacent – there is always room for improvement! I have noticed several errors in your notes, including…

10. It is great that you are trying your best, but don’t stop here – keep pushing yourself to get even better results. It would be good to see you editing your work to remove the small errors creeping into your work…

11. You have put in a lot of hard work, and it is starting to show. One area for improvement is your tone of voice, which sometimes comes across too soft. Don’t be afraid to project your voice next time.

12. You are making good progress, but don’t forget to focus on your weaknesses too. One weakness to focus on is…

13. Your efforts are commendable, but it would have been good to have seen you focus throughout as your performance waned towards the end of the session.

15. While your work is good, I feel you are becoming complacent – keep looking for ways to improve. For example, it would be good to see you concentrating harder on providing critique of the ideas explored in the class.

16. It is great that you are trying your best, but don’t stop here – keep pushing yourself to get even better results! Try to improve your handwriting by slowing down and focusing on every single letter.

17. You have put in a lot of hard work, and it is starting to show. Keep up the good work and you will see your grades slowly grow more and more. I’d like to see you improving your vocabulary for future pieces.

18. You are making good progress, but don’t forget to focus on your weaknesses too. One weakness to focus on is…

19. You have potential and should work on your using more appropriate sources to achieve better outcomes. As a next step, it is a good idea to…

Constructive Feedback for an Essay

1. Your writing style is good but you need to use more academic references in your paragraphs.

2. While you have reached the required word count, it would be good to focus on making sure every paragraph addresses the essay question.

3. You have a good structure for your essay, but you could improve your grammar and spelling.

4. You have made some good points, but you could develop them further by using more examples.

5. Your essay is well-written, but it would be helpful to provide more analysis of the topic.

6. You have answered the question well, but you could improve your writing style by being more concise.

7. Excellent job! You have covered all the key points and your writing is clear and concise.

8. There are a few errors in your essay, but overall it is well-written and easy to understand.

9. There are some mistakes in terms of grammar and spelling, but you have some good ideas worth expanding on.

10. Your essay is well-written, but it needs more development in terms of academic research and evidence.

11. You have done a great job with what you wrote, but you missed a key part of the essay question.

12. The examples you used were interesting, but you could have elaborated more on their relevance to the essay.

13. There are a few errors in terms of grammar and spelling, but your essay is overall well-constructed.

14. Your essay is easy to understand and covers all the key points, but you could use more evaluative language to strengthen your argument.

15. You have provided a good thesis statement , but the examples seem overly theoretical. Are there some practical examples that you could provide?

Constructive Feedback for Student Reports

1. You have worked very hard this semester. Next semester, work on being more consistent with your homework.

2. You have improved a lot this semester, but you need to focus on not procrastinating.

3. You are doing well in most subjects, but you could improve your grades by paying more attention in class and completing all your homework.

4. You are doing well in most subjects, but you could still improve your grades by studying more and asking for help when you don’t understand something.

5. You have shown great improvement this semester, keep up the good work! However, you might want to focus on improving your test scores by practicing more.

6. You have made some good progress this semester, but you need to continue working hard if you want to get good grades next year when the standards will rise again.

7. Next semester, focus on completing all your homework on time and paying more attention in class.

8. You have worked hard this semester, but you could still improve your grades by taking your time rather than racing through the work.

9. Next semester, focus on completing all your homework in advance so you have time to check it over before submission.

10. While you usually understand the instructions, don’t forget to ask for help when you don’t understand something rather than guessing.

11. You have shown great improvement this semester, but you need to focus some more on being self-motivated rather than relying on me to keep you on task.

Constructive feedback on Homework

1. While most of your homework is great, you missed a few points in your rush to complete it. Next time, slow down and make sure your work is thorough.

2. You put a lot of effort into your homework, and it shows. However, make sure to proofread your work for grammar and spelling mistakes.

3. You did a great job on this assignment, but try to be more concise in your writing for future assignments.

4. This homework is well-done, but you could have benefited from more time spent on research.

5. You have a good understanding of the material, but try to use more examples in your future assignments.

6. You completed the assignment on time and with great accuracy. I noticed you didn’t do the extension tasks. I’d like to see you challenging yourself in the future.

Related Articles

• Examples of Feedback for Teachers
• 75 Formative Assessment Examples

Giving and receiving feedback is an important part of any learning process. All feedback needs to not only grade work, but give advice on next steps so students can learn to be lifelong learners. By providing constructive feedback, we can help our students to iteratively improve over time. It can be challenging to provide useful feedback, but by following the simple guidelines and examples outlined in this article, I hope you can provide comments that are helpful and meaningful.

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 No-Prep Games for the Classroom (Emergency Games!)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 101 Class Group Name Ideas (for School Students)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 19 Top Cognitive Psychology Theories (Explained)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 119 Bloom’s Taxonomy Examples

2 thoughts on “51 Constructive Feedback Examples for Students”

Very helpful to see so much great developmental feedback with so many different examples.

Great examples of constructive feedback, also has reinforced on the current approach i take.

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150 Positive Comments for Student Papers

August 31, 2023 //  by  Maria Van Norman

Teaching is often a time-consuming job, especially for a teacher who must grade papers. It often feels daunting when staring at that stack of papers and wondering how writing constructive feedback on each one is feasible.

However, a teacher knows that even when she is tired, as she grades paper after paper, it is extremely important to give the students constructive comments on their work. The feedback for students is what helps students learn.

The positive feedback outweighs the negative feedback as well, so make it a common strategy to give positive feedback on students’ papers. It is a tremendous opportunity for students to grow.

1. I never thought of it this way. Great job analyzing!

2. What an amazing sentence!

3. This is a wonderful thesis! Good job!

4. I can tell you worked really hard on this!

5. This thesis statement is superb!

6. Wow, this is some of your best work yet!

7. Way to stay focused! I’m proud of you!

8. This is an excellent analytical paper!

9. I can tell you are motivated! I love it!

10. I feel privileged to have gotten to read this work! Great effective paper!

11. Your enthusiasm shows! Wonderful job!

12. This is not just a sheet of paper. It’s wonderful work!

13. This is one of the more superior papers I have read!

14. I really love how creative you get with your descriptions!

15. Out of this world!

16. There is so much to be proud of with your paper assignment!

17. This part made me smile!

18. You are a star!

19. Clever argument!

20. You worked hard; I can tell!

21. What brilliant thinking!

22. Terrific persuasive argument!

23. You have learned so much and it shows!

24. You rocked this essay!

25. I can tell you did your best!

26. You are so smart!

27. What a powerful argument! Keep up the good work!

28. You should be proud of this work!

29. You have made great progress!

30. Your handwriting is just lovely!

31. This is a great example! Good job!

32. I love your thoughts here!

33. I’m very impressed!

34. You have a sophisticated argument! Awesome job!

35. You are artistic and creative!

36. I love your attention to detail!

37. This is a very powerful sentence!

38. You show great promise!

39. What a terrific learner you are!

40. The sentence structure you used here is brilliant!

41. Your skills are stellar!

42. This hypothesis is amazing! I can’t wait to see where you take it!

43. I knew you could do it!

44. Every single sentence in this paper is wonderful!

45. You have a lot of fabulous ideas in this paper!

46. It doesn’t surprise me a bit that I smiled throughout your whole paper!

47. Keep up the incredible work!

48. Way to grab the reader’s attention! Great job!

49. Your handwriting is so neat!

50. This part moved me!

51. You certainly made me open my mind even more! Wonderful job!

53. I see so much improvement in your work! I’m proud of you!

54. I like the way you tackled this assignment!

55. Very impressive!

56. You have very inventive ideas here

57. Smart thinking!

58. You were very clear, concise, and complete!

59. Phenomenal job!

60. This is well thought out and I enjoyed grading it!

61. You outdid yourself with this assignment!

62. What a wonderful assignment!

63. Your work has flair!

64. Such a wonderful perspective on this topic!

65. This is clever!

66. I can tell you had fun with this assignment!

67. You rock!

68. This is stellar work!

69. Your use of this example moves your argument forward!

70. Your algebra is on fire!

71. This is a great metaphor!

72. Nice idea!

73. This is great work!

74. You did it!

75. I knew you could do it!

76. You went above and beyond here! I’m impressed!

77. Magnificent!

78. Marvelous!

79. You did a tremendous job!

80. This paragraph is brilliant!

81. Your science experiment was awesome!

82. Your artwork is exquisite!

83. What an excellent point!

84. Great job making connections here!

85. This sentence is excellent!

86. You chose a great quote!

87. This is a powerful point! Great job!

88. Your argument is very focused and solid!

89. Terrific explanation!

90. I love how you connected these ideas!

91. You are so smart!

92. Perfect!

93. Great stuff!

94. I love this! It made me laugh!

95. Outstanding work!

96. These are amazing ideas!

97. What an amazing way of thinking! Great job!

98. You made me think here! Good job!

99. A wonderful way to present this information!

100. You are showing exceptional understanding!

101. You are an awesome writer!

102. I love reading your essays!

103. You have shown incredible growth!

104. Your work is so neat! Great job!

105. This sentence is right on target!

106. You have an excellent idea here!

107. I can tell you’ve been practicing!

108. You are very preceptive!

109. This sentence is beautifully written!

110. I love your vivid word choice!

111. The way you express your ideas is wonderful!

112. You are quite gifted!

113. You show outstanding attention to detail!

114. You are a superstar!

115. I can tell that you did your best! Way to go!

116. You are very talented!

117. This paragraph is simply tremendous!

118. I appreciate how hard you worked on this assignment!

119. You made me so proud with your examples!

120. You are unstoppable!

121. This sentence sparkles!

122. This is one of the best essays I’ve read!

123. You have exceptional potential!

124. I’m giving you a high-five for this essay!

125. This sentence blew me away!

126. You did quality work! Great job!

127. This is a terrific piece of evidence for your argument!

128. No grammatical errors in this paragraph! I’m so proud!

129. You are an amazing writer!

130. Your organized paragraphs make me very proud!

131. You’ve shown creative problem solving here!

132. Superb word choice in this sentence!

133. What a critical piece to your argument! Great job!

134. You’ve reached your goal! Be proud of yourself!

135. This essay may be your best work yet!

136. Tremendous use of sentence syntax to prove your point!

137. You amaze me with your attention to detail!

138. Great writing!

139. Profound statement!

140. Brilliantly worded!

141. You prove that you can do hard things! Good work!

142. The connections you have made to the real world are stellar!

143. Way to tackle a tough topic! I’m proud of you!

144. Your talent shines through!

145. Terrific answer!

146. Your similes are sensational!

147. You are very intelligent!

148. I love your clarity in this paragraph!

149. This paper really shines!

150. You make me want to learn more about this topic!

Closing Thoughts

Teachers hold a piece of their student’s future in their hands. The responsibility is great. Therefore, even when wanting to mark up all of the errors on a paper, remember to add the positive comments as well. Make sure that students can grow and not feel defeated or frustrated. By including positive comments on students’ papers, students’ spirits will soar in ways you can not even imagine.

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

Response: Ways to Give Effective Feedback on Student Writing

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This is the second post in a four-part series. You can see Part One here .)

The new question-of-the-week is:

What are the best ways to give students feedback on their writing?

Part One began with responses from Anabel Gonzalez, Sarah Woodard, Kim Jaxon, Ralph Fletcher, Mary Beth Nicklaus, and Leah Wilson. You can listen to a 10-minute conversation I had with Anabel, Sarah, and Kim on my BAM! Radio Show . You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

Today, Susan M. Brookhart, Cheryl Mizerny, Amy Benjamin, Kate Wolfe Maxlow, Karen Sanzo, Andrew Miller, David Campos, and Kathleen Fad share their commentaries.

Response From Susan M. Brookhart

Susan Brookhart, Ph.D., is the author of How to Use Grading to Improve Learning (ASCD 2017) and How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students (2nd edition, ASCD 2017)). She is a professor emeritus at Duquesne University and an author and consultant. Her focus is classroom assessment and its impact on teaching, learning, and motivation:

Giving feedback on writing is a special responsibility. If you ask students to write thoughtfully to you, it would be hypocritical of you not to write (or speak, if your feedback is oral) thoughtfully back to them. And students will notice! Here are five things to keep in mind as you think about feedback on students’ written work:

#1 - Before the students write, make sure they know what they are trying to learn (more specifically than just “writing”) and what qualities their writing should exhibit. Unless students are trying to learn something specific, they will experience teacher feedback as additional teacher directions they have to follow. So, for example, if students are writing descriptive paragraphs, they should know what the kind of descriptive paragraphs they are aiming for looks like. Criteria for success might be that they (1) use adjectives that describe by telling what the object of their description looks, sounds, tastes, smells, or feels like; and (2) help their readers feel like they “are there,” experiencing whatever is described themselves. If this is what students are aiming to do, then the feedback questions are already set up: Are my adjectives descriptive? Do they conjure up sight, sound, taste, smell, or touch? Did you (my teacher and my reader) feel like you really experienced what I was describing, that you were there? The best feedback on student writing tells students what they want to know to get closer to the particular vision of writing they are working on.

#2 - Describe at least one thing the student did well, with reference to the success criteria. Focus your feedback on the criteria, not on other features of the work (like handwriting or grammar, unless that was the focus of the writing lesson). Even the poorest paper has something to commend it. Find that and begin your feedback there. Students can’t navigate toward learning targets by filling in deficits only; they also need to build on their strengths. And don’t assume that just because a student did something well, they know what that is. The best feedback on student writing names and notices where students are meeting criteria that show their learning.

#3 - Suggest the student’s immediate next steps, again with reference to the success criteria. Your feedback does not need to “fix” everything possible. It only needs to take the student’s work to the next level. Select the one or two—whatever is doable in the next draft of the writing piece—things that the student should do next, given where they are right now.The best feedback on student writing moves students forward in their quest to reach a learning goal.

#4 - Make sure you learn something from the feedback episode, too. Too often, teachers think of feedback as their expert advice on students’ writing. But every opportunity to give feedback on student writing is also an opportunity for you to learn something about what your students are thinking, what kinds of writing skills they have, and what they need to learn next. The best feedback on student writing gives teachers a window into student thinking; it doesn’t just advise students.

#5 - Give students an immediate opportunity to use the feedback. Much feedback on student writing is wasted, because students don’t use it. Many teachers subscribe to the myth that students will use the feedback “next time” they write something similar. However, it’s not true that students have some sort of file drawer in their heads, with files labeled according to type of writing, that they will magically open at some point in the future.

No matter how well-intentioned the student, this just isn’t how it works. The best feedback on student writing is followed immediately by a planned opportunity, within instructional time, for students to use the feedback.

Response From Cheryl Mizerny

Cheryl Mizerny has been teaching for more than 20 years, is passionate about middle-level education, and serves on the faculty of the AMLE Leadership Institute. Her practice is guided by her belief in reaching every student and educating the whole child. She currently teaches 6th grade English in Michigan and writes an education blog, “It’s Not Easy Being Tween,” for Middleweb.com:

Good feedback on student writing is time-consuming and takes a great deal of teacher effort, but the results in the improvement of their writing is worth my time. Over the years, I have found some ways to streamline the process.

First, students can’t hit a target they can’t see. Therefore, it is important that they have a clear understanding of the goal of the writing piece. I do lots of front-loading with using mentor texts to study author’s craft. Valuable feedback will tell them how close they are to the target and how they can get closer to a bullseye.

For me, the most important consideration when giving feedback is how likely is this to be used? Whenever possible, my first step is verbal feedback via an individual writing conference during the first draft stage. This lets me correct any major errors before they get too far along. We use Google docs so that they have access to them everywhere, I can see the revision history, and I am able to type my comments right in line with the text (which is faster and neater than my handwriting). Prior to writing my first comments, I have students identify a couple things on which they’d like me to focus when reading their paper. Just as I have goals for the final piece, so should they. Then, I begin the process of reading for feedback.

For me, I’ve found that feedback works best if it meets the following criteria: It’s prompt (not saying it has to be the next day, but students get very upset if they have to wait three weeks to get a draft back and rightly so), conversational and respectful in tone, specifically identifies areas for improvement and prioritizes them, focuses on larger issues such as content over small ones like punctuation, and is strengths-based with a balance of more positive than negative commentary. Feedback such as “Good job” is not helpful nor is “This is way too short.” Students needs specific information about how to make improvements if they are going to do so. If I have an especially weak piece, I don’t provide all the ways it can be improved via written feedback to avoid the child shutting down. That student obviously needs more assistance, and a conference is warranted. I am careful to address only a few areas of improvement per paper and I also comment on the areas in which they have a personal progress goal.

As they begin revising in class, I give some individual time to students to have a conversation about their work. The rest are looking at my comments and addressing each one or reading each other’s work. Prior to them handing in the second draft, I provide a checklist of things to consider and ask students to “whisper-read” to themselves (Google Docs has a screen reader built in) to find simple errors. Once they hand in this draft, I look at their work using a single-point rubric (see Jennifer Gonzalez article ) and make comments on it as a cover sheet. I hand this back without a grade on it. In my experience, once they see a grade, the learning stops. They then have one final pass to make any corrections before I receive the final. We also have a celebration of the writing and share work with one another. In my class, it’s is all about the writing process and not the product and this method works well for us.

Response From Amy Benjamin

Amy Benjamin is a teacher, educational consultant, and author whose most recent book is Big Skills for the Common Core (Routledge). Her website is www.amybenjamin.com :

Recently I asked a group of English and social studies teachers to list the marginal comments that they typically write on their students’ papers. Many of the comments were frowny-faced reprimands ending in exclamation points: “Check spelling! Be specific! Develop! Proofread! Follow directions! Review apostrophe use! Others were milder admonitions, often in the form of questions: Where’s your evidence? This shows what? Is this accurate? Punctuation?” Then there were suggestions that, though valid, are unlikely to do much good: “Be sure to support your claim, support the quote, make an inference, anchor the quote, connect to the question, elaborate meaning of quote, explain detail, review, set up the context for the claim, work on ‘tightening up’ your writing, follow the rubric.” The teacher knows what these comments mean, but do the students? Despite the inordinate amount of time it takes to pore over essays and write these comments, we have reason to suspect that they are not accomplishing their intended purposes, which are twofold: 1) to justify the grade on top of the paper, and 2) to get students to improve their writing. The second is far more important than the first. But if there’s no follow-up to our commentary, then what is the point? What are the best ways to give feedback that actually leads to improvement?

First, let’s consider the tone of our comments: While not all of the comments I collected were negative, most were. Some of the positive ones were “nicely written, well-supported, excellent topic sentence, insightful point, great evidence provided, good intro, good sentence, good use of vocab, love your voice, I love this point.” The best way to keep someone pursuing a challenge is to encourage them. It is not so hard to find something—anything—that merits a pat on the back.

Second, let’s consider the amount of correction that is necessary to foster incremental improvement. Teachers are not copy editors. The copy editor has not done her job unless she has found and fixed every single error . But a teacher’s job should be to point out errors and weaknesses sparingly, staying within what she perceives to be that student’s zone of proximal development. All students are novice writers. Their progress will be recursive. If they take risks to produce increasingly sophisticated language in an academic register, they are likely to make more grammatical mistakes, not fewer. One positive and one negative comment or correction on a student’s paper is probably sufficient to keep the writer on a learning curve.

Think of a child learning to play the saxophone. The child has practiced and plays the rehearsed piece for her weekly lesson. Imagine a music teacher responding like this: “I heard two squeaks, one wrong note, an underplayed dynamic at Letter C, a missed quarter rest on the fourth measure, and you completely ignored the dynamics. Watch your fingering, your breathing, and your posture. Pay attention to the time signature. While you’re at it, give it some feeling. It’s supposed to sound like music, not noise.”

And, third, consider the follow-up. Rubrics are excellent tools because they establish criteria for success and help students self-monitor. But the rubric has to be written in student-friendly language. With an accessible rubric, the student can chart her progress from one piece of writing to another. You can follow-up on a writing assignment with mini-lessons, using authentic sentences from student writing as models of good writing, not only deficient writing.

If you’d like students to take real responsibility for their own writing growth, you may be interested in a resource that I’ve created called RxEdit and RxRevise. There you will find a collection of DIY lessons keyed to various writing needs. You can refer students to these lessons on an as-needed basis. It’s a great way to differentiate instruction. RxEdit and RxRevise are available for free on my website .

Response From Kate Wolfe Maxlow & Karen Sanzo

Kate Wolfe Maxlow and Karen Sanzo’s are co-authors of 20 Formative Assessment Strategies that Work: A Guide Across Content and Grade Levels . Kate Wolfe Maxlow is the Professional Learning Coordinator at Hampton City Schools and Karen Sanzo is a professor of Educational Foundations and Leadership at Old Dominion University:

How many times in school did you write something that made perfect sense to you only to have your teacher or professor write a big, red question mark next to it? The purpose of writing is to communicate thoughts and ideas to an audience, but because the writer cannot simultaneously be both the author and the audience, young writers often require a great deal of feedback in order to learn how to write clearly for an intended audience. Therefore, it is immensely important that teachers provide quality, frequent feedback to students on their writing.

To this end, it is also important to remember that the role of the teacher is to help students improve, not necessarily to expect a perfect product. Marzano (2017) explains that educators “should view learning as a constructive process in which students constantly update their knowledge.” Likewise, Hattie (2017) emphasizes the importance of helping students to engage in metacognitive strategies, such as Planning and Prediction, Elaboration and Organization, and Evaluation and Reflection. When we think of writing as a constructive process in which we should help students engage in metacognitive strategies, we realize how crucial it is that we provide students with feedback throughout the entire writing process, not simply at the end.

What does this look like? Imagine that you give students the following prompt: Explain why we remember George Washington today. Before students begin to write, have them make a plan that includes how they will conduct research, what questions they will ask, and how they will record answers. Check in with each student and then—this is key—provide feedback on their plans. As students begin to implement their plan and conduct research, collect information, and outline their paper, provide feedback on that, too.

What form does that feedback take? Well, whether it’s electronic (such as using Google Docs), verbal, or written doesn’t matter as much as the kind of thinking that the teacher asks the student to do when providing the feedback. For instance, a student has to do less work and actually learns less when a teacher writes, “George Washington did not have wooden teeth,” than if the teacher writes, “Can you find other sources that confirm that George Washington had wooden teeth?” or even “George Washington’s teeth are indeed an interesting subject; do you think we would remember him even if he had his own teeth based on his other accomplishments? What are the biggest reasons we remember him today?”

