Essay Feedback and How to Effectively Use It

The type of writing that you produce in your college education differs from your highschool writing in its difficulty, complexity, and freedom. To get acquainted with the change in writing and to improve it more, you might practice using various tips and techniques, but you will soon find yourself in need of feedback on your progress and writing.

Without the feedback, you wouldn’t know whether your writing has improved or has caught up to college-level writing. You can consult a free essay writer to check your essay and provide you with feedback. However, the feedback which you receive from such sources is not comprehensive or untimely.

The best way for many students to get feedback on their essay is from the people that surround you. Especially your fellow students and your instructors.

The significance of feedback

Working on your own on your writing, you will at many times feel unsure about an idea, apart, or the approach that you take in your essay. On your own, you will have to wrestle with the problem till when you think you come on top — something that you can’t be sure about.

This doesn’t have to come at the end of your writing but can happen at various stages of the essay process. When you take outside feedback for any problem you face, you can finally know if your take on a task or your approach is as accurate as you think it is. This feedback can be in perfecting your thesis, finalizing your essay, choosing the right evidence, etc.

Most importantly, receiving feedback during or after the writing process helps you see where you go wrong and where you can improve in your writing.

How to ask for feedback?

Remember not to fret about the criticism that you receive in your writing and take it personally, as it targets your essay and not your ability to write. With the fear of criticism gone, you can confidently approach people for feedback.

The person giving you the feedback doesn’t always have to be an expert. Any constructive addition or advice coming from anywhere from your family members or your friends can be considered as feedback.

Try not to present the text to the person giving you feedback without any specific parts that you want comments on, otherwise, the reader might give you general feedback. It’s best to add to the essay several side notes asking the reader to check for particular things, such as the transitions, the strength of the argument, the organization, etc.

You don’t have to approach the instructor when you are done with the essay or after the instructor gives you his feedback on the writing. You can visit the instructor during the writing process, but only in the time reserved for the students.

Different stages in your writing when you can ask for feedback

• While understanding the essay prompt.
• During the research process when you don’t understand an important text, especially when it is from a given essay reading list.
• Crafting your thesis and after you organize your ideas in a rough outline.
• When you are into several drafts and have made several structural changes and changes in the content. You can inquire about the organization and the effectiveness of the arguments, evidence, and analysis.
• The final draft should go under an outside review, so to make sure you have presented the essay’s thoughts and content in a complete and organized manner.
• After your paper is graded your instructor usually adds comments to the essay, where she/he thinks you can improve, and also the parts which he finds a delight to read.
• If there are no comments on the essay but just pointing out mistakes, you should still go to the instructor and discuss the essay.