Real Academics Blog

Dear Real Academics, Learning how to ask for and provide useful feedback revolutionized my writing and my teaching of writing. But, first, let me explain what useful feedback is not. What Useful Feedback is Not: An Illustration I was an English major for half of my college student life. In fact, my first Ph.D. program was in English Literature though I promptly realized it was not practical enough for me so I left with an M.A. I tell you this biographical information because I was steeped in the world of writing for a very long time; and, yet, I knew little about useful feedback or how to provide it to others. My college writing process looked something like the following: I would be given a writing prompt with a deadline. After I turned in my work at the end of the term, I would receive a letter grade at the top of my paper with a ton of comments on the sides in red ink. Consequently, when it was my turn to provide grades to large sections of undergraduate introduction to literature ...

  Dear Real Academics, November is traditionally the month of giving thanks in the United States. Ever since my family moved here from Mexico, Thanksgiving has been one of my favorite holidays, and one that I love to share with friends I meet who come from around the world. It is a time for counting and sharing the many blessings in my life. For all the bad in the world -- and there's an insane amount of bad at the time I am writing this blog post -- it is good for the soul to give thanks for blessings, no matter how big or small. This weekend, I provided writing feedback to about a dozen students in a small amount of time. These are students I have never met and that I do not teach. Some sent me whole dissertations. Some sent me small reflection paper assignments. Some sent me statistics assignments requiring a write-up. I thoroughly enjoyed providing them all feedback, but I'll be honest -- I was exhausted by the end of the weekend. (Hence, while this blog post is later than ...