Feedback can, of course, also concern writing style. If feedback is too prescribed, we cheat students out of critical- and creative-thinking opportunities; if it is too vague, we risk frustrating them. For instance, instead of simply writing, “Vary your sentence style,” when a student starts each sentence in a paragraph with, “We remember George Washington because...,” a teacher could ask, “How can you start each sentence differently in this paragraph to keep the reader’s attention?” This points students in the right direction and also helps them understand why the change is important.

Lastly, while it’s important to give students feedback on their writing, feedback works best when we also collect it from students (Hattie, 2009). The more we ask students to self-evaluate and reflect on their work, the greater the impact on their achievement (Hattie, 2017). To that end, it can work well to have students first self-evaluate their writing using the rubric then come to a writing conference prepared with examples of what’s working in their paper and where they need help. When we give feedback like this, we encourage students not only to become better writers, but better thinkers as well.

Hattie, J (2009). Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York: Routledge

Hattie, J. (2017). Hattie’s 2017 updated list of factors influencing student achievement. Retrieved from https://www.visiblelearningplus.com/sites/default/files/250%20Influences.pdf

Marzano (2017). The New Art and Science of Teaching. Bloomington, IN: ASCD & Solution Tree Press.

Response From Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller is currently an instructional coach at the Shanghai American School in China. He also serves on the National Faculty for the Buck Institute for Education and ASCD, where he consults on a variety of topics. He has worked with educators in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, China, Japan, Indonesia, India, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and the Dominican Republic:

Because we care about our students, we often do two things wrong: We give too much feedback or we tell students the answer in the feedback. Too much feedback is often ground in the traditional “final draft” way of writing, where the teacher collects the papers and then spends hours marking and providing written feedback near the end of the unit and close to when the assignment is due. This is often too much for students to process and/or can be too late. “Why didn’t you tell me my opening paragraph needed work when I wrote it a week ago?” Instead, teachers should provide feedback in smaller chunks in a more ongoing way. This makes the feedback manageable and timely.

For the second problem, teachers should focus on prompting and asking good questions to probe student thinking in the feedback they write. Instead of correcting a large amount of punctuation errors for students, write: “I’m noticing errors in comma and other punctuation usage in your second paragraph.” Here, the student must seek out those errors and correct them. They must learn! If the teacher does all the corrections for the students, then that teacher has done all the thinking for the student. In fact, it may have robbed that student of an opportunity to learn. Feedback should cause students to think and learn, not give away all the answers.

One final rule—don’t give feedback unless you can devote time for students to use and process it. We’ve all made the mistakes where we give feedback on the summative assessment and then students don’t use it. This is because we have indicated to them that it is summative and it is too late to improve. Teachers waste their time, and students don’t find value in the feedback.

Response From David Campos & Kathleen Fad

David Campos, Ph.D., is a professor of education at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in special education, multicultural education, and instructional design and delivery. He has written books on LGBT youth, childhood health and wellness, and the schooling of Latinos. He has co-authored two books with Kathleen Fad: Tools for Teaching Writing (ASCD 2014) and Practical Ideas That Really Work for English Language Learners (Pro-Ed).

Kathleen Fad, Ph.D., is an author and consultant whose professional experience has spanned more than 30 years as a general education teacher, special education teacher, and university professor. Kathy’s specialty is designing practical, common-sense strategies that are research-based:

We also consider the idea of giving feedback from the special education perspective, and, that is, giving feedback so that it is individualized. Our experiences have taught us that in any given classroom, many students may struggle with the same writing issues, but most will have unique difficulties with their writing.

To help teachers give effective feedback on student writing, we created an evaluation protocol based on eight writing traits (in Tools for Teaching Writing, ASCD). Teachers can use this protocol to isolate the areas of writing that individual students struggle with the most. We identified qualities associated with each trait, which provides the teacher with a common language to use when she conferences with individual students.

Teachers can similarly create their own evaluation measure that has qualities associated with the traits or conventions of writing they address in their lessons. For example, teachers can ask themselves, “How does good presentation manifest in student writing?” Then, they can work toward developing the qualities of presentation they can regularly use in their instruction and student feedback. The key to effective feedback is to give students concrete qualities about the writing trait or convention and use those regularly in their conferences with students.

After teachers have developed this common language about writing, students can learn to self-reflect on their work. As a way of giving feedback, teachers can provide students with checklists associated with the qualities of the trait and have the students self-reflect or review their peers’ writing.

Thanks to Susan, Cheryl, Amy, Kate, Karen, Andrew, David, and Kathleen for their contributions.

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It’s titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching .

Just a reminder—you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email or RSS Reader. And if you missed any of the highlights from the first seven years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. The list doesn’t include ones from this current year, but you can find those by clicking on the “answers” category found in the sidebar.

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Look for Part Three in a few days.

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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How to Give Positive Feedback on Student Writing

If your corrective feedback is very detailed but your positive comments are quick and vague, you may appreciate this advice from teachers across the country.

“Nice work.” “Great job.” “Powerful sentence.” Even though I knew they wouldn’t mean much to students, these vague and ineffective comments made their way into my writing feedback recently. As I watched myself typing them, I knew I was in a rut. My critical comments, on the other hand, were lengthy and detailed. Suggestions and corrections abounded. I realized that I was focused too much on correcting student work and not enough on the goal of giving rich positive feedback.

As a writer, I know how hard it is when the negative feedback outweighs the positive. We all have things to work on, but focusing only on what to fix makes it hard to feel that our skills are seen and appreciated. My students put so much work into their writing, and they deserve more than my two-word positive sentences.

I wanted out of the rut, so I turned to my favorite professional network—teacher Twitter—and asked for help . “What are your favorite positive comments to make about student writing?” I asked. Here are some of the amazing responses and the themes that emerged from more than 100 replies from teachers.

Give a Window Into Your Experience as the Reader

Students typically can’t see us while we’re experiencing their writing. One genre of powerful positive comments: insights that help students understand how we responded as readers. Teacher Amy Ludwig VanDerwater  shared these sentence stems, explaining that “commenting on our reading experience before the craft of writing is a gift”:

• This part really moved me.
• I laughed out loud when I read this line.
• Your writing makes me think...
• You opened up a door in my mind.
• Now I am questioning...
• Now I am connecting to...
• Now I am remembering...

On a similar note, Virginia S. Wood  shared: “I will tell them if I smiled, laughed, nodded my head, pumped my fist while reading their work, and I’ll tell them exactly where and why.”

I used Wood’s advice recently when I looked through a student’s project draft that delighted me. I wrote to her, “I have the biggest smile on my face right now. This is such an awesome start.”

Giving students insight into our experience as readers helps to connect the social and emotional elements of writing. Positive comments highlighting our reading experience can encourage students to think about their audience more intentionally as they write.

Recognize Author’s Craft and Choices

Effective feedback can also honor a student’s voice and skills as a writer. Pointing out the choices and writing moves that students make helps them feel that we see and value their efforts. Joel Garza shared, “I avoid ‘I’ statements, which can seem more like a brag about my reading than about their writing.” Garza recommends using “you” statements instead, such as “You crafted X effect so smoothly by...” or “You navigate this topic in such an engaging way, especially by...” and “You chose the perfect tone for this topic because...”

Similarly, seventh-grade teacher Jennifer Leung suggested pointing out these moments in this way: “Skillful example of/use of (transition, example, grammatical structure).” This can also help to reinforce terms, concepts, and writing moves that we go over in class.

Rebekah O’Dell , coauthor of A Teacher’s Guide to Mentor Texts , gave these examples of how we might invoke mentor texts in our feedback:

• “What you’re doing here reminds me of (insert mentor text)...”
• “I see you doing what (insert mentor writer) does...”

O’Dell’s advice reinforced the link between reading and writing. Thinking of these skills together helps us set up feedback loops. For example, after a recent close reading activity, I asked students to name one lesson they had learned from the mentor text that they could apply to their own writing. Next time I give writing feedback, I can highlight the places where I see students using these lessons.

Another teacher, Grete Howland , offered a nonjudgmental word choice. “I like to use the word ‘effective’ and then point out, as specifically as I can, why I found something effective. I feel like this steers away from ‘good’/‘bad’ and other somewhat meaningless judgments, and it focuses more on writing as an exchange with a reader.”

Celebrate Growth

Positive feedback supports student progress. Think of positive comments as a boost of momentum that can help students continue to build their identity as writers. Kelly Frazee  recommended finding specific examples to help demonstrate growth, as in “This part shows me that you have improved with [insert skill] because compared to last time…” As teachers, we often notice growth in ways that our students may not recognize about themselves. Drawing out specific evidence of growth can help students see their own progress.

Finally, I love this idea from Susan Santone , an instructor at the University of Michigan: When students really knock it out of the park, let them know. Santone suggested, “When my students (college level) nail something profound in a single sentence, I write ‘Tweet!’ ‘Put this onto a T-shirt!’ or ‘Frame this and hang it on a wall!’—in other words, keep it and share it!”

These ideas are all great starting points for giving students meaningful positive feedback on their writing. I’ve already started to use some of them, and I’ve noticed how much richer my feedback is when positive and constructive comments are equally detailed. I’m looking forward to seeing how these shifts propel student writing. Consider trying out one of these strategies with your students’ next drafts.

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PRINCIPLES OF RESPONDING TO STUDENT WRITING

Your comments on student writing should clearly reflect the hierarchy of your concerns about the paper. Major issues should be treated more prominently and at greater length; minor issues should be treated briefly or not at all. If you comment extensively on grammatical or mechanical issues, you should expect students to infer that such issues are among your main concerns with the paper. It is after all not unreasonable for students to assume that the amount of ink you spill on an issue bears some relationship to the issue’s importance.

It is often more helpful to comment explicitly, substantively, and in detail about two or three important matters than it is to comment superficially about many issues. Many veteran readers find the experience of responding to student writing to be one of constantly deciding not to comment on less important issues. Such restraint allows you to focus your energies on just a few important points and also tends to yield a cleaner and more easily intelligible message for students.

Some suggestions for writing comments follow.

READING THE PAPER

You may want to skim through four or five papers to get a sense of the pile before reading and grading any single paper. Many instructors read each paper once through to grasp the overall argument before making any marks. Whether skimming on a first time through or reading carefully, you might keep the following categories in mind, which will help you assess the paper’s strengths and weaknesses:

• Thesis: Is there one main argument in the paper? Does it fulfill the assignment? Is the thesis clearly stated near the beginning of the paper? Is it interesting, complex? Is it argued throughout?
• Structure: Is the paper clearly organized? Is it easy to understand the main point of each paragraph? Does the order of the overall argument make sense, and is it easy to follow?
• Evidence and Analysis: Does the paper offer supporting evidence for each of its points?Does the evidence suggest the writer’s knowledge of the subject matter? Has the paper overlooked any obvious or important pieces of evidence? Is there enough analysis of evidence? Is the evidence properly attributed, and is the bibliographical information correct?
• Sources: If appropriate or required, are sources used besides the main text(s) under consideration? Are they introduced in an understandable way? Is their purpose in the argument clear? Do they do more than affirm the writer’s viewpoint or represent a “straw person” for knocking down? Are responsible inferences drawn from them? Are they properly attributed, and is the bibliographical information correct?
• Style: Is the style appropriate for its audience? Is the paper concise and to the point? Are sentences clear and grammatically correct? Are there spelling or proofreading errors?

WRITING A FINAL COMMENT

Y our final comment is your chance not only to critique the paper at hand but also to communicate your expectations about writing and to teach students how to write more effective papers in the future.

The following simple structure will help you present your comments in an organized way:

• Reflect back the paper’s main point. By reflecting back your understanding of the argument, you let the student see that you took the paper seriously. A restatement in your own words will also help you ground your comment. If the paper lacks a thesis, restate the subject area.
• Discuss the essay’s strengths. Even very good writers need to know what they’re doing well so that they can do it again in the future. Remember to give specific examples.
• Discuss the paper’s weaknesses, focusing on large problems first. You don’t have to comment on every little thing that went wrong in a paper. Instead, choose two or three of the most important areas in which the student needs to improve, and present these in order of descending importance. You may find it useful to key these weaknesses to such essay elements as Thesis, Structure, Evidence, and Style. Give specific examples to show the student what you’re seeing. If possible, suggest practical solutions so that the student writer can correct the problems in the next paper.
• Type your final comments if possible. If you handwrite them, write in a straight line (not on an angle or up the side of a page), and avoid writing on the reverse side; instead, append extra sheets as needed. The more readable your comments are, the more seriously your students are likely to take them.

MARGINAL COMMENTS

While carefully reading a paper, you’ll want to make comments in the margins. These comments have two main purposes: to show students that you attentively read the paper and to help students understand the connection between the paper and your final comments. If you tell a student in the final comment that he or she needs more analysis, for example, the student should be able to locate one or more specific sites in the text that you think are lacking.

SOME PRINCIPLES FOR MAKING MARGINAL COMMENTS

• Make some positive comments. “Good point” and “great move here” mean a lot to students, as do fuller indications of your engagement with their writing. Students need to know what works in their writing if they’re to repeat successful strategies and make them a permanent part of their repertoire as writers. They’re also more likely to work hard to improve when given some positive feedback.
• Comment primarily on patterns—representative strengths and weaknesses. Noting patterns (and marking these only once or twice) helps instructors strike a balance between making students wonder whether anyone actually read their essay and overwhelming them with ink. The “pattern” principle applies to grammar and other sentence-level problems, too.
• Write in complete, detailed sentences. Cryptic comments—e.g., “weak thesis,” “more analysis needed,” and “evidence?”—will be incompletely understood by most students, who will wonder, What makes the thesis weak? What does my teacher mean by “analysis”? What about my evidence? Symbols and abbreviations—e.g., “awk” and “?”—are likewise confusing. The more specific and concrete your comments, the more helpful they’ll be to student writers.
• Ask questions. Asking questions in the margins promotes a useful analytical technique while helping students anticipate future readers’ queries.
• Use a respectful tone. Even in the face of fatigue and frustration, it’s important to address students respectfully, as the junior colleagues they are.
• Write legibly (in any ink but red). If students have to struggle to decipher a comment, they probably won’t bother. Red ink will make them feel as if their essay is being corrected rather than responded to.

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• 10 Types of Essay Feedback and How to Respond to Them

The moment of truth has arrived: you’ve got your marked essay back and you’re eagerly scanning through it, taking in the amount of red pen, and looking at the grade and hastily scrawled feedback at the end.

After deciphering the handwriting, you’re able to see a brief assessment of how you’ve performed in this essay, and your heart either leaps or sinks. Ideally, you’d receive detailed feedback telling you exactly where you fell short and providing helpful guidance on how to improve next time. However, the person marking your essay probably doesn’t have time for that, so instead leaves you very brief remarks that you then have to decode in order to understand how you can do better. In this article, we look at some of the common sorts of remarks you might receive in essay feedback, what they mean, and how to respond to them or take them on board so that you can write a better essay next time – no matter how good this one was!

1. “Too heavily reliant on critics”

We all fall into the trap of regurgitating whatever scholarship we happen to have read in the run-up to writing the essay, and it’s a problem that reveals that many students have no idea what their own opinion is. We’re so busy paraphrasing what scholars have said that we forget to think about whether we actually agree with what they’ve said. This is an issue we discussed in a recent article on developing your own opinion , in which we talked about how to approach scholarship with an open and critical mind, make up your own mind and give your own opinion in your essays. If you’ve received this kind of feedback, the person marking your essay has probably noticed that you’ve followed exactly the same line of thinking as one or more of the books on your reading list, without offering any kind of original comment. Take a look at the article linked to just now and you’ll soon be developing your own responses.

2. “Too short”

If your essay falls significantly short of the prescribed word count, this could suggest that you haven’t put in enough work. Most essays will require extensive reading before you can do a topic justice, and if you’ve struggled to fill the word count, it’s almost certainly because you haven’t done enough reading, and you’ve therefore missed out a significant line of enquiry. This is perhaps a sign that you’ve left it too late to write your essay, resulting in a rushed and incomplete essay (even if you consider it finished, it’s not complete if it hasn’t touched on topics of major relevance). This problem can be alleviated by effective time management, allowing plenty of time for the research phase of your essay and then enough time to write a detailed essay that touches on all the important arguments. If you’re struggling to think of things to say in your essay, try reading something on the topic that you haven’t read before. This will offer you a fresh perspective to talk about, and possibly help you to understand the topic clearly enough to start making more of your own comments about it.

3. “Too long”

[pullquote] “The present letter is a very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter” – Blaise Pascal [/pullquote]It sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s actually much easier to write an essay that’s too long than one that’s too short. This is because we’re all prone to waffling when we’re not entirely sure what we want to say, and/or because we want to show the person marking our essay that we’ve read extensively, even when some of the material we’ve read isn’t strictly relevant to the essay question we’ve been set. But the word count is there for a reason: it forces you to be clear and concise, leaving out what isn’t relevant. A short (say, 500-word) essay is actually a challenging academic exercise, so if you see fit to write twice the number of words, the person marking the essay is unlikely to be impressed. Fifty to a hundred words over the limit probably won’t be too much of an issue if that’s less than 10% of the word count, and will probably go unnoticed, but if you’ve ended up with something significantly over this, it’s time to start trimming. Re-read what you’ve written and scrutinise every single line. Does it add anything to your argument? Are you saying in ten words what could be said in three? Is there a whole paragraph that doesn’t really contribute to developing your argument? If so, get rid of it. This kind of ruthless editing and rephrasing can quickly bring your word count down, and it results in a much tighter and more carefully worded essay.

4. “Contradicts itself”

Undermining your own argument is an embarrassing mistake to make, but you can do it without realising when you’ve spent so long tweaking your essay that you can no longer see the wood for the trees. Contradicting yourself in an essay is also a sign that you haven’t completely understood the issues and haven’t formed a clear opinion on what the evidence shows. To avoid this error, have a detailed read through your essay before you submit it and look in particular detail at the statements you make. Looking at them in essence and in isolation, do any of them contradict each other? If so, decide which you think is more convincing and make your argument accordingly.

5. “Too many quotations”

It’s all too easy to hide behind the words of others when one is unsure of something, or lacking a complete understanding of a topic. This insecurity leads us to quote extensively from either original sources or scholars, including long chunks of quoted text as a nifty way of upping the word count without having to reveal our own ignorance (too much). But you won’t fool the person marking your essay by doing this: they’ll see immediately that you’re relying too heavily on the words of others, without enough intelligent supporting commentary, and it’s particularly revealing when most of the quotations are from the same source (which shows that you haven’t read widely enough). It’s good to include some quotations from a range of different sources, as it adds colour to your essay, shows that you’ve read widely and demonstrates that you’re thinking about different kinds of evidence. However, if you’ve received this kind of feedback, you can improve your next essay by not quoting more than a sentence at a time, making the majority of the text of your essay your own words, and including plenty of your own interpretation and responses to what you’ve quoted. Another word of advice regarding quotations: one of my tutors once told me is that one should never end an essay on a quotation. You may think that this is a clever way of bringing your essay to a conclusion, but actually you’re giving the last word to someone else when it’s your essay, and you should make the final intelligent closing remark. Quoting someone else at the end is a cop-out that some students use to get out of the tricky task of writing a strong final sentence, so however difficult the alternative may seem, don’t do it!

6. “Not enough evidence”

In an essay, every point you make must be backed up with supporting evidence – it’s one of the fundamental tenets of academia. You can’t make a claim unless you can show what has lead you to it, whether that’s a passage in an original historical source, the result of some scientific research, or any other form of information that would lend credibility to your statement. A related problem is that some students will quote a scholar’s opinion as though it were concrete evidence of something; in fact, that is just one person’s opinion, and that opinion has been influenced by the scholar’s own biases. The evidence they based the opinion on might be tenuous, so it’s that evidence you should be looking at, not the actual opinion of the scholar themselves. As you write your essay, make a point of checking that everything you’ve said is adequately supported.

7. “All over the place” / “Confused”

An essay described as “all over the place” – or words to that effect – reveals that the student who wrote it hasn’t developed a clear line of argument, and that they are going off at tangents and using an incoherent structure in which one point doesn’t seem to bear any relation to the previous one. A tight structure is vital in essay-writing, as it holds the reader’s interest and helps build your argument to a logical conclusion. You can avoid your essay seeming confused by writing an essay plan before you start. This will help you get the structure right and be clear about what you want to say before you start writing.

8. “Misses the point”

This feedback can feel particularly damning if you’ve spent a long time writing what you thought was a carefully constructed essay. A simple reason might be that you didn’t read the question carefully enough. But it’s also a problem that arises when students spend too long looking at less relevant sources and not enough at the most important ones, because they ran out of time, or because they didn’t approach their reading lists in the right order, or because they failed to identify correctly which the most important sources actually were. This leads to students focusing on the wrong thing, or perhaps getting lost in the details. The tutor marking the essay, who has a well-rounded view of the topic, will be baffled if you’ve devoted much of your essay to discussing something you thought was important, but which they know to be a minor detail when compared with the underlying point. If you’re not sure which items on your reading list to tackle first, you could try asking your tutor next time if they could give you some pointers on which of the material they recommend you focus on first. It can also be helpful to prompt yourself from time to time with the question “What is the point?”, as this will remind you to take a step back and figure out what the core issues are.

9. “Poor presentation”

This kind of remark is likely to refer to issues with the formatting of your essay, spelling and punctuation, or general style. Impeccable spelling and grammar are a must, so proofread your essay before you submit it and check that there are no careless typos (computer spell checks don’t always pick these up). In terms of your writing style, you might get a comment like this if the essay marker found your writing either boring or in a style inappropriate to the context of a formal essay. Finally, looks matter: use a sensible, easy-to-read font, print with good-quality ink and paper if you’re printing, and write neatly and legibly if you’re handwriting. Your essay should be as easy to read as possible for the person marking it, as this lessens their workload and makes them feel more positively towards your work.

