Tips for Crafting the End Comment
Here are some tips for producing this final comment:
- Open by rehearsing what you see as the major idea or claim
of the draft and its major structuring principle;
- List the three or four most important things the student
needs to attend to – in order of importance – referring
back to the language of your assignment and criteria sheets;
- Note the strongest parts of the draft and offer suggestions
on how to bring other parts of the draft up to that standard;
- Remind the student of the due date for the next or final
draft;
- Ask the student to study the draft and your comments carefully
before scheduling a conference with you;
- When appropriate, suggest that the student consult a Writing
Center tutor for additional support.
In the event that a draft indicates to you that the student
has not done sufficient work or that the student needs to change
direction completely, don’t spend a lot of time responding
to the draft. Instead, write brief comments noting your recognition
of the undeveloped state of the draft (avoid sarcasm, since you
could be wrong about how much time and effort the student has
expended) and save your efforts for the conference, by which
time the student may have additional ideas or even a new draft.
