Giving Constructive Feedback: Benefits and Advice

Every now and then, I think back to the fist time someone genuinely complimented my academic writing — not just because it was kind, but because I was confused. I had so normalized receiving negative feedback exclusively that I couldn’t even interpret what was said in the moment as a compliment.

Photo by Jan Verbist from FreeImages.

Prior to that, the feedback I received on my writing ran the gamut from merely unconstructive, to downright unkind — sometimes with a dash of patronizing tone for flavor (I guess?). A lot of the feedback was designed to control my voice as a writer, not to improve content or clarity. Much of it was absolutely useless.

Part of my confusion about the compliment was that another person who read the same document had only negative feedback to give. I later learned that some academics are incapable of giving constructive criticism; either they never learned how, or can’t be bothered to do it.

You know the reviews that are deeply upsetting? The ones that make you think, “wow, they couldn’t think of a single positive thing to say about the work?” and “ok, but did they have to be so rude about it?” The ones that are unnecessarily personal? The reviews that are cruelty masquerading as rigor? I guarantee those reviewers give the same hurtful feedback to their students, or worse.

Which brings me to the unsolicited advice portion of the post:

1. Always start your critique with something positive. The work might be flawed or misguided, but someone spent a lot of time and effort to create it. Recognize the hard work. Convey that you see its value.
2. Don’t use all caps in your feedback, not even for emphasis. This might seem small, but it can have a big effect on the reader. It’s hard to read feedback as constructive if it reads as though the writer IS YELLING IT AT YOU. While you may not interpret all caps writing as yelling, many people do, and you should take that into consideration when writing to others. If you want to emphasize a point, use your words to do so, e.g., “Before I can recommend the paper for acceptance, the authors must address the following:” or “A key issue I would like to see addressed is”, etc.
3. When giving students feedback, please don’t police their voice as a writer. Your phrasing preferences are just that: preferences, not objective writing guidelines. Address content and clarity issues while letting their individuality shine through.
4. Minimize emotional language in your feedback. Maybe something in the work shocked, angered, or disappointed you, but chances are the author wasn’t trying to upset you personally, and using emotional language it is not constructive. Figure out what about the writing provoked that emotional response in you and, if it was an issue the author should address, explain what the problem is. You can critique the same points without the drama.
5. When editing someone else’s writing, it’s helpful to justify the changes you made. If I see that a collaborator has made changes to text I’ve written and there is no justification given, I end up wondering why what I wrote was wrong. If there was something wrong with the text — for example, maybe the wording was ambiguous, unclear, technically incorrect, or perhaps it was repetitive — it’s better to explain what the problem was. That way, the author can learn from your feedback and apply the lessons in future writing. It also allows the author veto changes that are subjective in nature (e.g., “I thought this word sounded nicer”) if they interfere with the author’s voice.
6. Take some time away from the feedback before you send it. Sleep on it, if you have enough time. Then reread your feedback. Imagine how you would feel if you received that feedback on your hard work. If you struggle with that, see if ou can run it by someone else. Edit for tone as needed.

While the above advice was written with academic writing in mind, in principle it generalizes to feedback in other contexts.

Why should you follow the advice? Because it matters. I was anxious about submitting work for years because of the awful feedback I received. Only recently, now that I have received more positive and constructive feedback, has that started to change. Through that feedback, I’ve learned what works in my writing, and what doesn’t, and my writing has improved considerably as a result. More importantly, my entire attitude toward writing shifted from dread to confidence.

Note: This post was adapted from a Twitter thread.