10. “Very good”

On the face of it, this is the sort of essay feedback every student wants to hear. But when you think about it, it’s not actually very helpful – particularly when it’s accompanied by a mark that wasn’t as high as you were aiming for. With these two words, you have no idea why you didn’t achieve top marks. In the face of such (frankly lazy) marking from your teacher or lecturer, the best response is to be pleased that you’ve received a positive comment, but to go to the person who marked it and ask for more comments on what you could have done to get a higher mark. They shouldn’t be annoyed at your asking, because you’re simply striving to do better every time.

General remarks on responding to essay feedback

We end with a few general pieces of advice on how to respond to essay feedback.

• Don’t take criticism personally.
• Remember that feedback is there to help you improve.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for more feedback if what they’ve said isn’t clear.
• Don’t rest on your laurels – if you’ve had glowing feedback, it’s still worth asking if there’s anything you could have done to make the essay even better.

It can be difficult to have one’s hard work (metaphorically) ripped apart or disparaged, but feedback is ultimately there to help you get higher grades, get into better universities, and put you on a successful career path; so keep that end goal in mind when you get your essay back.

Image credits: banner ; library ; snake ; magnifying glass ; dartboard ; suggestions box . 

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Sample Feedback - Faculty to Student

D1 comments.

In this essay, you point to a key point of tension between Orientalism and Avatar : the status of the scientists. As I understand it, the tension is that while Said characterizes scientists as Orientalists par excellence, your reading of the film suggests a disconnect between the two. There’s a lot of promising material to work with here. The next step is to solidify motive and thesis, so that you can then refine your analysis. Below are thoughts to consider as you begin to revise.

Introduction, Motive and Thesis : Your opening gesture is quite strong, setting up an analytic context – “imperialist themes in a space-age setting” (1) – orienting the reader to the intellectual task at hand so as to guide a reading of the plot with your argumentative motives in mind. The central tension appears when you ask: “to what extent can the humans be classified as Orientalists?” (2). It seems like you’re suggesting a split between the industrialists and the military on the one hand, and the scientists and Jake on the other. This move constitutes a departure from Said, who shows how academic writings aligned themselves with the imperialist project. In the draft, it looks like your thesis appears at the end of the paragraph on page 2. Yet, this point about the non-pairing of the two traits isn’t really the central focus of your paper. Rather, your central claim, as I understand it, emerges on page 6, where you point to the way in which the actions of Jake and the scientists to some extent contradict Said’s figuration. In draft conference, let’s solidify motive and thesis, since everything else will follow from them.

Evidence and Analysis : This paper includes many interesting points of analysis. I’d like to draw attention, though, to a central tension within your thoughts. On the one hand, you point to the significance of the fact that what is different about Jake is “his naïve curiosity” (3). This naiveté contrasts with the scientists, I would think, since (for example) they are professionally trained. Yet, rather than contrast Jake with the scientists, you align him with them, calling him an “ethnographer” (2) and referring to them as “his crew” (6). While I totally get the opposition between Miles/Parker on the one hand and Jake/scientists on the other, I wonder, in the context of your argument, what differences between Jake and the scientists might make a difference, especially since this coupling is being used in your argument to critique Said’s characterization of the academics. Alternatively put, one counterargument you’ll need to address in your revision would be the extent to which the differences between Jake and the scientists would trouble a straightforward critique of Said. We can talk more about counterargument in draft conference.

There are a lot of great ideas here, John! I look forward to seeing how you develop them.

R1 Comments

In this essay, you explore the relationship between science and imperialism. You suggest that the lack of overlap between the two in James Cameron’s film Avatar seems to complicate Edward Said’s argument in Orientalism , but, as I understand it, your point is that the differences between the two seem to vanish because the imperialist, not the scientific, vision is that which becomes official. If you were to revise again, the key would be to highlight the complexities of your argument, drawing together its various strands more effectively. Below are some thoughts to consider as you begin Essay #3.

Motive and Thesis : You do a great job elaborating your motive and thesis on page 2. First, you effectively set up what an Orientalist reading should do, and then show the ways in which Avatar doesn’t meet that expectation. Your thesis, though, seems to be a way of accounting for the discrepancy, and accounting for why it is Said would not differentiate between these figures despite the dramatization in the film that shows them to be quite different. You write: “even when science opposes the political sentiments of an empire, the vision of the empire reigns supreme” (2). The next step would be to spell out the ways in which this thesis provides a commentary on Avatar as an extension, complication, etc. of Orientalism , so as to place your argument in its intellectual context.

Evidence, Analysis, and Source-Use : Highlighting the intellectual stakes of your argument by refining your motive and thesis will help you further develop the implications of your analysis. As it is, your paper has many moments of analytic insight, and so the next step would be to elaborate further. For example, you do a great job explaining how Quaritch’s presentation of Pandora to newcomers exemplifies Orientalist behavior (3), but an even stronger articulation would show how this characterization contributes to your argument about the imperialist vision and its triumph over scientific dissidence. Moving forward, another area on which to concentrate is source use. Your use of Bourdieu to analyze Parker (6) is great; the discussion of Constable (4), though, would be improved if you highlighted how it is that you as a scholar are applying her argument to a different context. Doing so would make visible your own intellectual work, and the contribution your crossbreeding intervention is making.

Structure : In your paper, you show a clear understanding of what structure should look like: you do a nice job constructing a logic of “now that we know A we can move to B.” The next step, though, is to make the progression motivated by the argument itself. On page 2, you write that establishing that Said’s pairing is “incorrect” enables you to establish “how and why the two human factions oppose each other,” but it is unclear how the second point contributes to your central claim, in which despite differences the vision of the imperialists “reigns supreme.” Again, this will follow from clarification of your motive and thesis. Always ask yourself how each paragraph is contributing to your argument and your overall thesis, and let the development of your argument follow from that.

Balancing its strengths and weaknesses, this paper earns a grade of B. An even stronger performance is clearly within reach, though, so I look forward to your continued progress – and promising project – as we move to Essay #3!

D3 Comments

In this essay, you explore literary critics’ interpretations of Hemingway, focusing on his work Death in the Afternoon . Your draft moves through several topics and questions, including bullfighting, existentialism, and the historical contextualization of critical trends. Now that you’ve gone through the process of putting these ideas on paper, the next step is to solidify a motive and thesis – a task you suggest in your cover letter in terms of “making sure my argument stays focused, on point, and does not stray.” Below, then, are some issues to keep in mind as you work toward that goal in revising.

Motive and Thesis : As I understand it, the central question of this paper concerns the ways in which critical reception of Hemingway’s text transformed from when it was first analyzed in the 1930s to the postmodernist re-discovery of (t)his work in the 1990s. In your cover letter, you note that “the critiques were almost all centralized to [these] two time periods,” a fact that is quite intriguing and worth thinking about further. The opening paragraph sets up a thesis, in which you allude to a conflict in interpretation between the two time periods and side with the later works as “more encompassing.” The motivating problem or question could be spelled out further, though, and it seems like your paper does more than just side with the more contemporary critics, so these are places for further refinement. Likewise, the theme of bullfighting appears throughout, but as a reader it is unclear what the significance of this phenomenon is in terms of your argument, so you’ll want to make clear what motivates this focus.

Keywords, Orienting, and Structure : Once you have refined your motive and thesis, you’ll be able to more strategically engage your paper’s key terms. This paper focuses both on “bullfighting” and “existentialism” : both could use further elaboration, which would help orient your readers, since readers may be unfamiliar with either or both. You do give a brief definition of existentialism on page 6, but this could be taken further: not all considerations of life and death are considered existentialist, so you’ll want to get more into the specifics, which might require some more background research. In the draft, the paragraphs introducing both of these terms – bullfighting on page 2 and existentialism on page 6 – reads as abrupt, so you’ll want to think more about how you are using structure to build an argument, so as to enable the reader to transition from one point to the next.

Evidence, Analysis, and Source-Use : In addition to key terms, another place to pay attention to orienting concerns the use of sources. Be sure to identify an author’s qualifications, such as literary critic, and to specify the time period in which critical work is produced, especially in your case where chronology makes a difference for your argument. On pages 6-7, for instance, you cite “Josephs,” “Hicks,” and “Sanders,” and yet it is not clear who these people are: by convention, one provides first and last name, as well as disciplinary affiliation, the first time a source is cited in a text, i.e. “literary critic Rosemary Green” rather than just “Green” (although on subsequent occasions the last name only is fine). Another way to help readers follow your argument will be to provide primary source analysis. On pages 3-4, you reference the “old lady” conversation, and other critics takes on it, but you’ll also want to provide your own reading of these passages. Doing so will help you differentiate your reading from theirs, which in turn will help you refine your motive and thesis.

There are a number of promising moments here, Anthony! I look forward to seeing how you develop this paper.

R3 Comments

In this essay, you argue that post-modern scholars’ rediscovery of Ernest Hemingway’s Death in the Afternoon in the 1990s was able to shed new light on the place of this work in the literary and philosophical canon. Critically analyzing academic work as well as a primary source, your paper offers a nuanced interpretation of Hemingway’s work as “containing elements of existentialism” without being properly “existentialist.” Your work shows consistent progress throughout the semester, and your cover letter demonstrates good insights into the research and writing process, which will no doubt serve you well in future courses. Below are some comments to consider moving forward.

Introduction, Motive, and Thesis : As presented in your introduction, the motive of your paper consists in trying to determine what historical and critical shifts in Hemingway reception “mean in terms of its place in literature” (2). This motive is set up most effectively, though, on page 9, where you note: “a critical shift takes place, in which Death in the Afternoon is seen as the foundation for all his other works rather than an aberration from them.” In this sentence, you dramatize the puzzle that is the impetus for your research, which consists in trying to find an explanation for and analysis of this change. That is, the current introduction tells us the motive, but an even stronger version would show readers the problem to be solved, by dramatizing it textually. Doing so would help you craft a stronger thesis, since currently your thesis is presented somewhat vaguely: “In the end,” you write, “the postmodern readings of the work suggest that Death in the Afternoon blurs the borders between genres as it touches on not only bullfighting, writing, and Hemingway himself, but also on existentialism” (2). The next step would be to highlight your own contribution by differentiating yourself from these writers in your thesis statement the way you do in the body of the essay.

Evidence, Analysis, and Structure : Your paper does a nice job with evidence and analysis: you critically engage scholarship and offer your own original analysis of primary texts. Opening phrases such as “here we see that” (4), and “in this quotation” (6), are clear signals of original analysis, and your use of them really works in drawing the reader’s attention to your scholarly voice. If you were to revise further, I’d recommend extending your analysis even further, continuing to elaborate on the significance of what your interpretation of the evidence reveals. Focusing more on implications would help with structure, especially toward the end of the essay, where the readings of Hemingway’s other works appear rather abruptly. Be sure to show the reader what motivates your analysis in a given paragraph: be sure to make clear the argumentative function of each step. You do this well throughout most of the paper, but the trajectory is less clear toward the end.

Overall, this paper is very good and it earns a grade of B+. I look forward to reading your Dean’s Date Assignment!

D2 Comments

This paper sets out to extend Gillian Beer’s claim about the optimistic and pessimistic elements in Darwin’s theory: while Beer suggests that authors responded to Darwin by registering these elements, your thesis asserts that Trumpery affirms optimism.

However, the body of your paper develops a different argument about the characterizations of Wallace and Darwin and the way that the play portrays Wallace as dominant. You really have interesting things to say about Wallace, and I think that we should use your draft conference to figure out how those claims could become the basis for a new thesis.

motive: I’m not sure that the claim of Beer’s that this paper should engage with is her claim about optimism and pessimism, and we’ll have to talk this evening about what claim of hers your conclusions about Trumpery might challenge or extend. But however you decide to engage with Beer, you’ll want to use your introduction to not only state her argument and your response, but to establish what you see as a problem in her claims, a limitation or shortcoming of her arguments. Doing so will help your reader to see why your argument matters.

thesis and key terms: Your thesis claims that Trumpery affirms the optimistic viewpoint embodied by Wallace. But the body of your paper does not really discuss optimism vs. pessimism. Instead, the word that recurs is “dominant.” It may be that you could show, more systematically than you do here, how Wallace’s dominance demonstrates Parnell’s affirmation of optimism. I am also interested in your paper’s implications for what Parnell is doing with the struggle for existence in this play—as we’ve noted in class, he presents the relationship between Darwin and Wallace in terms of the competition that is so important to Darwin’s theory. Your paper suggests that although Darwin wins, Parnell presents Wallace as more powerful, physically and emotionally.

evidence and analysis: You incorporate a lot of evidence from Trumpery into your essay, largely by way of short quotations (which you do a good job of integrating in your sentences). It’s great that you’re working closely with the text of this source. But the problem is that in the first half of your paper especially, this evidence serves to allow you to summarize events of the play and to show how characters are depicted. It does not serve as the basis for analysis—that is, as a basis for arguable claims or surprising insights about Parnell’s text. And, as I’ve said above, the key terms presented by your thesis (optimistic and pessimistic) pretty much disappear from your discussion of events in the play itself.

Where this essay does shift into analysis mode is in the discussion of Wallace and in the comparison of Darwin and Wallace that develops starting around p. 7. Here, you begin to make claims that go beyond what a casual reader of Trumpery would notice—such as what you say on pp. 4–5 about the way that Wallace speaks. However, there are many places where you make such claims without fully supporting them with evidence and/or analysis. And in the final page and a half, you quote at length from

Trumpery without saying very much about that quotation: it does seem that these passages could be important for your paper, but remember the 1:2 evidence: analysis ratio if you’re going to include them.

structure: It’s because your paper presents a lot of summary that you feel that the paragraphs don’t build on one another by adding new pieces to your argument. But in order to fix this problem, you’ll need to start by deciding what you want to argue.

I look forward to developing that argument with you in our conference!

All the best,

R2 Comments

This paper builds on Gillian Beer’s theory about the way that literary authors are influenced by the dualities present in Darwin’s work. While Beer suggests that these dualities are also present in literary works, you argue that authors can choose one side of the duality over the other, and you demonstrate that in Trumpery , Peter Parnell affirms optimism over pessimism by showing how Wallace, who represents optimism, comes to dominate Darwin, who represents pessimism.

This paper is doing so many things successfully. The introduction sets out a clear motive and thesis by establishing the status quo (Beer) and explaining how you will challenge and build on Beer’s claims. Then there’s a real sense of progression and development in your argument as you present it over the course of the paper. I’m delighted to see from your cover letter that you worked with a reverse outline (which is like a line-of-thinking) and thought of your paper in sections—those are strategies that can help keep a long essay organized, and definitely something to come back to in the research paper! Finally, and perhaps more strikingly of all, there’s terrific analysis of evidence from Trumpery . Your attention to the details of Parnell’s play is truly impressive, and makes your paper fascinating to read—I learned so much about how Trumpery is constructed. Thus you’ve eliminated summary and presented analysis that’s always relevant (and explicitly connected) to your thesis.

Keep doing all of these things this well in the research paper! My comments about this paper interrogate your motive and argument, and they aim to suggest how you might take your writing to the next level.

First, at moments in reading the body of your paper I found myself—and I think many readers would feel the same way—wanting a return to your motive . That is, while motive is something that must be established in the introduction, the strongest papers come back to the initial motivating move at key moments in the body of the essay. Another way to put this: Beer is your argument source, and ideally you should return to your argument source in the course of the paper. Often, a good place to do so is in the transitions between sections of the essay. So, for example, when you shift from showing that Wallace=optimism and Darwin=pessimism to showing that Wallace dominates Darwin, you might tell your reader how Beer’s theory would see these two allegorical figures—presumably, it could account for their presence in the play, but not for what Parnell does with them. Another place to come back to an argument source is in the final body paragraphs. On pp. 7–8, for example, you show that Parnell’s Darwin chooses to see the beauty of nature—whereas in Beer’s view (and maybe in the actual Darwin’s work) beauty and struggle always exist simultaneously.

It’s possible that it would have been easier to bring Beer back more frequently if your initial definition of your key terms made clear that that definition is also, essentially, the one that she uses. A second issue regarding key terms: they largely disappear from the discussion of how Parnell shows Wallace to be dominant. This may leave the reader wondering—is Wallace’s dominance a product of his optimism? Is there a cause-and-effect dynamic here that’s not being fully described? A related question may arise with respect to Darwin’s transformation at the end of the play: how does Wallace convert him? What happens in that conversation between them that changes how Darwin sees the world? Maybe the way to put this into more general terms is to say that this final scene of Trumpery , as the culminating piece of evidence for your argument, deserves more analysis that it receives.

Despite these issues, this paper is a real accomplishment, C. I look forward to seeing how you’ll build on these achievements in the research paper!

Your paper is full of quite elegant, specific, rigorous musical observation! You clearly have great ears and a sophisticated musical vocabulary; the question is how one deploys these skills to argumentative ends.

You articulated a particular motive in your cover letter, namely the ability of text-free music to convey political or narrative messages. This is the beginning of the answer to the ‘who cares?’ question. As it stands, though, there isn’t much in the paper that would indicate this larger concern and, further, the complexity of the question isn’t really engaged. I think there’s a whole lot to say about this sort of approach, and this can lock very nicely into thesis as you continue to develop your thinking. Speaking of thesis, it’s currently very general and slippery; in fact I’m not really sure what the overall argument might be. Taking up this question of music and narrative or the idea of ‘mickey mousing’ which I talk about in my marginal commentary might really lead somewhere promising.

In terms of evidence and analysis, I am quite enthusiastic, as I said repeatedly, about the depth of your musical description! The issue for your reader is going to be to what ends these excellent observations are deployed. This is really a thesis issue more than an evidence/analysis issue. Once you have a singular argument, you can invoke it in your analyses and interpretations; that way we wont’ feel as though these musical moments are floating in uninterpreted space. For your revision, try to make the moments you’ve focused on really work for you in argumentative terms. While this will take some thinking about your overall concerns, putting some pressure on the moments you’ve chosen might prove productive in terms of figuring out what those concerns might be.

Your paper would likewise benefit from a different approach to sources. Right now there isn’t any sort of theoretical source underpinning the argument; this is partly responsible for the sense that there are no anchors to observation/interpretation. As I said in the marginal commentary, looking into some scholarship on music and narrative could be really helpful to you. Specifically, what do scholars say about the pitfalls and benefits of musical narrative, of ‘literal’ depiction of events in musical terms? This would be a nice area of exploration for you.

I’m looking forward to talking through this with you, and to seeing how your thinking develops!

Your paper argues that Terence Blanchard’s A Tale of God’s Will: A Requiem for Katrina does something quite profound; while Blanchard steeps the music in narrative, the presence of this program never blunts the spontaneity of the music and never prevents it from being taken on its own terms.

Motive was nicely staged, both in terms of what the text itself is doing (i.e., that there’s an internal mystery that needs to be resolved) as well as the way this text relates to a scholarly point of interest. On the latter, I wanted for a bit more reference to these scholarly voices as the paper progressed; they were certainly effective as framing devices, but could have had an even greater impact were they given some space to breathe, reinvoked. Thesis was also strongly stated, though I wondered a little bit about the ‘new standard for jazz music’ language. There was definitely opportunity to be even more specific about what sort of innovation this might constitute.

Your evidence and analysis was superb with respect to the way you handled musical observation and interpretation. It was obvious from the draft that you have great ears, but besides the ability to recognize what’s going on, the paper makes nice interpretive moves throughout based on this excellent observational capacity. As I said above, I think it would have been really nice to apply this keen eye to some of the scholarly literature that you used to stage the argument; some close reading on par with the level of detail of the musical observation/analysis would have gone a long way.

With respect to key words, there were a lot of very big concepts (authenticity, narrative, etc.) that were being utilized in the paper, and a reader might have appreciated some time and space dedicated to defining them (provisionally, since getting a definitive ‘meaning’ is going to be pretty impossible!)

Finally, I wanted to say a quick word about structure. I really like the way this paper was set up. You’re able to create an intensifying argument through the way you’ve chosen and laid out your examples. They build throughout from a subtle programmatic content to an almost ‘mickey-moused’ example, so you’re able to refine and develop your argument in a way that’s really satisfying for the reader.

This is such a huge improvement over the draft, and your best paper to date. Way to end on a really high note!

5 effective constructive feedback examples: Unlocking student potential

This video provides an overview of the key features instructors need to know to make best use of Feedback Studio, accessed through the Turnitin website.

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Providing constructive feedback examples to students is an important part of the learning journey and is crucial to student improvement. It can be used to feed a student’s love of learning and help build a strong student-teacher relationship. But it can be difficult to balance the “constructive” with the “feedback” in an effective way.

On one hand, we risk the student not absorbing the information, and therefore missing an opportunity for growth when we offer criticism, even when constructive. On the other hand, there is a risk of discouraging the student, dampening their desire to learn, or even harming their self-confidence. Further complicating the matter is the fact that every student learns differently, hears and absorbs feedback differently, and is at a different level of emotional and intellectual development than their peers.

We know that we can’t teach every student the exact same way and expect the same results for each of them; the same holds true for providing constructive feedback examples. For best results, it’s important to tailor how constructive feedback is provided based on content, student needs, and a variety of other factors.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at constructive feedback examples and the value of effective instructor feedback, centering on Dr. John Hattie’s research on “Where to next?” feedback. We’ll also offer key examples for students, so instructors at different grade levels can apply best practices right away.

In 1992 , Dr. John Hattie—in a meta-analysis of multiple scientific studies—found that “feedback has one of the positive influences on student achievement,” building on Sadler’s concept that good feedback can close the gap between where students are and where they aim to be (Sadler, 1989 ).

But before getting too far into specifics, it would be helpful to talk about what “constructive feedback” is. Not everyone will define it in quite the same way — indeed, there is no singular accepted definition of the phrase.

For example, a researcher in Buenos Aires, Argentina who studies medical school student and resident performance, defines it, rather dryly, as “the act of giving information to a student or resident through the description of their performance in an observed clinical situation.” In workplace scenarios , you’ll often hear it described as feedback that “reinforces desired behaviors” or, a definition that is closer to educators’ goals in the classroom, “a supportive way to improve areas of opportunity.”

Hattie and Clarke ( 2019 ) define feedback as the information about a learning task that helps students understand what is aimed to be understood versus what is being understood.

