Positive Feedback

10 Ideas for Positive Writing Feedback

Try for at least two things to praise for every comment about something that could be improved. For sensitive children, strive for three to five things to praise for every bit of advice about what should be corrected.

1. I love your choice of the word "__________" because . . .

   • it helps give me a precise idea of how the character was feeling (i.e. "joyful" instead of "happy").

   • It shows you understand the academic vocabulary of your subject (i.e. "basalt" instead of "rock").

2. You have a wonderful first sentence because . . .

   • it captures my attention and makes me want to read more.

   • it is a strong topic sentence and helps me understand what the paragraph is going to be about.

3. I really like the ideas you include because . . .

   • they show you put a lot of thought into exploring your topic.

   • you focus on a particular topic and leave out unrelated information.

4. I love the smooth flow of your sentences in section _____ because . . .

   • you vary your sentence structure by starting sentence _____ with a word that isn't a subject or a noun.

   • you have sentences of different lengths.

   • you use words like "and," "but," "because," and "so" to make some sentences more sophisticated and informative.

5. You do a great job helping me follow the organization of your ideas because . . .

   • you have a clear beginning, middle, and end.

   • you use transition words like "before," "next," and "last" so I don't get confused.

6. You do a fantastic job supporting you opinion (or argument or claim) because . . .

   • you provide [student's specific facts and/or examples] as evidence.

   • you clearly explain your reasoning by saying [summarize student's reasoning], and showing how the evidence supports your opinion.

7. Excellent choice structuring your informative writing [and using a graphic organizer to help] because . . .

   • I clearly see the cause and effect relationship.

   • I clearly see the compare-contrast relationship.

   • I clearly understand the problem and solution.

   • I clearly follow the sequence of steps or events.

   • I clearly visualize the description.

8. I love your revision work between the rough draft(s) and final copy because . . .

   • the word choices "_______" and "________" are now more precise and descriptive.

   • you now have many more details that help provide a vivid description of the main character's personality.

   • the rearrangement of sentences ______ and _____ makes the writing clearer and more organized.

9. Your editing shows careful attention to detail because . . .

   • you capitalize the proper nouns correctly.

   • you use a period at the end of this/every sentence.

   • you do not have any run-on sentences.

10. Your strong conclusion is impressive because . . .

    • it sums up your ideas and provides a solution to the problem you discuss.

    • it reminds me of your points and tells me to take action.

    • it answers the question "So what?" and tells me why your ideas are important.

    • it connects back to the introduction and middle section, tying things together and making the writing feel complete.

    • it clearly resolves the main character's conflict.