For the purposes of this discussion, a good definition of constructive feedback is any feedback that the giver provides with the intention of producing a positive result. This working definition includes important parts from other, varied definitions. In educational spaces, “positive result” usually means growth, improvement, or a lesson learned. This is typically accomplished by including clear learning goals and success criteria within the feedback, motivating students towards completing the task.

If you read this header and thought “well… always?” — yes. In an ideal world, all feedback would be constructive feedback.

Of course, the actual answer is: as soon, and as often, as possible.

Learners benefit most from reinforcement that's delivered regularly. This is true for learners of all ages but is particularly so for younger students. It's best for them to receive constructive feedback as regularly, and quickly, as possible. Study after study — such as this one by Indiana University researchers — shows that student information retention, understanding of tasks, and learning outcomes increase when they receive constructive feedback examples soon after the learning moment.

There is, of course, some debate as to precise timing, as to how soon is soon enough. Carnegie Mellon University has been using their proprietary math software, Cognitive Tutor , since the mid-90s. The program gives students immediate feedback on math problems — the university reports that students who use Cognitive Tutor perform better on a variety of assessments , including standardized exams, than their peers who haven’t.

By contrast, a study by Duke University and the University of Texas El Paso found that students who received feedback after a one-week delay retained new knowledge more effectively than students who received feedback immediately. Interestingly, despite better performance, students in the one-week delayed feedback group reported a preference for immediate feedback, revealing a metacognitive disconnect between actual and perceived effectiveness. Could the week delay have allowed for space between the emotionality of test-taking day and the calm, open-to-feedback mental state of post-assessment? Or perhaps the feedback one week later came in greater detail and with a more personalized approach than instant, general commentary? With that in mind, it's important to note that this study looked at one week following an assessment, not feedback that was given several weeks or months after the exam, which is to say: it may behoove instructors to consider a general window—from immediate to one/two weeks out—after one assessment and before the next assessment for the most effective constructive feedback.

The quality of feedback, as mentioned above, can also influence what is well absorbed and what is not. If an instructor can offer nuanced, actionable feedback tailored to specific students, then there is a likelihood that those students will receive and apply that constructive feedback more readily, no matter if that feedback is given minutes or days after an assessment.

Constructive feedback is effective because it positively influences actions students are able to take to improve their own work. And quick feedback works within student workflows because they have the information they need in time to prepare for the next assessment.

No teacher needs a study to tell them that motivated, positive, and supported students succeed, while those that are frustrated, discouraged, or defeated tend to struggle. That said, there are plenty of studies to point to as reference — this 2007 study review and this study from 2010 are good examples — that show exactly that.

How instructors provide feedback to students can have a big impact on whether they are positive and motivated or discouraged and frustrated. In short, constructive feedback sets the stage for effective learning by giving students the chance to take ownership of their own growth and progress.

It’s one thing to know what constructive feedback is and to understand its importance. Actually giving it to students, in a helpful and productive way, is entirely another. Let’s dive into a few elements of successful constructive feedback:

When it comes to providing constructive feedback that students can act on, instructors need to be specific.

Telling a student “good job!” can build them up, but it’s vague — a student may be left wondering which part of an assessment they did good on, or why “good” as opposed to “great” or “excellent” . There are a variety of ways to go beyond “Good job!” on feedback.

On the other side of the coin, a note such as “needs work” is equally as vague — which part needs work, and how much? And as a negative comment (the opposite of constructive feedback), we risk frustrating them or hurting their confidence.

Science backs up the idea that specificity is important . As much as possible, educators should be taking the time to provide student-specific feedback directly to them in a one-on-one way.

There is a substantial need to craft constructive feedback examples in a way that they actively address students’ individual learning goals. If a student understands how the feedback they are receiving will help them progress toward their goal, they’re more likely to absorb it.

Our veteran Turnitin team of educators worked directly with Dr. John Hattie to research the impact of “Where to next?” feedback , a powerful equation for goal-oriented constructive feedback that—when applied formatively and thoughtfully—has been shown to dramatically improve learning outcomes. Students are more likely to revise their writing when instructors include the following three essential components in their feedback:

• Issue: Highlighting and clearly describing the specific issue related to the writing task.
• Relevance: Aligning feedback explicitly to the stated expectations of the assignment (i.e. rubric).
• Action: Providing the learner with their “next steps,” appropriately guiding the work, but not giving away the answer.

It’s also worth noting that quality feedback does not give the answer outright to the student; rather, it offers guidelines and boundaries so the students themselves can do their own thinking, reasoning, and application of their learning.

As mentioned earlier, it's hard to balance the “constructive” with the “feedback” in an effective way. It’s hard, but it’s important that instructors learn how to do it, because how feedback is presented to a student can have a major impact on how they receive it .

Does the student struggle with self confidence? It might be helpful to precede the corrective part of the feedback acknowledging something they did well. Does their performance suffer when they think they’re being watched? It might be important not to overwhelm them with a long list of ideas on what they could improve.

Constructive feedback examples, while cued into the learning goals and assignment criteria, also benefit from being tailored to both how students learn best and their emotional needs. And it goes without saying that feedback looks different at different stages in the journey, when considering the age of the students, the subject area, the point of time in the term or curriculum, etc.

In keeping everything mentioned above in mind, let’s dive into five different ways an instructor could give constructive feedback to a student. Below, we’ll look at varying scenarios in which the “Where to next?” feedback structure could be applied. Keep in mind that feedback is all the more powerful when directly applied to rubrics or assignment expectations to which students can directly refer.

Below is the template that can be used for feedback. Again, an instructor may also choose to couple the sentences below with an encouraging remark before or after, like: "It's clear you are working hard to add descriptive words to your body paragraphs" or "I can tell that you conducted in-depth research for this particular section."

For instructors with a pile of essays needing feedback and marks, it can feel overwhelming to offer meaningful comments on each one. One tip is to focus on one thing at a time (structure, grammar, punctuation), instead of trying to address each and every issue. This makes feedback not only more manageable from an instructor’s point of view, but also more digestible from a student’ s perspective.

Example: This sentence might be difficult for your readers to understand. Reword this sentence so your meaning is clear to your audience.

Rubrics are an integral piece of the learning journey because they communicate an assignment’s expectations to students. When rubrics are meaningfully tied to a project, it is clear to both instructors and students how an assignment can be completed at the highest level. Constructive feedback can then tie directly to the rubric , connecting what a student may be missing to the overarching goals of the assignment.

Example: The rubric requires at least three citations in this paper. Consider integrating additional citations in this section so that your audience understands how your perspective on the topic fits in with current research.

Within Turnitin Feedback Studio, instructors can add an existing rubric , modify an existing rubric in your account, or create a new rubric for each new assignment.

QuickMark comments are sets of comments for educators to easily leave feedback on student work within Turnitin Feedback Studio.

Educators may either use the numerous QuickMarks sets readily available in Turnitin Feedback Studio, or they may create sets of commonly used comments on their own. Regardless, as a method for leaving feedback, QuickMarks are ideal for leaving “Where to next?” feedback on student work.

Here is an example of “Where to next?” feedback in QuickMarks:

It can be just as helpful to see a non-example of “Where to next?” feedback. In the image below, a well-meaning instructor offers feedback to a student, reminding them of what type of evidence is required in an argumentative essay. However, Issue and Action are missing, which leaves the student wondering: “Where exactly do I need to improve my support? And what next steps ought to be taken?”

Here is a non-example of “Where to next?” feedback in QuickMarks:

As an instructor in a STEM class, one might be wondering, “How do I apply this structure to my feedback?” While “Where to next?” feedback is most readily applied to English Language Arts/writing course assignments, instructors across subject areas can and should try to implement this type of feedback on their assignments by following the structure: Issue + Relevance + Action. Below is an example of how you might apply this constructive feedback structure to a Computer Science project:

Example: The rubric asks you to avoid “hard coding” values, where possible. In this line, consider if you can find a way to reference the size of the array instead.

As educators, we have an incredible power: the power to help struggling students improve, and the power to help propel excelling students on to ever greater heights.

This power lies in how we provide feedback. If our feedback is negative, punitive, or vague, our students will suffer for it. But if it's clear, concise, and, most importantly, constructive feedback, it can help students to learn and succeed.

Study after study have highlighted the importance of giving students constructive feedback, and giving it to them relatively quickly. The sooner we can give them feedback, the fresher the information is in their minds. The more constructively that we package that feedback, the more likely they are to be open to receiving it. And the more regularly that we provide constructive feedback examples, the more likely they are to absorb those lessons and prepare for the next assessment.

The significance of providing effective constructive feedback to students cannot be overstated. By offering specific, actionable insights, educators foster a sense of self-improvement and can truly help to propel students toward their full potential.

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Examples of Submission Feedback

The following are actual responses to some of our recent submissions to the Online Writing Lab, although the names have been changed to maintain the anonymity of student writers. You can expect similarly global-oriented comments and suggestions for developing your own work. Of course, length and type of feedback vary between individual tutors and between essay submissions.

Dear Rachel: I think you touch on some really nice ideas in this paper, which I'll talk about in a minute, but first I want to address one general concern I had about your writing. You have a tendency to spend too much time summarizing the plot--this is time when you could be advancing your argument. You don't need to tell your reader what happens in the story; you can assume that he or she already knows. For example, look at this paragraph: [...] Everything that I've noted with square brackets is plot summary. The sentence that begins "Feeling rejected, the creature wanders away..." is borderline because you're making a judgment about the creature's motivations, but in general you shouldn't spend time repeating the events of the story. The second part of this paragraph is much better in that you're talking about motivations and making arguments. I think you've got some really interesting ideas in this paper, particularly in your fifth and sixth paragraphs, but you need to expand upon them. For example, you might spend more time talking about Millhauser's rationale--WHY does he think the monster should have been presented as a brutal beast throughout? What would be lost in such a presentation? Why is it better that Shelley shows the monster in terms of growth and progression? You introduce this idea in your introduction, arguing that Shelley is deliberately playing with the reader's sympathies, for the monster and for Frankenstein. Could you say more about HOW she does this? What is the effect of the reader's divided sympathies? Where does the sympathy lie at the end of the book? Why might Shelley be interested in this? In general, what is the value of making the creature sympathetic? I hope you found some of the questions I've raised valuable. You've touched on some interesting issues in this paper, and there is definitely plenty of room for you to develop them even further. If you have any questions about anything I've said, or any further questions, please feel free to write back to me. Good luck with your paper and thank you for submitting to the OWL!

Mark, Thank you for submitting your paper to the OWL; I am a Political Science major and very much enjoyed reading it. Below you will find a few suggestions for how to strengthen your writing during the revision process. You wrote that your major concerns with your paper were "abstract prose" and "elementary points." I did not find your arguments to be too simplistic or "elementary," nor did your language seem too abstract. It did, however, lack clarity and definition at some points. Specifically, there are some concepts that you repeat throughout your paper but never define. One is the "republican role." It may be that your instructor discussed this idea at length in class, or that Machiavelli does in his Discourses on Livy, but there is no such discussion in your paper. A stronger paper would define the proper role of a leader in a republican state from the beginning. Some theoretical questions you may want to consider on this point include: what is the difference between a republican leader and a tyrannical leader? How can one distinguish between the two? Why is it important to prevent against tyranny? Is the leader subservient to the will of the people? Is the leader responsible to anyone? Where does the leader draw his power or right to govern from? What does it mean to "be subordinate to a republican role"? What qualities are valuable in a leader? Which ones are dangerous? It may be beneficial to read over your paper with a critical eye looking for vague concepts. What ideas do you reference but never fully explain? Do you take certain concepts for granted? If you find such problems, generating a list of questions to focus your idea (as above) can be a helpful exercise. There were two more areas I found especially lacking in definition: the concept of tyranny and a "short time in office." Thank you again for submitting your paper to the OWL. Your arguments are strong and I hope my comments will help to fine-tune your essay. Please feel free to e-mail me for further assistance or clarification. Good luck with your revisions!

Thanks for submitting your essay-I enjoyed reading it. I hope my comments help you in your revision process.

Your personal narrative is without a doubt at its best when you give vivid details of the day from your perspective, which is, as you describe, a very unique one. The "chalky taste" of the air, for instance, is a detail that really brings the scene to life.

You asked for help with structure, and I think the most sensible structure in this case is a chronological one. It's fine to start with a vivid scene to land the reader in the event, but then it makes sense to step back and tell the story as it happened. To help you accomplish this end, you might consider listing each of the major points you want to cover and then turning them into an outline. It might help, too, to think about the overall message you want to convey. Then make sure all of your details contribute to that message.

As for constructive comments, you never really explain why you were at Ground Zero on September 12. Do you just happen to live nearby? Did you have any special connection to the firefighters or the victims? Why did you decide to help out?

I would also be careful of the very general statements you use to sum up the essay, such as , "That day brought to my attention a side of humanity that had lay dormant in my mind. That moment in time showed me that people have the capacity to act unselfishly." It's best to convey your point through examples rather than summation-the old advice to "show not tell."

It takes a lot of courage to tackle in an essay the events of September 11 and the days following, but I think you have a great perspective, and the ability to look beyond the chaos to the details of the scene.

Feel free to write back as you revise this piece. I'd be glad to talk more about it.

Hello, Angela,

Your paper is coherent, well-organized, and very informative. You do a nice job of incorporating various theorists and applying their ideas to the phenomenon of AHANA. You also do a good job of considering "the opposing viewpoint" and introducing relevant arguments to substantiate your position.

One area I would suggest giving a little more attention to how exactly AHANA functions. You mention that the term was coined as an alternative to the more negative term "minority," and that the group exists to "promote understanding..." etc. But I still want to know more about HOW the group works to achieve their goals; do they sponsor events on campus? hold workshops? etc. You did an effective job of explaining the philosophy of the group, but I would be interested in seeing just a little bit more of how it works in action, so to speak.

The second point is that you might want to explain in greater detail how subjective experiences shape the need for a group such as AHANA. You mention that racial and cultural differences do exist and that the "differing perspectives caused by these distinctions exist regardless of whether they are acknowledged." This is a very integral part of your argument, so maybe developing it further would be helpful. I realize it's a very broad concept to try and condense within your paper, but focusing on explicating that part might be helpful. Overall, I think you have a very strong paper that seems to fulfill the parameters of the assignment quite well.

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5 Well-crafted Essay Feedback Examples That Promote Growth

• backlinkworks
• Writing Articles & Reviews
• September 15, 2023

Introduction

Providing constructive and valuable feedback is a crucial aspect of the learning process for students. By offering insightful comments, educators can guide students towards improvement and growth in their essay writing skills. In this article, we will explore five well-crafted essay feedback examples that promote growth and development in students.

Example 1: Highlighting Strengths and Areas for Improvement

One effective feedback approach is to first recognize the strengths of a student’s essay. Start by pointing out the well-developed arguments, strong use of evidence, or exceptional creativity demonstrated in the paper. By acknowledging these strengths, students gain confidence and motivation to continue their growth. However, IT is equally important to point out areas for improvement. Identify the weaker arguments, inconsistencies, or areas that lack clarity. Provide specific suggestions, such as recommending additional research or providing examples to support their claims.

Example 2: Encouraging Critical Thinking

Essay feedback should encourage students to think critically about their arguments and evidence. Prompt them to question assumptions, analyze the underlying logic, and consider alternative viewpoints. For instance, instead of simply providing answers or corrections, ask probing questions that encourage deeper reflection. By fostering critical thinking skills, students learn to evaluate their own work more objectively and develop a more nuanced understanding of the subject matter.

Example 3: Providing Clear and Actionable Suggestions

Clear feedback needs to provide specific suggestions for improvement. Rather than simply stating that the introduction is weak, provide guidance on how to make IT stronger. For instance, suggest different ways to hook the reader or restructure the introduction to create a more compelling thesis statement. Specific and actionable suggestions give students tangible steps to take to enhance their essays, enabling them to actively work towards growth.

Example 4: Focusing on Grammar and Language

In addition to addressing content and arguments, essay feedback should also focus on grammar and language. While IT is important to acknowledge that these aspects do not determine the overall quality of an essay, providing feedback on language use helps students become more effective communicators. Offer suggestions on sentence structure, word choice, and clarity. Additionally, recommend reliable resources, such as grammar guides or language learning tools, to further assist with language improvement.

Example 5: Encouraging Revision and Reflective Practice

Feedback should emphasize the importance of revision and encourage students to engage in reflective practices. Guide students in reflecting on their initial writing process and identifying specific areas for modification. Encourage multiple drafts, emphasizing that quality essays are rarely achieved with just one attempt. By promoting revision and reflection, students understand the iterative nature of writing and are motivated to continuously enhance their skills.

Effective essay feedback is a powerful tool in promoting growth and development in students’ writing abilities. By highlighting strengths and areas for improvement, encouraging critical thinking, providing clear suggestions, focusing on grammar and language, and emphasizing revision and self-reflection, educators can help students become better writers. Constructive feedback not only enhances their current work but also equips students with invaluable skills for future endeavors.

Q: How can essay feedback benefit students?

A: Essay feedback benefits students by encouraging growth and improvement in their writing skills. IT allows them to identify their strengths and weaknesses, prompts critical thinking, and offers actionable suggestions for enhancement.

Q: Should essay feedback only focus on grammar and language?

A: No, essay feedback should not be limited to grammar and language alone. While these aspects are crucial, feedback must also address content , arguments, structure, and clarity. Providing feedback on all these aspects contributes to overall growth in a student’s writing ability.

Q: How often should students receive essay feedback?

A: The frequency of essay feedback may vary depending on educational settings and assignments. However, IT is beneficial for students to receive feedback on a regular basis, ideally after each major essay submission. Frequent feedback enables students to apply the suggestions and lessons learned to subsequent assignments, fostering continuous growth.

Q: How should feedback be delivered to students?

A: Feedback can be delivered in various formats, such as written comments, in-person discussions, or even audio/video recordings. IT is essential to choose a delivery method that ensures clarity and allows students to fully understand the feedback provided. Additionally, offering opportunities for students to ask questions or seek further clarification supports their growth.

Q: Can feedback be overwhelming for students?

A: Feedback, if not properly delivered, can feel overwhelming for students. IT is essential for educators to balance constructive criticism with acknowledgment of their strengths. Providing clear and specific suggestions, along with encouragement and support, can help students navigate feedback and view IT as an opportunity for growth.

Providing well-crafted essay feedback is an art. Educators who perfect this skill empower their students to develop stronger writing abilities, critical thinking skills, and a growth mindset. By employing these five examples of effective feedback, teachers can make a lasting impact on their students’ writing journey.

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How to Give Feedback on an Essay

• 4-minute read
• 9th May 2019

Whether you’re teaching or just helping a friend, being asked to offer feedback on an essay can be intimidating if you’ve not done it before. We do, though, have a few tips to share on this subject.

Content vs. Quality of Writing

There are two main things you may want to offer feedback on when reading an essay. These are:

• The content of the essay (i.e. what the author is arguing)
• How it is written (i.e. how well they communicate their argument)

The exact nature of the feedback you provide will depend on the topic and type of essay you are reading. But there are some things you might want to comment on for any paper, including:

• Spelling, grammar and punctuation errors
• Overall structure and readability
• Academic vocabulary and writing style
• Factual inaccuracies or ambiguities
• Whether the author provides evidence for their arguments
• Clarity and consistency of referencing

Ideally, you’ll provide feedback on all of these. However, if you’re simply reading the first draft of a paper to help a friend, you may want to check what kind of feedback they want.

Try, too, to balance the positive and negative feedback. It’s just as important to note things that are good as things that need clarifying. After all, if the author sees nothing but negative comments, they could be discouraged. Positive feedback, on the other hand, is a great motivator.

Comments in Margins vs. In-Depth Feedback

One way of leaving feedback is to make notes in the margins (either on paper or using the comment function in Microsoft Word). These should be short notes related to a specific issue, such as highlighting a misspelled word, an incorrect fact, or a missing citation.

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Try not to leave too many comments in the margins, though. If there is a recurring problem, such as a word that the author has repeatedly misspelled, don’t comment on it every time. Instead, leave a comment noting the pattern of errors. This highlights the issue without overwhelming the reader.

You may also want to provide overall feedback at the end of the paper. Ideally, this in-depth feedback should:

• Start positive (e.g. This is a well-researched, well-organised paper ).
• Focus on one or two major issues rather than repeating everything you commented on in the margins. If there are too many big problems to pick one or two, you may want to speak to the author in person instead.
• Provide concrete criticism on specific problems, including page or section numbers where relevant, not just general criticisms (e.g. You are missing several citations in section three, so please check… rather than The referencing in this paper could be improved… ).

If you’re offering feedback on an essay that is currently in progress, focus on issues that the author could improve in the next draft. If you’re marking a final draft, however, you may want to focus on what they can learn from the essay’s overall strengths and weaknesses.

Marking Criteria

Finally, if you’re teaching on a university course – or even just marking papers – you should have access to the marking criteria. These will be set by the university or whoever is teaching the class. And, crucially, these guidelines will set out in detail what a good paper should do.

These criteria can also be useful when planning a paper, so it’s worth asking about the marking criteria even if you’re writing an essay rather than offering feedback! And if you’re not sure where to find the marking criteria for your course, check the university website or ask your professor.

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Trending Post : 12 Powerful Discussion Strategies to Engage Students

How to Respond to Student Writing: 10 Ways to Give Feedback that Sticks

Have you ever had the experience of a student crying, arguing, or yelling after handing back a graded essay? Have you personally ever felt wronged by a teacher or college professor whose feedback on an essay left you feeling one inch tall? Responding to writing is challenging because…writing is vulnerable. People have an emotional connection to the words they put on paper. If you’re wondering how to give feedback on student writing in an effective manner, this post is for you.

The way teachers provide feedback on students’ writing directly impacts their internal dialogue and self-perceptions. None of us approach grading essays with the intention of making a student feel bad, but we always know when it has inadvertently happened.

The problem comes in when English teachers have 150 papers to grade at a time. It can be easy to fall into the trap of commenting quickly to get through the massive stack faster – understandable on many levels. What that means, though, is that we might not be putting the amount of thought into our feedback that we need to in terms of being sensitive to how students will perceive it.

So, what can we do? If you’ve landed on this post because you’re wondering how to give feedback on student writing, here are ten tips that could provide some fresh insight.

HOW TO GIVE FEEDBACK ON STUDENT WRITING

1. narrow the focus.

When responding to writing, we need to think about what we  really  want our students to know. We can’t comment on everything because students won’t learn #allthethings like we hope they will. Instead, we can provide fewer comments that are meaningful suggestions worded in a way that are sensitive to students’ perceptions.

For example, if a student’s essay is full of spelling errors, it’s not necessary to circle every word (although it may be tempting to do so). Why not just write, “Please check spelling throughout the essay” or “Please ask a parent help you spell check”?  These comments are more positive and seem like less of a Sisyphean task.

2. ASK QUESTIONS INSTEAD OF MAKING STATEMENTS

Research shows that asking questions is more beneficial to learning than making statements. Questions push people to figure out answers on their own. In terms of wanting to influence students’ self talk in a positive way, consider the following.

Maybe you notice a student’s essay is wrought with run-ons. Would it be more beneficial to…

• State: “There are run-ons in every paragraph. Proofread more carefully.”    OR….
• Ask: “ Where might you insert end marks to help the audience follow your line of thinking more easily? Please review the notes on sentence errors and then make some revisions.”

3. CONFER WITH STUDENTS

It’s a lot easier to word suggestions in a positive manner if you are speaking with the student. In writing, it’s more difficult to infer tone, and it’s easier to write something that is brash than it is to speak it. Talking with students is one way to get to know them better as writers and as people.

Students need to feel a genuine relationship with their teacher in order to really be vulnerable and accept suggestions for improvement. Plus, conferring with students means we spend less time grading a mountain of papers. During conferring, we can word suggestions kindly to build students’ optimistic self-talk.

Not sure how to get organized? These writing conference forms can help.

4. USE A ONE-TO-ONE RATIO

Students will be more receptive to constructive feedback when it’s balanced with praise. Point out students’ strengths. Tell them what they did well. If you can’t find enough strengths in their writing, it’s probably a good idea just to help them develop one goal to work on for improvement. Anything else would be overwhelming…and it might make them feel incapable.

Plus, how many things can a student work on improving at the same time and truly master? A one-to-one ratio is a good goal to begin with if you’re not used to balancing feedback. Begin with the positive.

5. KEEP FEEDBACK TIMELY

When talking about how to give feedback on student writing, the answer is often in the timing. It can be difficult to provide feedback quickly after students submit an essay. However, when we allow too much time to pass, the feedback is no longer relevant to students. That’s a problem when we want our feedback to build confidence while also encouraging students to want to grow.

Helping students develop their writing skills requires a trusting relationship between teacher and pupil. If a student can’t depend on the teacher to return an essay within a reasonable amount of time, why would they trust us when we offer suggestions for improvement? What are we really saying when we don’t hand back feedback for two months after students submit an essay? What message does that convey?

6. JUST READ

The answer to the question of how to respond to student writing may be much more simple than it seems. The first time you look at a student’s essay, just read it. Take time to reflect on what you read before making any comments. This strategy will help you to write only the things that matter most and reduce time nit-picking every error.

Sometimes when responding to writing, our impulse is to point out every imperfection, but that doesn’t help the student or us as teachers. Just put away the pen for the first reading, and then balance positive and constructive feedback as you note the most important goals for each student.

7. ASK STUDENTS TO REFLECT

One important step in helping students improve their internal dialogue is allowing them to find their own mistakes. It’s true, students won’t find everything you will. But, when we provide them with a rubric we have carefully explained and referenced in advance, they should be able to pinpoint areas where they can grow.

Understanding how students view their writing will help us in two ways:

• We will be aware of what students think their strengths and weaknesses are. In this way, if they think their ideas are excellent, we know that we need to have a conversation with them about how content can be improved rather than writing feedback in the margins and giving them an “unsatisfactory” rating for that component.
• It prepares students to accept help. If they know their writing isn’t perfect, they will be less likely to negatively internalize suggestions for improvement.

8. BE SPECIFIC

It’s easy to rush through grading papers and leave vague comments like “awkward” or “confusing.” Yet, those comments don’t help students, and they typically are not internalized positively. A more helpful approach would be to leave kind, specific suggestions. For example, “Can you clarify this argument? I’m not sure what you mean here” or “Is the hotdog driving the car? Try rewording the sentence to clarify.”

Even when we are leaving good feedback, it helps to be specific. Rather than, “good” or “love this!” try writing, “This sentence really emphasizes the importance of the research” or “This transition is so helpful for readers to follow your line of thinking.”

9. CLARIFY THE AUDIENCE’S VIEW

Instead of pointing out what the writer did wrong, focus on what might confuse readers. For instance, will the audience be confused about how the hook relates to the thesis? You could ask, “What is the connection between the hook and the thesis? Can you help readers understand how they relate in the bridge?”

Another example might be if a student only cites direct quotes in the essay and does not paraphrase research. You could write, “How many of the sentences in this paragraph are in your own wording? How might you revise so that the audience will be able to hear  your voice coming through?”

Focusing on what the readers  need instead of what the writer  did wrong is another way we can be sensitive to students’ internal dialogue.

10. HELP STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES

What we stress in our feedback shapes how students view their writing abilities. It’s important that our feedback leads students to a point where they can see their own strengths and weaknesses. Pointing out patterns can be useful because students are not usually able to observe these patterns about themselves.

To illustrate, maybe a student is a talented writer, but he or she is consistently verbose. We can show students these areas for growth through our feedback.

I love how you take time to select words that are meaningful and precise. I can tell you put a lot of time and effort into writing sentences that are mature. I’m proud of you! Here is one area for growth I’d like you to consider: How can you maintain your personal style and your impressive word choice while also being more concise so that readers are can follow along easier?

Alternatively, give students your feedback, but don’t attach it to a grade. Allow them to let the feedback (using the tips above) sink in and reflect on their own areas for growth according to the rubric.

Responding to writing in a way that improves students’ internal dialogue and respects their readiness levels is hard. The best approach is for us to put ourselves in our students’ shoes. What would we want or not want a teacher to tell us?

Still pondering how to give feedback on student writing? Lauralee from Language Arts Classroom has some ideas to share.

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Teaching elaboration in writing, how to model writing for students, related resource:.

Make feedback as meaningful as possible by conferring with student writers. Writing conferences help us to build confidence, establish relationships, and differentiate writing goals for all students. Use these writing forms to get started!

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lifestyle blog of a single mom who works from home

Giving Positive Feedback in Writing

December 2, 2010 By Jimmie Quick 15 Comments

When you are helping your child in the revising stage of writing, be ever so careful with your criticism. If you are  like me, you breeze over all the strong things in the assignment and narrow in on the errors and the weaknesses .

I do see the positive aspects, but I tend to only verbalize the negative aspects. It’s part of my “hurry up and get cracking” attitude:   Let’s get these problems fixed so we can move on. But in doing so, I’m neglecting a really important part of the writing process.

Sprite needs to hear exactly what are the strong points of her writing as well as hear about the weaker parts.

2.  She may not even realize those are strong points. Those things may have happened accidentally. By pointing out the positive aspects, she is more likely to repeat them and understand why they are so important.

In order for the praise to work it must be two things:

Just saying, “ This is good ” isn’t very helpful. The praise needs to tell exactly what was good.

Here are some examples of specific praise you can use.

• This thesis statement is very clear. When I read it, I know exactly what your essay will be about.
• This paragraph is full of details. This one even made me laugh. This one gave me a clear image in my mind.
• Your introduction really grabbed my attention. I wanted to keep reading.
• This transition word is perfect for shifting to the next main idea.
• I love how you wrapped up all the main points at the end. Your clincher was very strong.
• Great use of comma and a conjunction to join to independent clauses!
• This is a superb word choice.
• Wow, there are no run-on sentences in this entire essay.
• You didn’t get tricked by the its/it’s thing. Good job!

Notice my praise included conceptual elements (details, introduction), structural elements (transitions, thesis statement), and mechanics (its/it’s, run-ons). All are part of the written product, and all deserve some feedback.

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December 2, 2010 at 10:08 pm

Oh Jimmie, this is timely! -Christine

December 2, 2010 at 10:35 pm

Timely indeed. And I guess I should give some genuine, specific feedback!

Good point about kids not realizing the strong points of their writing. Also remembering to comment on concepts, mechanics, and structure will help the writer keep all those things in mind.

December 3, 2010 at 12:35 am

This has been one of my weakest skills in homeschooling. I find it very hard to critique their writing. I am procrastinating looking at Mr. A’s Lord of the Flies essay right now….want to look at it for me? I am trying to use grading rubrics for this visual spatial learner and it helps both of us have a way to find the positives and negatives in his writing.

Great post, one that many of us need to remember.

December 3, 2010 at 8:26 am

Perfect advice! I love it how you focused on the importance of giving comprehensive feedback – not only (negative) criticism.

Read Aloud Dad

December 3, 2010 at 11:28 am

When I was teaching high school English I used to work on writing skills a lot and you are right, positive is so important. I would often say things like “Well your creativity, the most important element that certainly can’t be taught is there in spades! Now let’s just work on that pesky spelling and paragraphing which is the boring bit but needs to be right.” I’d always let them know what was valued and then move on to the specific targets that I wanted them to work on. I think being specific and quantifiable is so important, let them know exactly what you want them to do rather than a vague ‘improve structure’. Good article on an important topic.

December 3, 2010 at 12:19 pm

All great advice! The writing process is so complex, it’s easy to overwhelm our kids with corrections!

December 3, 2010 at 2:45 pm

Great tips! You have given wonderful examples of positive comments. Good writing is such a complex combination of skills that it helps to know what to focus on when giving the assigment and bear those skills in mind when grading. So if, for example, we focus on topic sentences in paragraphs, or attention grabbing introductions, that is the aspect that needs the most encouragement and the other technical details are secondary.

December 3, 2010 at 7:18 pm

Thanks for posting this, I SOOOO needed it, especially now. Need to take these points to heart.

December 3, 2010 at 9:27 pm

A great reminder! Love the suggestions for positive comments. Thank you!

December 4, 2010 at 12:08 pm

What a wonderful post. Giving positive feedback on children’s writing is something I learned when I taught in the public schools, and it is something I have tried to remember with my own children. I have noticed with my own kids, that the more positive feedback that I give them, the better they take the criticism and are able to use it to improve their writing.

December 6, 2010 at 5:14 am

Great post, Jimmie! One tip I have for critiquing the writing of a new or reluctant writer is to focus on one main thing at a time until it is mastered. I had one of my children write many shorter length pieces and work on, let’s say, paragraph transition, or subject-word agreement, or clear topic sentences, etc. Focusing on one aspect at a time helped my student not be overwhelmed while giving him time to see where he needed to improve.

Dana Dana Wilson Epi Kardia Home Education, LLC http://www.epikardia.com http://www.epikardia.com/blog/curriculum/is-santa-real/

December 10, 2010 at 6:58 am

And so true in all aspects of teaching and parenting. The criticisms are easy and always ready. The praise for a job done right . . . or the good parts of a job done not so well . . . is not quite as quick in coming. Though every bit as important, and often more so.

December 11, 2010 at 10:59 pm

This is really great advice, not only for writing, but for homeschooling and parenting in general.

When I review my son’s writing assignments, I also start by reminding him that receiving feedback and making corrections is part of the writing process. I tell him that when I write e-mails, letters, blog posts, etc., I always have to go back and make changes and revisions. Sometimes, I even show him something I’ve marked up. I think this helps him understand that it’s not personal.

December 16, 2010 at 10:53 am

Hey Jimmie, I tried to link over to the article that you included, but I think the link may have changed. Just fyi. I’d love to read the article. Thanks for the cont’d reminder about pointed out what’s working in a piece of writing.

December 17, 2010 at 12:55 pm

Aimee, You are right! The article is GONE. How terrible. It was a fantastic article, and no amount of searching can turn it up. (Even the Wayback Machine at Archive.org doesn’t work.) I’m so sorry!

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30 Positive Feedback Examples: The Best Way to Give Positive Feedback to Colleagues

by Emre Ok March 31, 2023, 2:46 pm updated May 13, 2024, 8:08 pm 31.4k Views

There is a common misconception that positive feedback is worthless and one should only concern themselves with the negative feedback one receives. Well, the positive feedback examples we have in this list today would like to disagree with that statement.

While there is an argument to be made, about positive feedback examples can quickly turn into echo chambers that bring with them a dangerous sense of “Yes-Man-ism”, positive feedback examples are also one of the best employee recognition methods out there today!

So… “What are examples of positive feedback to staff?” you ask? We have the answer! The 30 positive feedback examples listed below are all designed to help you give your team the best possible positive feedback!

Whether you’re looking for some positive feedback examples for peers or your direct reports , we have something for you in this blog post. Let’s dive into the world of professional positive feedback examples!

Don’t Let Your Positive Feedback Go To Waste

How you deliver your feedback is just as important as the content of your feedback. One of the best ways to make sure your feedback counts is to set particular feedback standards through feedback templates .

It is even better if you have those templates fully integrated into your central communication and collaboration platform. For Microsoft Teams, this is where Teamflect comes in.

As the best free feedback software for Microsoft Teams, it lets users exchange feedback through customizable and comprehensive feedback templates that they can access even through Teams chat. You can try Teamflect’s feedback features for free, without needing to sign-up by clicking the button below!

Table of Contents

30 Positive Feedback Examples

1. exceptional work.

Acknowledging a colleague’s exceptional work can motivate them to continue to produce high-quality work and inspire others to strive for excellence as well. It shows that their efforts are valued and recognized, which can boost their morale and confidence.

“Your work on that project was exceptional! You went above and beyond what was expected of you, and your attention to detail really paid off. Your hard work made a real difference, and I’m grateful to have you on our team.”

2. Engaging Presentation

Presenting to an audience can be nerve-wracking, so when a colleague does an exceptional job, it’s important to acknowledge their effort. Giving some positive presentation feedback examples can help them feel more confident and motivate them to keep improving their presentation skills if you acknowledge their capacity to keep the audience interested.

“I just wanted to let you know that your presentation was amazing! You did a fantastic job of keeping the audience engaged, and your passion for the topic really shone through. You have a real talent for presenting, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next.”

3. Professionalism in Difficult Situations

Handling difficult situations with grace and professionalism is a valuable skill that not everyone possesses. By praising a coworker for maintaining composure under pressure, you can let them know their efforts are seen and encourage others to follow in their footsteps.

“I’m so impressed by your ability to handle difficult situations with grace and professionalism. You really saved the day with that client, and your dedication to finding a solution was inspiring. Your calm and collected approach is something we can all learn from.”

4. Outstanding Work

Practicing employee praise when a colleague has produced excellent work can increase their drive and self-esteem, and it can encourage others to adopt their strategy. Simply put, if an employee is being praised and rewarded for a particular behavior, they are more likely to repeat it and outstanding work is something we all would want more of.

“Your work on this project has been outstanding! You’ve put in so much time and effort, and it really shows in the final product. Your creativity and expertise are invaluable to our team, and we’re lucky to have you.”

5. Helpful Colleague

It is a sad fact that toxic concepts such as hustle culture have created a sense of unhealthy competitiveness in many a workplace. A teammate that is willing to go out of their way to help others fosters an incredibly positive atmosphere in the workplace. One that requires you to give said employee kudos!

“I just wanted to say thank you for always being willing to lend a helping hand. Your generosity and kindness have not gone unnoticed, and your positive attitude is contagious. You make our workplace a better place to be.”

6. Creative Problem-Solver

When you take the time to recognize a colleague’s ability to come up with innovative solutions to problems, you not only make them feel appreciated and valued, but you also inspire them to keep honing their skills. This kind of acknowledgment is crucial for employee morale and productivity, as it demonstrates that their hard work and ingenuity are being recognized and rewarded.

“You have a real knack for problem-solving. Your ability to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions is impressive. You’ve saved us time and again with your ingenuity, and I’m grateful for your contributions to the team.”

7. Exceptional Leader

Fostering a culture of leadership and mentorship, we create a supportive environment where individuals feel empowered to take on new challenges and grow in their roles. Recognizing and celebrating leadership skills sends a message that leadership is valued and encouraged within the organization. This in turn leads to a more collaborative and innovative team dynamic, where individuals are motivated to share their ideas and work together towards greater success.

“Your leadership skills are truly exceptional. You have a way of motivating and inspiring others that is rare, and your commitment to our team’s success is evident in everything you do. We’re lucky to have you at the helm.”

8. Expertise

Giving credit where it’s due is a fundamental aspect of building a successful and thriving team. When we acknowledge our colleagues’ knowledge and experience, we not only boost their confidence and motivation but also inspire them to keep sharing their valuable insights and expertise with others.

“I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your expertise. Your knowledge and experience have been invaluable to me, and I’m grateful for your willingness to share your wisdom. You’re a real asset to our team.”

9. Positive Attitude

A colleague’s ability to maintain a positive attitude can motivate them to continue to inspire others and can encourage others to approach challenges with a positive outlook. As a result, the work environment can become more positive and supportive. When you praise someone for having a positive outlook on their workday, you give them further incentive to stay positive!

“Your positive attitude is infectious! You have a way of lifting everyone’s spirits and making even the toughest days a little brighter. Your enthusiasm for your work is inspiring, and I’m lucky to work alongside you.”

10. Clear Communication

If we are praising our teammates on their communication skills, we are also encouraging them to put those skills to work. We are also recognizing the importance of that specific skillset. Having a better understanding of communication skills in the workplace can reduce misunderstandings, performance review biases , and many other issues that may arise from a lack of communication.

“You have a real gift for communication. Your ability to explain complex ideas in a clear and concise way is impressive, and your attention to detail is second to none. You make our team stronger with your excellent communication skills.”

11. Dedication to Excellence

On the heels of a year where quiet quitting was the talk of the town in every single workplace across the world, having teammates that are dedicated to achieving excellence is truly rare. That is why a situation like this is a great opportunity to give positive feedback to colleagues.

“Your dedication to your work is truly inspiring. You always go the extra mile and never settle for anything less than excellence. Your hard work and determination are a real example to us all, and we’re lucky to have you on our team.”

12. Growth Mindset

We here at Teamflect value the growth mindset immensely. Why do you think that we have an employee development plan attached to every single one of our performance review templates ? Getting even more specific: These aren’t one-sided plans. They often include a self-review section as well. That is just how much we value the growth mindset your employees have. So should you!

“Your willingness to learn and grow is admirable. You’re always seeking out new challenges and pushing yourself to be better, and your growth mindset is infectious. You’re an inspiration to us all.”

13. Valuable Contributions

Everyone’s contributions to the team are important and should be recognized. No contribution is too small to be praised! Acknowledging a colleague’s valuable contributions can motivate them to continue to contribute to the team’s success and can inspire others to do the same.

“Your contributions to our team are immeasurable. You bring so much to the table with your expertise and creativity, and you always give 110%. Your hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed.”

14. Strong Work Ethic

The ability to work hard is a valuable trait to have in any workplace. Taking the time to recognize the dedication and commitment of a colleague can motivate them to continue working hard and can inspire others to adopt similar work ethics.

“Your work ethic is truly remarkable. You set the bar high for us all with your commitment and perseverance, and you’re a positive influence on the entire team. We’re lucky to have you as a colleague.”

15. Positive Influence

A positive work environment can increase productivity, improve job satisfaction, and enhance employee morale on the contrary of a toxic workplace . Therefore, acknowledging an ability to lift others up, create a positive atmosphere, and foster collaboration can have a significant impact on the team’s success.

“I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate your sense of humor. Your ability to find the funny side of things is a real gift, and your lighthearted approach makes our workplace a more enjoyable place to be. Thank you for keeping us all laughing!”

16. Great Time Management

Strong time management is a skill that we all need but don’t have. That’s why recognizing a colleague’s exceptional time management skills could motivate them further to stay organized, meet deadlines, and deliver high-quality work in a timely manner.

“I’m consistently impressed by your exceptional time management skills! You always deliver your work promptly, and your ability to juggle multiple tasks without compromising quality is remarkable. Your dedication to meeting deadlines is well-recognized and sets a great example for the rest of the team.”

17. Exceptional Initiative

Recognizing a colleague’s exceptional initiative might motivate them to keep taking ownership, being proactive, and looking for possibilities for progress. It’s crucial to show your employees that their capacity to take the initiative and drive projects forward is highly valued. 

“Your initiative is truly outstanding! The way you take charge, look for areas to improve, and proactively implement solutions is highly commendable. Your ability to think independently, take calculated risks, and seize opportunities has a significant positive impact on our team’s success.”

18. Customer Hero

Recognizing a colleague’s exceptional attention to customer needs can inspire them to continue providing excellent service tailored to individual customers. It shows that their ability to understand and address customer requirements is highly valued.

“I couldn’t help but notice your exceptional attention to customer needs! The way you listen actively, anticipate their requirements, and go above and beyond to meet their expectations is worth recognizing. We’re lucky to have you in our customer support team!”

19. Good Mentorship

Supporting new hires or current employees with mentorship or buddy programs is a great way to create a positive workplace culture. We recommend recognizing that one colleague’s excellent mentorship skills since it can inspire them to continue guiding and supporting others in their professional development.

“Your mentorship has been invaluable to me and countless others. I am constantly impressed by your ability to impart knowledge, provide insightful feedback, and inspire us to reach new heights. Thank you for being an exceptional mentor and for making a significant impact on our development.”

20. Adaptability to Change

In modern times, everything changes quickly, and adapting to rapid changes is a skill we all seek. Extraordinary adaptability to change should be acknowledged to inspire them to embrace new situations, modify techniques, and thrive in dynamic surroundings.

“I find your adaptability to change truly impressive! No matter how fast things evolve, you always manage to adapt seamlessly and remain focused on our goals. Your ability to embrace new challenges and find effective solutions in dynamic situations is greatly appreciated.”

21. Team Collaboration

Having an employee who excels in team collaboration is a real blessing in today’s landscape. That is why offering quality and positive feedback on team collaboration is a real must. Make sure you highlight each element of team collaboration they excelled at.

“Your ability to collaborate effectively with the team has significantly contributed to our project’s success. Your willingness to listen to others, share ideas, and work cooperatively is a great asset to our team. Thank you for your exemplary team spirit!”

22. Attention to Detail

In such a rapidly shifting climate, those with attention to detail truly rise to the top. When giving positive employee feedback on attention to detail, it is important to highlight specific instances where their attention to detail made a difference.

“I’ve noticed your exceptional attention to detail in your work. Your thoroughness ensures high quality and minimizes errors, which is crucial for our team’s success. Your dedication to getting every detail right is highly appreciated.”

23. Innovative Thinking

While there are many useful employee skills and performance metrics out there, finding an innovative thinker is easier said than done. That is why if you should always offer positive feedback to those bringing innovative ideas to the workplace.

“Your innovative thinking has brought fresh perspectives and creative solutions to our challenges. Your ability to think outside the box is inspiring and has had a positive impact on our team’s approach to problem-solving.”

24. Consistent Reliability

When an employee performs well, it is a great thing. When an employee performs well consistently, that is something else. Consistency is an asset that can often go unnoticed by employees. Offering positive feedback to those who are consistently reliable will make them realize their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.

“You have proven to be incredibly reliable. Your consistent performance and ability to meet deadlines under pressure are qualities that don’t go unnoticed. Thank you for being someone we can always count on.”

25. Effective Communication Skills

Great communicators make or break a team. When you offer positive feedback on an employee’s communication skills, you encourage them to actively use those skills more and more in the workplace, building a culture of empowerment.

“Your communication skills, both in writing and speaking, are commendable. You express your ideas clearly and effectively, which greatly enhances our team’s understanding and collaboration.”

26. Enthusiasm and Energy

There are a lot of people who come to work, clock-in, and clock-out. Those who come to work with a smile on their face and boost everyone’s energies, deserve regular and positive feedback.

“Your enthusiasm and energy are contagious! You bring a positive vibe to the workplace that boosts our team’s morale and productivity. Your passion for your work is truly inspiring.”

27. Resilience in Challenges

Adversity isn’t an unfamiliar concept in the workplace, especially in the volatile landscape of today. That is why you should give positive employee feedback to the anchors in your team who are holding strong through tough times.

“Your resilience in the face of challenges is admirable. You’ve shown great strength and a positive attitude during difficult times, which encourages and motivates the entire team.”

28. Consistent Improvement

It’s the journey and not the destination! Even if an employee’s performance isn’t where you would hope it would be right now, if they are consistently improving, it deserves some praise. Here is a positive feedback example on just that topic:

“It’s impressive to see your continual growth and improvement. Your commitment to personal and professional development is inspiring and sets a great example for the rest of the team.”

29. Strategic Planning Skills

The analytical minds on your team, every once in a while, might feel a bit left out. That is why you should offer positive feedback to those with great strategic planning skills. This particular positive feedback example will help you do just that!

“Your strategic planning skills have greatly contributed to our team’s success. Your ability to foresee potential obstacles and plan accordingly has been invaluable in achieving our goals.”

30. Cultural Competency

Sometimes an example of positive feedback at work doesn’t necessarily have to be about performance. It can also focus on whether an employee is a great cultural fit or not. The feedback example below is for that exact purpose!

“Your cultural competency and ability to work effectively with diverse teams is highly commendable. Your respect for different perspectives and backgrounds enhances our team’s creativity and collaboration.”

Tips for Giving Positive Feedback

When it comes to giving positive feedback for colleagues, there are some general tips we can give to help you provide effective and meaningful recognition. Our tips will ensure that your feedback is well-received and encourages further growth and development.

A. Be specific and detailed in your feedback

When offering positive feedback, it’s important to be specific about what the person did well. Instead of simply saying, “Good job,” provide detailed examples and describe the specific actions or behaviors that impressed you. Giving specificity to your feedback helps your colleague understand exactly what they did right and encourages them to continue those positive actions.

B. Provide feedback in a timely manner

Timeliness is key when giving positive feedback. Aim to recognize and acknowledge the person’s accomplishments as soon as possible after they occur. Giving immediate feedback reinforces the positive behavior or achievement and shows that you value their efforts. Delayed feedback may lose its impact and fail to motivate the individual effectively.

C. Use positive language and tone

The language and tone you use while giving positive feedback greatly influence how it is received. Ensure that your words convey genuine appreciation and positivity. Choose uplifting and encouraging phrases that make the person feel valued and respected. Avoid mixing positive feedback with negative criticism, as it can dilute the impact of your appreciation.

D. Tailor your feedback to the individual’s strengths and accomplishments

Recognize and highlight the specific strengths and accomplishments of the individual. Everyone has different talents and areas of expertise, so tailor your feedback to align with their unique qualities. Acknowledging their strengths helps boost their confidence and encourages them to further excel in those areas.

How to give positive feedback to colleagues?

Giving positive feedback for colleagues is an important aspect of building a positive and productive work environment. To do this effectively, it’s important to be specific about what you appreciate and why.

For example, you might say something like, “I really appreciate the way you handled that difficult client. You remained calm and professional throughout the conversation, and I think that helped to de-escalate the situation.” It’s also important to be genuine in your praise, so avoid giving generic compliments that don’t feel meaningful.

Try and make sure to deliver your feedback in a timely manner, as close to the event as possible, to ensure that it has the greatest impact.

Giving feedback in Microsoft Teams , however, is another story!

Using Employee Feedback Software

Speaking of giving feedback inside Microsoft Teams , you might ask the question “What about remote feedback?”. Whether you’re working remotely or not making use of employee feedback software is always a great idea.

Using feedback software allows you to make use of helpful feedback templates, keep feedback in the flow of work, make existing feedback trackable, and let you revisit past feedback in performance reviews .

We highlighted some of the top feedback software in a previous list before but if your organization uses Microsoft Teams on a daily basis, then the best option for you is…

Teamflect is an all-in-one performance management solution with one of the strongest employee feedback modules inside the Microsoft Teams ecosystem. With features such as 360-degree feedback, customizable employee feedback templates , and complete Microsoft Teams integration , Teamflect provides its users with a comprehensive feedback experience.

Teamflect provides a wide selection of pre-built templates in its feedback template gallery where you can choose anything from leadership skills feedback to employee developmental feedback . Teamflect’s feedback templates makes giving feedback to colleagues a breeze, and you can create custom feedback forms without a hassle!

Teamflect functions as so much more than just a platform to exchange positive feedback over. Looking for OKR software with some incredible goal-setting features? Teamflect has you covered! If you want to throw a dash of employee engagement survey into that mix,

Teamflect has your back there too. With a wide array of features neatly wrapped up in an easy-to-use dashboard, Teamflect is the best performance management solution available to Microsoft Teams users today!

How to use feedback software inside Microsoft Teams?

Now that we’ve discussed the use of feedback software as a best practice when it comes to building a positive feedback culture in your organization, we can’t not show you how exactly to use one.

In order to exchange feedback inside Microsoft Teams, we will be taking advantage of the best 360-degree feedback software for Microsoft Teams: Teamflect.

Step 1: Access the Teamflect Feedback module

Teamflect users can in fact access feedback templates without having to leave Teams chat but we do recommend you visit the feedback module itself, since it acts as a hub for all your feedback needs such as self-reviews, 360-degree feedback, and more!

Once you click the “New Feedback” button, you can start exchanging feedback inside Microsoft Teams right away. You don’t have to be the one giving the feedback. You can also request feedback for yourself or on behalf of someone else.

Step 2: Select a feedback template

Teamflect has an extensive library of customizable feedback templates. These ad-hoc feedback templates can be used straight out of the box and still work wonders in your team. That being said, you still have the option to create templates of your own, or customize existing templates with different question types such as Likert scale, rating questions, multiple choice, open-ended, and more!

Once you’ve chosen your template, you can start giving feedback right then and there!

Optional Step: 360-Degree Feedback

Many might consider 360-degree feedback to be a difficult practice to implement since it requires input from many different parties. Teamflect makes the entire process incredibly convenient.

With Teamflect, you can request feedback on behalf of yourself or others from direct reports, superiors, peers, or external parties. True 360-degree feedback covers all bases. That is why we made sure to include feedback from those outside of your organization such as customers, or independent contractors.

Optional Step: Summarize feedback with AI

For the sake of convenience, Teamflect users have the option to summarize the feedback they received throughout any given time-frame.

While every singe input is surely priceless, sometimes a summary can truly help speed things along. Simply click the “Summarize with AI” button to get all the key points from all the feedback you received.

What are the benefits of giving positive feedback at work?

Giving positive feedback can be a real game-changer in the workplace! Not only can it boost morale and motivation, but it can also help to create a supportive and positive work environment.

When someone receives positive feedback, they feel valued and appreciated, which can increase their engagement and commitment to their job. Plus, it’s always nice to know that your hard work is being recognized by your peers. Remember, peer recognition is magic!

Positive feedback doesn’t just boost morale and motivation! It also reinforces the positive behavior you praise. It is quite simply common sense, really. When you praise someone for a job well done, they’re more likely to continue doing the same things in the future. This leads to a more productive and efficient workplace, as well as happier and more fulfilled employees.

When to give positive feedback?

Positive feedback can be given at any time, but it’s most effective when it’s given as close to the event as possible. To make sure you give positive feedback at the best possible time, here is a small list of situations you should give positive feedback for:

When a colleague has completed a challenging project or task When a team member has gone above and beyond to help the team meet a deadline After a coworker has demonstrated exceptional teamwork or collaboration skills When an employee has achieved a significant milestone or accomplished a major goal When a team member has consistently shown improvement in their work or has overcome a personal or professional challenge.

How to give positive feedback examples?

Giving positive feedback is an important skill in both personal and professional settings. It helps motivate and encourage others, builds strong relationships, and fosters a positive environment.

Express appreciation: Let the person know that you value their contribution and effort.

Example: “I want to express my appreciation for your hard work on the project. Your dedication, attention to detail, and creativity really made a difference. The project turned out to be a great success, and you played a significant role in that.”

Focus on strengths: Highlight the person’s strengths and how they have positively impacted the situation or task.

Example: “Your problem-solving skills have been outstanding. Every time we face a challenge, you come up with innovative solutions that not only solve the problem but also improve our overall processes. Your ability to think outside the box is truly impressive.”

Connect to impact: Explain the positive impact of the person’s actions on the team, organization, or project.

Example: “Your leadership during the team project was invaluable. Your ability to delegate tasks effectively and provide guidance and support to team members greatly contributed to our success. Your leadership style fostered a collaborative environment where everyone felt motivated and empowered to do their best.”

Encourage personal growth: Highlight growth or improvement in someone’s skills or abilities.

Example: “I’ve noticed a significant improvement in your presentation skills over the past few months. Your confidence, delivery, and ability to engage the audience have all improved tremendously. Keep up the great work!”

Be genuine and sincere: Make sure your feedback comes from a place of authenticity and sincerity.

Example: “I genuinely appreciate your positive attitude and enthusiasm. Your energy is contagious, and it really boosts the team’s morale. Your positive outlook has created a supportive and enjoyable work environment.”

What to avoid when giving positive feedback to your colleagues?

While it may seem counterintuitive to consider potential issues when giving positive feedback, there are still important nuances to consider. While it may seem like positive feedback can’t do any harm, you just might be surprised at some of the nuances that go into good feedback comments. Here are some positive feedback issues you have to avoid!

Issue 1: Generic Praise

One common mistake when giving positive feedback is being too vague or generic. Generic compliments like “Great job!” or “You’re awesome!” lack specificity and may not carry the weight of genuine appreciation.

Be specific in your praise. Highlight the particular actions, behaviors, or achievements that impressed you. For example, instead of saying “Great presentation,” you could say, “I was impressed by how well you articulated the key points during the presentation, and your use of visuals made it engaging and informative.”

Issue 2: Overdoing It

While frequent positive feedback is encouraged, overdoing it can dilute its impact. If you praise every little thing, it may come across as insincere.

Reserve your positive feedback for truly outstanding or noteworthy accomplishments. This way, when you do offer praise, it will be seen as genuine and meaningful.

Issue 3: Public vs. Private Feedback

Publicly acknowledging your colleagues’ achievements can boost their morale, but not everyone is comfortable with public recognition.

Gauge your colleague’s preferences and comfort level with public praise. Some may appreciate it, while others may prefer private acknowledgment. Respect their preferences to ensure your feedback is well-received.

Issue 4: Exaggeration

Exaggerating your praise can make it seem insincere and overblown. Colleagues may question the authenticity of your compliments if they feel inflated.

Stick to genuine, honest, and good feedback. Express your admiration without resorting to hyperbole. If you genuinely believe your colleague did an exceptional job, your sincerity will shine through.

Ignoring the Details

Positive feedback examples are most effective when they are specific and meaningful. Failing to mention the details of what impressed you can make your praise seem superficial.

Pay attention to the specific actions, skills, or qualities that earned your colleague recognition. Highlight these details in your feedback to demonstrate that you’ve truly observed and appreciated their efforts.

In Conclusion

We want to end this post with a bit of a disclaimer. There isn’t a single example of positive feedback that has to be followed to a tee. While we wanted to provide you with as many professional positive feedback examples as we could, at the end of the day, the way you give positive feedback should change depending on who you are talking to, your organization’s culture, and a billion other things.

If you’ve come to this blog post with the question “What are some examples of positive feedback for colleagues?”, we do hope that you’re leaving satisfied and that we’ve also provided you with more than just good feedback examples but also some insight on how to give feedback as well!

Whether you are coming up with ideas for creative feedback for colleagues or simply looking to whip up some positive feedback for your coworkers, we hope you have the best of times!

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Written by emre ok.

Emre is a content writer at Teamflect who aims to share fun and unique insight into the world of performance management.

20 Great Constructive Feedback Examples For Your Manager

Importance of Feedback in the Workplace: A Complete Guide

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

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9 Ways to Give (More Effective) Writing Feedback

Grading essays is a tricky business. Commenting on every problem leads to a sea of ink that can overwhelm students. […] Continue Reading

1. Workshop It

I do a workshop with my middle schoolers in which they share their work with the group and everyone offers “things that can be better.” We do a lot of preparation so that everyone understands we aren’t being mean, but rather trying to help make each essay stronger.— Lyn Huston

2. Talk It Through

Have your students email their paper to you. You can use a microphone and talk through the corrections as you video and use the highlighter or drawing tools to point out what you are referring to. It’s really easy once you get used to it. It saves a lot of time and it’s great documentation to refer back to. Once you are finished, save it and send it to your student. The process becomes a writing conference.— Penny Larson

3. Focus In

I like to focus on only a few areas of improvement at a time. I don’t tell them everything that could be improved in their writing. It can be overwhelming and even shut them down as new writers.— Annie Kabb

4. Practice Critiquing Together

I save copies of essays from previous years that have specific problems I want to illustrate. I share them, without names of course, and we consider as a group what the essay needs in order to improve the clarity, organization, or needed detail.— Penny Larson

5. Do Three Stars and a Wish

Here’s a technique that always works. For each essay, you write three positive things that you see in their writing. Those are the “three stars.”  Then you give them one wish, one area in which you’d like to see them improve.  The most important thing is to give them the positive feedback first and make it specific (clear thesis statement) not general (nice work).— Hanan Ezzeldin

6. Use a Specific Rubric

I always use a specific rubric so students are clear on expectations and can check off the important components before turning their writing in. For each item on the rubric, I assign a check, a minus or a plus along with a brief comment. I also allow students to turn in a writing assignment early for ungraded feedback. This encourages timely completion and a chance to improve.— Susan Werb

7. Do Peer Review First

Have each student trade papers with a peer before it comes to you.  Commenters write three specific positive comments and sign their name. This gives students a chance to see what others are writing and thinking. It also may be that students provide higher quality work when there is the possibility of someone other than the teacher reading their work.— Sharon McKinney

8. Use Two Pens

Try using two different colored pens such as green and blue. Write all your positive comments in one color, suggestions for improvement in the other. You’ll be able to see at a glance if you are striking a good balance.—Kelsie Smith

9. Identify Mini Lessons

If students are still in the draft phase, provide a whole-class mini lesson on a specific writing problem you are seeing often. Then have the students go through their own essays and find those mistakes. Meet with individual students that continue to have these issues in their writing. Next time, you do another mini-lesson. Pick and choose what you want to focus on grading. — Matt Epp

If you liked this article, you may also want to check out Writing Across the Content Areas and Teaching Fact vs. Opinion at Every Grade Level .

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100+ Positive Comments to Write on Student Papers That’ll Have a Lasting Impact

by Sara Ipatenco

Everyone loves to hear something nice, and that includes your students! Students of any age will feel so good about themselves when they read positive comments written right on their assignments. Seeing positive words will also give students the motivation to keep working hard because they know their efforts are being recognized. Positive and meaningful praise will also help students form a close bond with their teacher, which encourages children to work hard and learn a lot. Pick up your favorite pen and get writing.

Here are more than 100 positive comments your students would love to read!

• This is some awesome thinking!
• What terrific math skills you’re showing!
• You are an amazing writer!
• Wow! You have improved so much!
• You are showing excellent understanding!
• This is clear, concise, and complete!
• What a powerful argument!
• I knew you could do it!
• Wonderful ideas!
• It was a pleasure to grade this!
• Keep up the incredible work!
• My goodness, how impressive!
• You’re showing inventive ideas!
• You’ve shown so much growth!
• Interesting thoughts!
• I love your neat work!
• Doesn’t it feel good to do such great work?
• First-rate work!
• This is fascinating information!
• You inspire me!
• This is right on target!
• What an astounding observation!
• This is very well thought out!
• I can tell you’ve been practicing!
• You’ve come a long way!
• This has pizazz!
• I can tell you’ve been paying attention!
• Reading this made my day!
• This is very perceptive!
• What an accomplishment!
• You make a great point here!
• I really like your creativity!
• You are an exceptional student!
• You have brilliant thoughts!
• This is beautiful!
• Dazzling examples!
• Vivid language choices!
• You express your ideas so well!
• This was a delight to read!
• This is a persuasive argument!
• You show an impressive grasp on this subject!
• You are gifted!
• You are so clever!
• What a great learner you are!
• I value these thoughts!
• You are such a motivated worker!
• You show great attention to detail!
• You are so artistic!
• I am so proud of you!
• Lovely handwriting!
• Great example!
• You worked so hard!
• You are a star!
• You learned so much!
• You are so smart!
• You’ve made a lot of progress!
• What bright thinking!
• You rocked this!
• Great thinking!
• You did your best!
• I love this!
• You can do hard things!
• You are talented!
• You amaze me!
• You discovered something new!
• I enjoyed reading this!
• You are so ambitious!
• I appreciate your hard work!
• This is magical work!
• You did it!
• You’ve achieved so much!
• You really challenged yourself!
• I admire you!
• You are unstoppable!
• You have great ideas!
• This really sparkles!
• What a great vision you have!
• You have really improved!
• You’ve really grown!
• You are a snappy problem-solver!
• This really shines!
• You make me want to learn more!
• This made me smile!
• You are a winner!
• I love your creativity!
• You are so intelligent!
• You should be proud!
• You have amazing potential!
• This is top-notch!
• You deserve a high five!
• Way to think it through!
• This blew me away!
• These are fabulous ideas!
• This gets my seal of approval!
• This is quality work!
• You reached your goal!
• Out of this world!
• You’re on top of it!
• I can tell this is your best effort!
• I love how motivated you are!
• You are so focused!
• I’m so lucky to grade your work!
• I love your enthusiasm!

Your students will glow when they review their work as they read your positive comments. They’ll love it so much that you can look forward to even more excellent work to comment on!

Come join the conversation in the  #teacherlife community !

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26 Example Paragraphs for Performance Reviews [Positive & Negative Feedback]

By Status.net Editorial Team on April 8, 2023 — 15 minutes to read

Performance reviews play an essential role in employee growth and development. Effectively conveying praise and guidance facilitates open communication and contributes to a positive work environment. This article provides example paragraphs for performance reviews, focusing on various skills and including both positive and negative examples; each skill is addressed separately, with example paragraphs demonstrating how to effectively communicate strengths or areas for improvement.

See also: 2000+ Performance Review Phrases: The Complete List (Performance Feedback Examples)

How to Give Effective Feedback (and Avoid Mistakes)

Communication Skills

Positive feedback example for communication skills.

“Emma consistently demonstrates strong communication skills, both in writing and speaking. Her emails are clear, concise, and always contain all necessary information, making it easy for colleagues to understand her messages and respond promptly. Additionally, her ability to intertwine detailed explanations with relevant examples allows her to convey complex ideas in an easily digestible manner.

During team meetings, Emma is an active listener, giving her undivided attention to the speaker and providing thoughtful input on the topic at hand. Notably, she has shown tact and empathy when mediating team discussions, diffusing tense situations effectively. As a result, she contributes to a positive and inclusive work environment.”

Negative Feedback Example for Communication Skills

“John has room for improvement in his communication skills. His written correspondence tends to be disorganized and lacking in detail, creating confusion for the recipients. It is recommended that John proofread his messages carefully and ensure that they include all necessary information before sending them.

In team meetings, John often interrupts his colleagues and speaks over them, making it difficult for others to express their thoughts or complete their points. To improve, John should practice active listening, allowing his team members to speak uninterrupted and demonstrate respect for their opinions.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for communication skills : Performance Review Phrases for Communication

Leadership Skills

Positive feedback example for leadership skills.

“Emma has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills by fostering a positive work environment where team members feel valued and engaged. She leads by example and creates an atmosphere that encourages open communication, collaboration, and continuous learning. Her team consistently meets and often exceeds their goals, reflecting her ability to delegate tasks effectively and provide constructive feedback to drive improvement.

During challenging times, Emma maintains a calm and collected demeanor, serving as a source of support and reassurance for her team. She has been instrumental in implementing team-building exercises that have helped improve overall team performance and cohesion.”

Negative Feedback Example for Leadership Skills

“While George has demonstrated strong technical skills, his leadership abilities require improvement. He tends to micromanage tasks, which can undermine team members’ confidence and limit their opportunities for growth. In addition, rather than proactively addressing issues and conflicts, George often disregards them, leading to a tense work environment.

Team members have reported feeling unsupported and disengaged, impacting their overall motivation and productivity. To enhance his leadership skills, George should focus on developing better communication and delegation abilities, as well as providing timely and constructive feedback to foster a more supportive and collaborative team dynamic.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for leadership skills : 169 Performance Review Feedback Phrases for Planning, Leadership, Management Style

Teamwork Skills

Teamwork skills are essential for employees to effectively work together, achieve common goals, and create a positive workplace environment.

Positive Feedback Example for Teamwork Skills

“John demonstrates a strong work ethic and a commitment to the team. He actively collaborates with colleagues and willingly offers his support in any way needed. John’s ability to give and receive constructive criticism has helped the team maintain a healthy working relationship. John respects and values the opinions of his team members. He also communicates his ideas and opinions clearly to other team members, which has greatly improved the group’s overall efficiency. John’s teamwork skills include: effective communication, open-mindedness, active listening, conflict resolution.”

Negative Feedback Example for Teamwork Skills

“Jane shows a lack of teamwork skills that have impacted her team’s performance. She tends to work in isolation and does not openly communicate her ideas or opinions with others. This has led to misunderstandings on several occasions and increased the risk of project delays.

Jane also tends to dismiss the feedback and input of other team members, which has negatively impacted overall morale. She struggles to accept constructive criticism and has shown resistance to change. This behavior hinders the team’s ability to optimize processes and achieve common goals.

Areas for improvement in Jane’s teamwork skills include:

• Area of improvement: Communication Suggested action: Participate in training sessions focused on communication skills.
• Area of improvement: Listening Suggested action: Attend workshops on active listening and open-mindedness to better understand the value of diverse perspectives.
• Area of improvement: Conflict resolution Suggested action: Seek guidance from a mentor or coach to improve conflict resolution skills.
• Area of improvement: Collaboration Suggested action: Connect with colleagues regularly and engage in team-building activities to strengthen bonds among the team members.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for teamwork skills : 150+ Performance Appraisal Phrases (Teamwork, Technical Skills, Time Management)

Problem-Solving Skills

Problem-solving skills are essential for employees to effectively tackle challenges and find solutions in their daily tasks.

Positive Feedback Example for Problem Solving Skills

“Jane has consistently showcased her exceptional problem-solving skills throughout her time on the customer support team. When faced with complex customer issues, she is able to quickly identify the root cause of the problem and implement an effective solution. For example, when a recent escalation arose involving a client’s recurring billing discrepancy, Jane swiftly analyzed the situation and discovered an error in the system settings. She then collaborated with the IT department to address the glitch, resulting in a prompt resolution for the client and preventing further issues.”

Negative Feedback Example for Problem Solving Skills

“While Mike is a valuable team member in our IT department, his problem-solving skills require improvement. When confronted with multiple issues during the recent network updates, Mike appeared overwhelmed and struggled to make problems more manageable. For instance, he failed to prioritize tasks, which led to delays in addressing critical system vulnerabilities. Additionally, his communication with colleagues was less than satisfactory, making it difficult for others to assist and collaborate on finding solutions.

Improving his problem-solving skills would enable Mike to respond more effectively to challenges and contribute significantly to the success of future projects. We encourage him to seek additional training and to collaborate more closely with colleagues to help break down complex tasks into more manageable, actionable steps.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for decision making and problem solving : 174 Performance Feedback Examples (Reliability, Integrity, Problem Solving)

Time Management Skills

Effective time management is essential for success in the workplace. Employees who excel in managing their time are able to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and complete work efficiently.

Positive Feedback Example for Time Management Skills

“During the past year, Jane has demonstrated exceptional time management skills by consistently completing projects ahead of schedule. She is able to create realistic time estimates for tasks and allocate her work hours effectively to ensure her goals are met. An example of her strong time management skills is her work on the ABC project, where she successfully managed multiple tasks and deadlines within tight time constraints. Jane’s excellent time management has allowed her to excel at prioritizing work and increase overall productivity in the team.”

Negative Feedback Example for Time Management Skills

“Over the last year, John has struggled with managing his time effectively, which has resulted in missed deadlines and low-quality work. Despite being provided with clear project timelines, John often underestimates the time required to complete tasks and is unable to prioritize his workload appropriately. One notable example is his involvement in a recent project, where he failed to meet several deadlines and did not effectively communicate his progress to the team. This lack of time management skills has negatively impacted the team’s overall performance and must be addressed in order to improve John’s productivity.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for time management skills : 150+ Performance Appraisal Phrases (Teamwork, Technical Skills, Time Management)

Creativity Skills

Creativity skills are essential for problem-solving and generating new ideas in the workplace.

Positive Feedback Example for Creativity

“John consistently demonstrates his ability to think outside the box. He is excellent at brainstorming sessions, frequently contributing innovative ideas and solutions. For instance, during a recent project, John developed a creative marketing strategy that increased engagement on social media by 30%. Thanks to his unique perspectives, John has helped drive successful outcomes and boost department performance.”

Negative Feedback Example for Creativity

“Though Jane has strong technical skills, she struggles with adapting to new challenges and situations. She often gets stuck in traditional ways of thinking and is hesitant to propose innovative solutions. This has, at times, limited the team’s ability to overcome obstacles and move forward with projects.

For Jane to improve their creativity skills, she should actively participate in brainstorming sessions, share her thoughts and ideas, and engage in exercises designed to promote out-of-the-box thinking.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for creativity and innovation : 242 Examples

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills are essential in the workplace to build healthy relationships and work collaboratively. These skills also help to manage conflicts effectively and cultivate a positive work environment.

Positive Feedback Example for Interpersonal Skills

“Jane has demonstrated excellent active listening skills during team meetings and while working on projects. She effectively listens to her colleagues’ ideas and provides thoughtful feedback, which has improved overall team communication. She consistently fosters an environment of collaboration and cooperation and readily offers her assistance to colleagues.”

Negative Feedback Example for Interpersonal Skills

“During the last quarter, Susan failed to take responsibility for the deadlines and often blamed her team members. She struggles with clearly conveying her ideas and thoughts to others, leaving her colleagues confused and unsure of their tasks or objectives. To improve her interpersonal skills, Susan needs to work on her communication abilities and practice being more concise and clear with her instructions.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for communication skills : Performance Review Phrases for Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Customer Service Skills

Effective customer service skills are crucial to providing an exceptional experience for customers.

Positive Feedback Example for Customer Service Skills

“Anna consistently demonstrates outstanding customer service skills. She is known for her empathy and active listening, allowing her to effectively understand and address customer concerns. As a result, Anna has been able to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. She was attentive to customer needs and swiftly addressed their concerns, resulting in repeat business. Her excellent communication abilities enabled her to provide clear instructions, helping to avoid any misunderstandings. Anna’s problem-solving skills allowed her to quickly find solutions to customer issues, ensuring their satisfaction.”

Negative Feedback Example for Customer Service Skills

“Tom struggles in providing satisfactory customer service, because he is often more focused on completing tasks than actively listening to customers, which leads to misunderstandings and dissatisfaction. His lack of empathy prevents Tom from building rapport with customers, which negatively impacts their experience. Tom’s problem-solving skills are limited; he usually needs assistance from a manager to handle complicated customer issues.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for customer service skills : Examples for Customer Focus and Customer Satisfaction

Technical Skills

Positive feedback example for technical skills.

“Alice has consistently demonstrated exceptional technical skills in her role. She exhibits a deep understanding of the latest software and tools, being proficient in their usage. Alice’s ability to troubleshoot complex technical issues and offer effective solutions showcases her strong problem-solving skills. Her mastery of technology has been pivotal in the successful completion of multiple projects, such as collaborating with team members to create a new app.”

Negative Feedback Example for Technical Skills

“Bob has been struggling to keep up with the technical demands of his role. He frequently requires assistance when working with new software or tools, causing delays in project completion. Bob’s inability to learn new technical skills quickly has hindered his effectiveness and impacted the overall team productivity. It is recommended that Bob invests more time in training and development to become proficient in essential technical skills.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for technical skills : 150+ Examples (Teamwork, Technical Skills, Time Management)

Attention to Detail

Attention to detail is a critical skill that reflects an employee’s ability to achieve accuracy and focus in their job. This skill significantly contributes to their overall performance and helps reduce mistakes in their work.

Positive Feedback Example for Attention to Detail

“Bob consistently demonstrates exceptional attention to detail in his assignments. He has been able to deliver outstanding results in his projects while maintaining high levels of accuracy. His commitment to ensuring all tasks are thoroughly completed before moving on to the next has contributed to a more efficient workflow. Some specific instances of his excellent attention to detail include: Identifying and correcting a crucial error in a report that could have led to inaccurate conclusions being drawn; Meticulously tracking and documenting project progress to ensure all stakeholders were kept informed and up-to-date; Proactively preventing potential misunderstandings by carefully reviewing and proofreading all communication materials before distribution.”

Negative Feedback Example for Attention to Details

“Alice has struggled with attention to detail in her performance. Her work has been marked by occasional errors and oversights, which have led to lost time and resources in correcting these issues. Despite her best efforts, Alice has not shown improvement in this area, and it has negatively impacted her overall performance. Some examples of her lack of attention to detail include:

• Failure to review and double-check calculations, resulting in inaccurate financial reports that needed to be reworked.
• Missing important deadlines due to overlooking key tasks on her project plans.
• Communicating unclear or incorrect information to team members, leading to confusion and lost time in seeking clarification.

In order to improve her attention to detail, Alice could benefit from implementing strategies such as creating detailed checklists, setting aside dedicated review time for her work, and seeking feedback from colleagues to identify potential areas for improvement.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for attitude : 100+ Performance Evaluation Comments for Attitude, Training Ability, Critical Thinking

Adaptability

Adaptability skills are critical for thriving in fast-paced and ever-changing work environments. It is important for employees to be able to handle change effectively, stay composed under pressure, and swiftly adjust to new situations.

Positive Feedback Example for Adaptability

“Jane has consistently showcased her adaptability skills throughout the past year, particularly during the company-wide shift to remote work. Despite the unexpected challenges, she quickly embraced the new work environment and made necessary adjustments to maintain her productivity levels.

She demonstrated her ability to handle new software tools effectively and collaborated well with her team, ensuring everyone stayed connected and informed. Jane’s proactive approach to learning and embracing change sets a positive example for her peers and has been instrumental in keeping her department running smoothly.”

Negative Feedback Example for Adaptability

“John has struggled with adaptability throughout the year. He often appears resistant to changes implemented within the organization, avoiding new processes and tools. As a consequence, he has fallen behind on multiple projects, causing delays and additional work for his team. John’s inability to cope with change effectively and maintain a positive attitude has raised concerns among his managers and colleagues.

In order to improve his adaptability skills, John should seek opportunities to enhance his flexibility and openness towards new challenges. He should work on developing a proactive mindset, embracing changes within the workplace, and learning new skills. Successfully doing so will contribute to both his personal growth and his team’s success.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for adaptability : Performance Review Phrases for Quality of Work, Adaptability, Communication

Reliability and Dependability

Positive feedback example for reliability.

“Heather consistently demonstrates a high level of reliability and dependability in her role. She can be trusted to complete tasks accurately and on time, even when faced with tight deadlines. She is often the first one in the office and the last one to leave, working diligently to ensure her projects are completed thoroughly and without errors. In fact, her dependability has made her a go-to person for her teammates, who know they can count on her assistance and collaboration.”

Negative Feedback Example for Reliability

“Although Michael is talented in many aspects of his job, he struggles with reliability and dependability. He is frequently late to work and has missed several deadlines, leaving his team members struggling to finish their tasks. Additionally, Michael has had difficulty in communicating effectively with his team, making it difficult for them to plan reliance on his contributions. This lack of reliability has had a negative impact on overall team performance, and Michael must focus on improving his time management and communication skills to become a reliable and dependable team member.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for reliability : Performance Feedback Examples for Reliability and Dependability

Organizational Skills

Organizational skills are essential for employees to effectively manage their time, energy, and resources.

Positive Feedback Example for Organizational Skills

“Jane has consistently demonstrated excellent organizational skills throughout the past year. She meticulously plans her daily tasks using a digital task manager, which allows her to prioritize her workload efficiently. This has greatly impacted her ability to meet deadlines and deliver high-quality work.

Jane’s attention to detail has improved the workflow within her team. By implementing a shared calendar, Jane has facilitated better communication and coordination among team members, resulting in fewer scheduling conflicts and improved project efficiency. Her documentation practices have also contributed to a more organized and accessible repository of project files.”

Negative Feedback Example for Organizational Skills

“John has been struggling with organizational skills for several months. He often arrives at meetings unprepared, leading to lost time and decreased productivity. His disorganized workspace has caused difficulty for his coworkers when they need access to shared resources.

John’s inability to prioritize tasks has led to missed deadlines and a decline in the quality of his work. He would benefit from leveraging available tools, such as digital task managers and shared calendars, to develop a system that helps him stay on top of his responsibilities.

By improving his organizational skills, John can increase his overall efficiency, contribute more effectively to team projects, and achieve better results in future performance reviews.”

See also: Performance feedback phrases for planning skills : 169 Performance Review Feedback Phrases for Planning, Leadership, Management Style

How To Write a Manager Performance Review? (with Examples)

• 30 Employee Feedback Examples (Positive & Negative)
• How to Give Performance Feedback? Techniques and Examples (Star Feedback)
• 100 Performance Review Phrases for Job Knowledge, Judgment, Listening Skills
• Quantity Of Work Examples For Performance Reviews (Full Guide)
• 2000+ Performance Review Phrases: The Complete List (Performance Feedback Examples)
• 174 Performance Feedback Examples (Reliability, Integrity, Problem Solving)

More From Forbes

5 styles of giving feedback that inspire action.

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Shifting your approach in giving feedback can produce great results

Providing feedback does not always yield the anticipated outcome. Beyond ensuring that directions are clear, managers need to understand what motivates their employees. Try out these five approaches to inspire action and decrease repetitive feedback conversations.

Focus On Increasing Efficiencies And Saving Time

Frame your feedback as “this will save you time down the road,” “here’s a new way to look at this,” or “you may be duplicating steps in your process” for employees that value efficiency. They may not be delivering the requested task simply because they are overextended. High-performing employees juggling different priorities can feel inundated by their workload. Sharing feedback in the form of a process improvement will yield positive results for everyone.

Set Boundaries

Some employees work best in environments with clearly defined roles. Others may not view their delivery as the final product and consistently lean on coworkers to double-check their work. In either case, using feedback to set clear boundaries can resonate strongly. Relaying things such as “I don’t have the bandwidth to do a comprehensive review” or simply “I can’t” will support employees that require firm parameters. Stating boundaries can feel unkind at first as a people manager, but it is a means to respect your time and theirs. Let them know that instead of using time to proof-check work, you are happy to discuss how you can help them achieve their long-term goals.

Center Feedback On How It Helps The Team And The Business

Considering the big-picture can motivate individuals, and it is important that all teams understand a holistic view . This style of feedback aligns well with employees that require an understanding of how their tasks relate to the progress of the team and the business. They value collective achievements higher than individualistic performance. Examples of this would be relaying “as a team, we all need to…” or “how this impacts what we are trying to accomplish is….” Expanding upon a small task into a larger ecosystem viewpoint will help employees better understand the rationale behind it.

Target Self-Improvement

While some individuals prioritize communal results, others seek personal achievement and self-growth. Relating specific feedback to how it will improve them in the long-run will honor their goals. A manager providing feedback could relay “once you master this task, we can next focus on something else.” or “this is how this helps you in your next role.” Employees with strong ambition and career goals will receive this style of feedback well and take actionable steps.

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Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, align with the company mission and culture.

Structuring your feedback to align with the company’s culture and mission works well for employees with high integrity and a connection to the company’s goals. Managers can kick-off feedback sessions with “in alignment with our culture…” , “this connects to our goals of….” or “this is how your work supports the mission...” Being in congruence with an organization’s values is highly motivating for its workforce. Employees who feel that their company’s mission, vision, and values align with their own are 70% more likely to recommend their employer as a great place to work, according to a study by Qualtrics .

It can feel perplexing when you provide feedback and it does not produce the anticipated course-correction. Different approaches will resonate with different people. You can use one or several of these methods above and see what fits best. Constructing feedback to match a person’s intrinsic motivation will not only benefit their progress, but also positively impact your working relationship with them.

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Peer Feedback Examples for Effective Performance

Sudarshan Somanathan

Head of Content

July 4, 2024

Are you tired of the never-ending performance review cycles? Us too!

What if we say there’s a better way to encourage your team members to support each other than just filling out forms?

Peer review feedback is a powerful mechanism to help your team continuously improve, increase engagement, and even have some fun in the feedback process.

In this article, we’ll discuss how to implement effective peer review feedback processes, with examples, tips, and tricks to help you implement the process as you read along.

So grab a cup of coffee, get ready, and explore the world of peer review feedback together!

What is Peer Review Feedback?

Peer review feedback is an established process through which colleagues provide feedback to one another based on their observations of work-related behavior, skills, and performance.

But why is giving peer feedback important?

• Multiple perspectives: Peer review eliminates supervisor bias and personal favoritism. It lets your team see themselves through the eyes of their colleagues, providing a broader perspective of their strengths and areas for improvement
• Boosts engagement: When team members feel valued and heard by their peers, they stay invested in their work and are motivated to excel. Eventually, fostering a culture of accountability, motivating individuals to perform at their best
• Skill enhancement: Regular feedback acts as a catalyst for growth, keeping development at the forefront and allowing team members to learn and grow
• Stronger teams: Peer review feedback facilitates open communication and collaboration, building a more supportive and cohesive team environment

Peer-to-peer feedback can never be templated. It works best when integrated with other vital elements:

• Performance appraisals: Peers filling feedback forms provide valuable insights into individual team member performance and contributions to the team
• Goal setting: Peer feedback is used to adjust or refine team or individual workflows to ensure everyone is working towards the same goal
• Employee engagement: Effective peer feedback session helps overcome the information silos and motivates your team to contribute, share, and collaborate with team members

What are the Types of Peer Feedback?

Peer feedback comes in various forms depending on your review structure and process. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Formative feedback: Occurs during a project or task and focuses on providing suggestions and improvements to enhance the ongoing work
• Summative feedback: This type is usually given at the end of a project or task. It’s used to assess the overall quality and effectiveness of the completed work
• Qualitative feedback: Focused on providing descriptive and detailed comments about the work, highlighting specific strengths and areas for improvement
• Quantitative feedback: Uses numerical data or metrics to measure performance and provide objective feedback on specific criteria
• Upward feedback: In this scenario, team members give feedback to their supervisors. This is helpful in cases of leadership reviews for managers to gain insights from subordinates and understand overall team dynamics
• Peer-to-peer feedback: This is the bread and butter of peer review. Here, colleagues provide feedback to each other on performance, offering valuable insights into areas like collaboration, problem-solving, and work ethic

The Difference Between Positive and Constructive Feedback

Both positive and constructive feedback are crucial for effective peer reviews. Let’s see how the two differ:

Positive feedback

Positive feedback is used to pump you up. It boosts morale, reinforces good work habits, and builds a culture of appreciation. It acknowledges and celebrates a colleague’s strengths, accomplishments, and positive contributions to the team. 

Constructive feedback

Constructive feedback communicates areas for improvement while being respectful and solution-oriented. The key to this feedback is being specific and actionable without being too subjective or objective. Balanced! ⚖️

What is an example of feedback?

Here’s a well-rounded employee feedback example incorporating both positive and constructive elements:

Scenario: David is your in-house copywriter specializing in creating client pitch decks. You’re sharing feedback with him after he delivered a beautiful client presentation.

Positive feedback example: “David, I’m impressed with your attention to detail. You’re quick at catching errors and ensuring quality output. This past week, your spontaneous thinking helped identify significant issues with the client’s presentation early on. Keep up the good work!”

Constructive feedback example: “I’m impressed with your attention to detail and quality output. However, I noticed that sometimes your meticulousness leads to longer task turnaround times. Perhaps exploring some prioritization techniques could help you manage your workflow more efficiently. I’ve got a few books in mind. Let me know if you need some guidance.”

This example highlights a strength, acknowledges a specific instance that benefitted the team, and then offers a constructive suggestion for improvement delivered in a supportive way.

This kind of balanced feedback creates a quality peer feedback and review experience.  

Having said that— how can these short paragraphs of text have a bigger impact on your team?

How Peer Review Feedback Improves Performance Across the Board

Peer reviews aren’t just about ticking boxes—it’s a process that significantly impacts your team’s performance.

Let’s explore how meaningful feedback fuels improvement across key areas:

Peer reviews help identify leadership qualities like clear communication skills, rightful delegation, and the ability to inspire others.

They also highlight areas where a present or future leader could improve, such as providing constructive feedback to peers or cultivating an inclusive decision-making process.

Peer feedback example for leadership: “Michael, your leadership skills are exceptional, and you provide excellent guidance to your team members. To further develop your leadership abilities, consider providing specific feedback and coaching to your team members. This will help them grow professionally and contribute effectively to the team’s success.”

Peer feedback is excellent for featuring an all-inclusive working environment. It acknowledges good collaboration skills while identifying areas for improvement, like communication barriers or uneven workload distribution within the team.

Peer feedback example to enhance teamwork: “The way the design and development teams collaborated on the new app was fantastic. Regular communication updates and clear task ownership ensured everyone equally contributed to the project. Perhaps implementing a similar communication structure for future cross-functional projects would be beneficial.”

Problem-solving

Observing a colleague’s approach to challenges can offer fresh perspectives and lead to an efficient problem-solving process for the team. Use an employee feedback tool to encourage colleagues to share best practices and learn from each other’s experiences.

Peer feedback example for problem-solving: “John’s analytical skills were invaluable when we encountered a technical issue with the new software. His systematic approach to troubleshooting helped us identify the root cause quickly and efficiently. I suggest he share his strategy with the team during a training session; it would benefit everyone.”

The Power of Positive Peer Review Feedback

Positive feedback is a potent motivator. It reinforces good work, boosts morale, and creates a sense of accomplishment. All in all, positive peer review contribute to employee well-being and team building. Here’s how:

• Employee retention : Feeling valued by colleagues increases job satisfaction and keeps employees for a longer period
• Motivation: Being recognized motivates employees to maintain high-performance levels and strive for continued improvement
• Team building: Positive feedback builds a supportive environment where colleagues celebrate each other’s successes and stay motivated to excel

​​What is a good example of positive feedback?

Scenario: Positive feedback when an employee takes the initiative

Feedback example: “Jakub, thank you for your extra efforts on the client’s project. You did an amazing job, and your commitment has not gone unnoticed. Keep up the good work.”

This is an excellent example of a positive feedback for several reasons:

• Specificity: The feedback is specific to a project or task the employee worked on, making it clear what the employee did well
• Recognition of effort: The feedback acknowledges the employee’s extra efforts, showing that their hard work is valued
• Personal touch: The message is personalized, addressing the employee directly and expressing gratitude for their work
• Positive tone: The feedback maintains a positive tone, focusing on the employee’s strengths and accomplishments rather than weaknesses or areas for improvement.

Additional positive peer feedback examples in life include:

• Recognizing a coworker for their strong work ethic
• Praising someone for taking initiatives
• Expressing gratitude for a helpful gesture

The Essence of Constructive Criticism In Peer Review Feedback

Constructive criticism involves honest feedback that highlights improvement areas while being respectful and solution-oriented. Delivering constructive criticism politely is crucial; however, we sometimes unknowingly sound impolite.

Here are a few things you must consider to make your feedback sound less critical and more actionable and respectful:

• Instead of: “You’re always late to meetings.”
• Try: “I noticed you’ve been arriving late to the last few meetings. Is there anything I can help with to ensure you’re on time?”
• Instead of: “This presentation was confusing.”
• Try: “I found some sections of the presentation difficult to follow. Perhaps adding some visuals or clearer explanations could help.”
• Instead of: “Your work needs improvement.”
• Try: “There were a few typos and formatting inconsistencies in your recent report. It will help if you spend an hour proofreading your work before submitting it.”
• Instead of: “This could have been better.”
• Try: “I think this approach could be more effective if you consider [your suggestion]. Would you be open to trying it out?”
• Use a friendly and encouraging tone throughout the conversation
• Avoid accusatory language or negative body language
• Instead of: “Why did you do it this way?”
• Try: “Moving forward, let’s approach it this way to achieve even better results.”
• Remember that the goal is to help the person improve, so be receptive to their response and open to discussing their perspective

What is a good example of giving constructive criticism?

Scenario: A team member constantly misses deadlines, and you want to discuss this issue with him without sounding bossy. 

Feedback example: “I noticed that you’ve been missing project deadlines. Moving forward, I suggest you create a schedule outlining the steps and tracking your progress as you progress the project. Additionally, you can set up reminders and priorities for tasks on ClickUp to ensure that high-priority tasks are completed on time.”

This example is a good illustration of constructive criticism for several reasons:

• Specificity: The feedback is specific about the issue and helps the recipient understand what needs improvement
• Focuses on future improvements: The feedback provides concrete suggestions for improvement, such as creating a schedule and setting reminders. This gives the recipient a clear path to follow for improvement
• Use of I statements and focus on behavior: The feedback focuses on improving the recipient’s performance rather than attacking their character. It emphasizes the need for better time management and provides practical advice on how to achieve it
• Positive tonality: The tone of the feedback is supportive and helpful, aiming to assist the recipient in improving rather than simply criticizing
• Balance: The feedback balances positive and negative aspects, acknowledging the recipient’s efforts and providing constructive guidance for improvement

Five constructive peer feedback examples for high performers

• “While your reports are consistently accurate, consider exploring data visualization tools to make them even more impactful.”
• “You’re a strong presenter, but your delivery could be more engaging if you incorporate storytelling elements.”
• “You have excellent problem-solving skills. Taking on additional leadership roles in future projects would allow you to develop your potential further.”
• “Your technical skills are outstanding. Mentoring a junior team member could help refine your communication and collaboration skills.”
• “You’re a highly motivated individual. Seeking additional challenges will help you expand your skill set and keep your work stimulating.”

Peer Review Feedback in Different Scenarios

Peer feedback is valuable in any scenario or workplace involving collaboration, conflict resolution, or consensus decision-making. 

Let’s look at some examples of peer feedback in different scenarios. 

Collaboration

Peer feedback can acknowledge successful teamwork and suggest communication or project management improvements during collaborative efforts. 

Feedback example involving strengths: “I appreciate your willingness to share your expertise and collaborate on this project. Your insights and suggestions were invaluable.”

Feedback example involving improvement areas: “While I admire your collaborative spirit, let’s try not to cut others when they’re speaking. Everyone will get a chance to speak, but one by one.”

Conflict resolution

Peer resolution results in a positive work environment rather than fueling conflicts. Peer feedback can help with conflict resolution strategies, highlight effective communication, and suggest approaches for future disagreements.

Feedback example involving strengths: “I was impressed with your ability to remain calm and collected during the recent disagreement. You actively listened to different perspectives and handled the situation very well.”

Feedback example involving improvement areas: “You handled the conflict well overall. But I noticed you seemed hesitant to express your opinion at times. It’s important to feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and concerns in conflict situations. I’ve got your back!”

Consensus decision-making

Feedback can focus on an individual’s contribution to discussions, offering suggestions for better-articulating ideas or actively listening to others’ perspectives.

Feedback examples involving strengths: “Your ability to listen to diverse viewpoints and consider different options was crucial in reaching a consensus on this decision. You helped us find a solution that met everyone’s needs.”

Feedback examples involving improvement areas: “I felt you sometimes struggled to summarize key points and ensure everyone was on the same page. It might be helpful to use visual aids or clear summaries to facilitate consensus building.”

Using 360-degree Feedback in the Peer Review Process

360-degree feedback is a comprehensive approach incorporating feedback from various sources, including peers, managers, subordinates, and even clients (if applicable).

Benefits of using 360-degree feedback in peer review

• Provides a more holistic view: Incorporates multiple perspectives from various stakeholders
• Reduces bias: Lessens the impact of individual bias or favoritism on the overall evaluation
• Encourages self-evaluation : Employees can see how their performance is perceived from different angles

Drawbacks of using 360-degree feedback

• Time-consuming: Gathering feedback from multiple sources can be a lengthy process
• Potential for anonymity issues: If anonymity is not guaranteed, employees might hesitate to offer or ask for honest feedback

How ClickUp facilitates 360-degree feedback in peer review

If you’re an HR professional in a growing company, you’d know how hard it is to gather and transform peer reviews into data and then reports. Have you ever wished for a technology to help with effective feedback management?

Well! Have you tried ClickUp? 😬

ClickUp is an end-to-end project management software that features tools, templates, and resources to facilitate 360° feedback among team members.  

Let’s see how ClickUp helps implement effective peer review feedback processes.

Customizable forms

ClickUp’s Form View lets you design dynamic surveys to gather peer feedback. Consider it as a central hub for storing all 360-degree feedback data. You can choose from its extensive gallery of form templates or create custom forms that include:

• Rating scales: Evaluate performance on specific criteria using scales like ‘Strongly Disagree’ to ‘Strongly Agree’
• Multiple choice questions: Offer predefined options for feedback on skills or behaviors
• Open-ended questions: Allow peers to provide detailed and specific feedback in their own words

Custom fields

ClickUp allows you to add custom fields to your forms, capturing data specific to your needs. Examples include:

• Reviewer name: Maintain anonymity if desired
• Relationship to employee: Specify if the reviewer is a colleague, direct report, or manager
• Department: Categorize feedback based on the reviewer’s department

ClickUp lets you automate feedback processes using conditional logic. Use it to:

• Distribute forms to reviewers upon initiating a review cycle
• Send email reminders to complete forms before the deadlines
• Transfer data from completed forms directly into your CRM or Google Sheets for easy analysis (ClickUp integrates with 1000+ apps)

How to Write a Peer Feedback: Dos and Don’ts

Writing effective feedback for peer evaluation can feel like navigating a minefield. 

Here are some crucial performance review tips for employees to conquer peer review feedback:

• Prepare questions and take feedback notes: ClickUp’s Notepad is a great ally to jot down all the necessary questions for your feedback round
• Focus on specific behaviors: Avoid vague statements. Instead, use ClickUp Docs to compile specific examples that illustrate the behavior you’re addressing
• Be clear and concise: Get straight to the point. ClickUp Brain offers AI-powered suggestions to help you craft clear and concise feedback within Docs
• Offer solutions: Don’t just point out problems. In ClickUp’s Docs, suggest specific actions the colleague can take to improve alongside the constructive criticism
• Be respectful: Maintain a professional and positive tone throughout the feedback. ClickUp’s Chat View allows for casual conversations alongside formal feedback, encouraging a positive work environment
• Focus on the future and improvement: Feedback aims to help the person develop instead of dwelling on past mistakes. ClickUp’s Goals allow you and your team members to set SMART goals based on the feedback provided collaboratively

ClickUp’s 30-60-90 Day Plan Template ensures a smooth transition for new team members. Set clear goals aligned with your team and company’s objectives. Easily track progress with custom statuses and milestones.

Identify the essential skills and behaviors needed to thrive in your new role. This template empowers new hires and job seekers to excel in their first 90 days.

Don’ts

• Attack personalities: Focus on the behavior, not the person. ClickUp Docs keeps the focus on the objective by providing a platform for specific examples and suggestions
• Use vague language: Avoid wishy-washy phrases. ClickUp Brain can suggest clear and actionable language to strengthen your feedback
• Be accusatory or judgmental: Frame feedback constructively. ClickUp’s Chat View allows for open and honest conversations to clarify any concerns before finalizing feedback in Docs
• Offer unsolicited advice: Stick to relevant areas. ClickUp’s Custom Fields within Docs allow you to tailor feedback to specific performance areas
• Forget the follow-up: Use ClickUp’s Chat View or comments within Docs to schedule follow-up discussions and track progress on goals set based on the feedback

Benefits of using ClickUp for peer feedback:

• Streamlined process: Manage the entire peer review process within a centralized platform
• Improved organization: Organize feedback in a clear and accessible manner in a single performance review software
• Enhanced collaboration: Using a workplace communication tool facilitates discussion around feedback

To help you with collecting feedback, ClickUp offers pre-built templates for employee feedback forms and performance reviews.

ClickUp’s Performance Review Template

Performance reviews don’t have to be a time-consuming headache. ClickUp’s Performance Review Template streamlines the process, empowering you to write concise, action-oriented reviews. 

Analyze performance with custom codes, set clear goals with timelines, and gather valuable 360-degree feedback from colleagues and managers.

This comprehensive template equips you with all the tools you need to conduct quick, effective, and hassle-free reviews. Here are a few more performance review templates to help you choose whichever best fits your use case.

ClickUp’s Feedback Form

ClickUp’s Feedback Form Template helps you design targeted surveys, gather insightful customer data, and quickly analyze responses. This template empowers you to collect valuable feedback that fuels smarter product decisions and creates a customer-centric approach within your business.

Elevate Your Team’s Peer Review Feedback Experience

Peer review feedback is a powerful tool for continuous improvement and employee development.

Understanding the different types of feedback examples, their impact on key areas, and best practices for delivery can help establish a successful peer review process.

A thriving peer review system relies on ongoing communication and positive reinforcement. A culture of open communication and constructive criticism can truly unleash the power of giving peer review feedback.

ClickUp provides valuable features to streamline the process, manage feedback effectively, and empower employees to reach their full potential. Sign-up for free and simplify your peer feedback process!

Questions? Comments? Visit our Help Center for support.

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15 Customer Service Performance Review Phrases with Examples in 2024

Recently updated on July 1st, 2024

Customer service is crucial in making a brand thrive. In pursuing fruitful relationships with clients, businesses must pay close attention to their customer representatives, assess them, and promote professional growth. Regular evaluation leads to outstanding customer service and new ways of interacting with clients.

This article provides practical customer service performance review phrases , examples, tips, and valuable tools to help you improve.

What is a customer service review?

A customer service review assesses an interaction between a representative and a client. While usually performed by company managers, clients can also leave customer service reviews, evaluating their experience with the brand. These are often included in a customer service performance review.

Importance of Customer Service Performance Reviews

Regular evaluations are crucial as they help determine the areas where a customer service representative is well-versed or needs to advance. When correctly conducted, performance reviews also help recognize employees’ efforts and dedication, ensures retention, prevents miscommunication, and secures professional development—all while motivating each individual to evolve by providing incentives.

Benefits of Effective Feedback

Constructive and detailed assessments go a long way in acknowledging individual achievements, identifying gaps, and improving overall efficiency. Feedback based on client interaction and teamwork also helps design a plan forward and set ambitious goals, such as promotions and financial support.

Effective feedback is more than a spoken or written customer service evaluation . It’s also a blueprint for ongoing development where specific stimuli come into play.

Understanding Performance Review Phrases

Customer service performance review phrases are building blocks for a concise and effective evaluation. They help communicate the areas where employees excel or need improvement. They can also serve as a summary for a more detailed report of a CS representative’s work.

What Are Performance Review Phrases?

Performance review phrases characterize employees based on their merits and accomplishments.

Why Use Specific Phrases?

Specific phrases clearly explain the person’s conduct and where they excel or underperform. Additionally, particular phrases are excellent for providing context for a more comprehensive review that follows. The below sections, divided into positive, constructive, and negative customer service performance review examples , demonstrate that.

Positive Performance Review Phrases

As the name suggests, positive reviews emphasize the employee’s strong ability to interact with buyers efficiently, excellent communication skills, etc. Such assessments recognize top-notch performance where no mistakes took place. Here are a few positive customer service evaluation examples .

Consistently Demonstrates Professionalism

Handling work-related tasks professionally warrants positive feedback. Look at this wording:

• Alex consistently demonstrates professionalism across any operation process. His unparalleled diligence, meticulous attention to detail, and technical skills with timely completion of tasks make him a valuable asset to the customer service team.

Exceptional Communication Skills

Exceptional communication skills are another phrase for an A-level review acknowledging a person’s ability to find a common language with any client. A brief but good customer service review in this context could be:

• Melissa’s ability to interact with clients has significantly increased customer retention. Her exceptional communication skills help Melissa build rapport with people and address customer inquiries and concerns.

Exceeds Customer Expectations

Employees impacting the satisfaction rate through effective communication and addressing customer inquiries deserve a good performance appraisal phrase. Here are a combination of customer service evaluation comments used in the context:

• Mary goes the extra mile to understand clients’ needs, helping them make an informed decision. She shows confidence in communication and product knowledge, often exceeding customer expectations. Customers note her remarkable communication style, timely completion of requests, and product suggestions that meet their requirements and budget.

Proactive Problem-Solving

Those who know how to tackle an issue and satisfy the client deserve mention and admiration. A good review for customer service could look like the following:

• Andrew’s strength lies in practical troubleshooting. His ability to resolve complex issues and find effective solutions does not go unnoticed. Clients report Andrew’s positive attitude, dedication, and effort in resolving difficult situations expeditiously.

Strong Team Collaboration

A proactive team approach not only boosts customer satisfaction, but it also maxes out the entire team’s potential. One of the informative customer service comments to recognize those who have been showing excellent team play could be:

• Amanda’s skills and personality help streamline work-related processes, effectively distribute tasks, and create robust team collaboration. She also doesn’t hesitate to help others by providing fresh perspectives on specific points and reducing the time for project completion.

Constructive Performance Review Phrases

Next on the list are constructive customer service performance review phrases . These statements provide objective evaluation and areas for continuous improvement. Consider these A-level customer service review examples to help design a constructive assessment.

Needs Improvement in Time Management Skills

Poor time management can significantly affect workers, potentially leading to missed deadlines. you should also mention achievements from other areas to address the issue gently while appreciating the person’s input. Check this one out:

• Jack consistently demonstrates a high level of service and communication with difficult customers. However, improving his time management skills would be a top-priority task, as he sometimes fails to deliver assignments within the deadline.

Inconsistent Follow-Up with Customers

Failing to follow up with clients can lead to unpredictable and challenging situations in which customers could stumble and ask for another CS representative to try to handle the issue or, worse yet – turn to the company’s competitors.

• Kate sometimes fails to follow up with clients when addressing customer complaints and concerns, leading to a lack of understanding and confusion. This may lead to increased client dissatisfaction score and prolonged interactions. Kate should receive additional training in note-taking and communication techniques.

Requires Better Conflict Resolution Skills

Displaying poor conflict resolution skills is vital to ensure clients are respectfully treated whenever they have any concerns. Constructive feedback for this issue could be like this customer service review sample :

• Matthew often loses focus when assisting customers, leaving them uninformed. This often leads to disputes and overall dissatisfaction. Signing him up for active listening and resolution training could bolster his exceptional service skills.

Needs to Enhance Product Knowledge

Insufficient product knowledge can make customers doubt the brand image and reputation. Here, performance review comments for customer service should not only state the problem but also provide a solution. For example:

• Although Anna has a basic understanding of the product and a flexible approach, her lack of in-depth knowledge prevents her from giving accurate and detailed information to clients. Despite being courteous and attentive, she often leaves customers uninformed. Arranging training sessions is essential to improve Anna’s expertise and ensure she knows the product from the inside out.

Should Improve Active Listening

Active listening issues are common in customer service teams, and they should be pointed out clearly. Employees must address these issues regardless of the cause. For instance:

• Paul struggles to understand customer concerns. Although eager to assist, he often forgets details and becomes inattentive while listening. Additional training would help Paul sharpen his listening skills and fully utilize his extensive product knowledge.

Negative Performance Review Phrases

Negative performance review phrases for customer service indicate failure to carry out the responsibilities to an acceptable level. The most common phrases with examples are:

Often Misses Deadlines

Frequently missing deadlines often indicates poor time management. Consider this phrase:

• Scott’s frequent failure to meet deadlines often jeopardizes entire projects, forcing peers to intervene. An individual improvement plan is necessary.

Poor Response Time to Customer Queries

Delayed responses adversely affect the customer experience. One of the customer service performance review phrases about average response time for this case could be as follows:

• Charles does not meet company standards in terms of turnaround time. His slow response to complex client issues negatively impacts the brand image and shakes its reputation. Immediate corrective training is necessary to continue his employment.

Lacks Empathy in Customer Interactions

From failing to follow up to displaying arrogance, this lack of empathy needs immediate attention. For example:

• Sam demonstrates a lack of attentiveness and empathy toward clients. He also fails to ask relevant questions to understand customer issues, which has already affected the brand. Sam urgently needs additional training to improve his empathy in client interactions.

Unwilling to Accept Feedback

Refusing to listen to evaluations and recommendations can create a toxic work environment. The issue could be addressed in this way:

• Angela demonstrates no interest in implementing professional advice and ignores peer and customer feedback. She also disregards input from colleagues, exhibiting a lack of respect. HR must immediately address this issue with Angela or consider termination.

Negative Attitude Affecting Team Morale

Ignoring team dynamics is another serious issue that significantly impacts the workplace. It can be acknowledged in the following way:

• James demoralizes team members by showing no initiative. His avoidance of peers and negative behavior undermine overall productivity and the atmosphere of trust thereby hindering the team’s success. This issue requires immediate attention.

Tips for Writing Effective Performance Reviews

Using informative performance review phrases helps identify gaps in employees’ skills and points them toward balancing out weak areas. Here are five tips for a meaningful review.

Be Specific and Objective

Being concise and accurate is preferable to providing lengthy, vague feedback. Breaking the review into sections helps the employee recognize their strengths and weaknesses. Also, highlight aspects that distinguish the employee’s performance.

Use Real-Life Examples

Including real-life examples in feedback—whether positive, negative, or constructive—is crucial. Context is crucial and more meaningful when specific, not abstract.

Balance Positive and Constructive Feedback

Balancing feedback is crucial when crafting customer service reviews. Ensure that each piece of actionable feedback includes both positive and constructive comments providing the employee with insights on areas to focus on.

Set Clear Goals and Expectations

Establishing clear performance goals and expectations helps team members develop exceptional customer service skills. Highlight what it takes to achieve company goals and how each member can contribute to joint success and career opportunities.

Encourage Open Communication

Customer service performance review phrases need not be overly formal or elaborate. It is better to maintain an open communication channel where managers and employees can discuss progress regularly. This approach helps employees understand their current standing and areas for improvement.

Customer Service Performance Review Outline

As operational areas vary by company, the review process should also consider aspects unique to each field. The scope of the assessment depends on the review period, the employee’s responsibilities, and other factors. For an example of what a review outline could look like, consider this customer service performance review layout:

How can feedback be used to improve customer service?

Well-structured feedback is invaluable for both employees and the customer support team. A meaningful review acknowledges the employee’s skills and identifies areas needing improvement. This provides representatives with essential information on improvements, thus enhancing customer satisfaction and retention. It also allows for tracking the agent’s progress and establishing a fair reward system.

Use AI to expedite customer service

AI tools have become integral to many customer service operations. AI-powered software enables quick data accumulation and objective analysis, minimizing subjectivity and errors in assessment. These tools can readily extract customer satisfaction data and provide concise summaries with critical information on specific topics.

Why Sembly?

With many AI tools available, choosing the right one can be challenging, but Sembly stands out. Sembly is a versatile AI-powered tool that combines note-taking , task management, and meeting recording in one platform. With features such as summaries, proxy attendance, and an embedded AI assistant, Sembly provides critical takeaways from meetings and allows for customized outputs.

User-friendly, Sembly automatically provides notes, insights, and full meeting transcripts quickly and efficiently. This data can be exported to PDF or shared via a guest link with non-Sembly users. Moreover, Sembly integrates seamlessly with numerous apps, including Notion, Trello, Google Sheets, Google Mail, and Dropbox. 

Boost your productivity for free. Try Sembly today!

How can you make a customer service performance review clear and concise?

Provide precise evaluations, such as ‘Your impressive time management skills have been game-changing for the company’s success. Focusing on conflict resolution could further enhance team efficiency.’

What to say in an exceptional performance review?

An excellent review acknowledges an employee’s achievements and efforts. For example, “The representative excels in client interactions, fostering long-term relationships. Moreover, the agent is noted for their patience and understanding, receiving positive feedback from both customers and colleagues.”

What should employers include in a performance review?

Feedback should include an objective assessment of an employee’s performance. Whether positive, constructive, or negative, the feedback should be based on empirical data and observations.

Is the process of writing a self-evaluation review different?

A self-evaluation typically responds to a performance review. It should reference the original assessment and can include additional information, but must remain precise and relevant to the scope of work.

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