Useful feedback tends to:

• be an accurate description of how your work reflects the objectives and requirements of an assignment (= how it to corresponds to a rubric) 
• identify areas of strength
• identify areas for improvement
• feel like it’s about the work you’ve submitted, rather than being about “you”
• offer concrete guidance on how to maintain momentum with your strengths and how to build momentum in areas for improvement
• be provided throughout an assignment (or module or term), rather than just “after the fact” or just as a grade. 

Making the most of useful feedback tends to mean:

• finding the time and space to process it
• asking follow-up questions about anything that isn’t clear
• sketching out how you might apply the feedback—both in terms of what’s working well and what still needs work—in the future, whether that means on a revised version of a draft or on the next assignment (or an assignment in another course).

Less useful feedback tends to:
 

• be a less accurate description of your work, or a description that’s hard to assess because it doesn’t correspond to a rubric or doesn’t include any comments
• identify only areas of strength or only areas for improvement
• feel like it’s about “you,” rather than about the assignment you’ve submitted
• not include much guidance on how to maintain momentum with your strengths or how to build momentum in areas for improvement
• come only at the end of things—”with a grade.”

Making the most of less useful feedback tends to mean:
 

• finding the time and space to process it
• trying to filter “you” out of what the feedback is speaking to, i.e., trying to focus on how the feedback can help you evaluate what you've written over and against the assignment prompt + rubric, rather than focusing on elements of the feedback that aren't about the writing itself
• asking follow-up questions about what isn’t clear or doesn’t seem accurate
• asking follow-up questions about possible areas for improvement (where you can build momentum) or areas of strength (where you can maintain momentum)
• asking follow-up questions about strategies for improvement + additional support and resources
• sketching out how you might apply the feedback—both in terms of what’s working well and what still needs work—in the future, whether that means on a revised version of a draft or on the next assignment (or an assignment in another course).

A big part of the stress of getting feedback—and part of what makes it hard to process—is that we often only get it late in the process, or at the end—with a grade. Getting feedback throughout an assignment lowers the stakes of the feedback and creates a positive loop with positive and constructive comments: positive comments can be more easily seen as helping us know where we’re on track, which frees up energy to focus on other areas; constructive comments can be more easily seen as helping us know where to put that energy. The earlier you are in any process when you get feedback, the more time and energy you have to make use of it.

Seeing an “A” on an assignment can produce a “mission accomplished” feeling that makes feedback feel more like an afterthought. Even when things are going great, though, feedback is how you can better understand how you did well and/or where you made improvements throughout an assignment. That metacognitive step can help make success in one area the start of more success in others. 

Opportunities for feedback might be baked into the design of an assignment or course. If and when they aren’t, here are some good places to look for feedback:

• Reach out to your TF or instructor! 
• Get feedback on how to engage with an assignment by doing the assignment prompt decoder exercise (maybe in a group with classmates) 
• Use as many of the other writing resources and support around campus as possible, including
  • the Writing Center
  • the Harvard Guide to Using Sources
  • the English Grammar and Language Tutor
  • Harvard Writes
  • Writing Guides for specific departments and courses
  • Departmental Writing Fellows (for departmental courses outside of Gen Ed), and
  • writing workshops and events.    

This is just going to be true sometimes, and when it seems like it is true it’s worth considering why the feedback isn’t working. Would someone else be a better source of the feedback? Is the feedback not accurate? Or is it vague or belittling in any way? 

The best feedback on writing will always offer a balance of concrete and constructive comments about your work, together with guidance about how to improve. If these elements are missing, it’s less useful. If the tone or content is negative or feels like it’s aimed at “you” the person, it isn’t useful. We all get feedback like this at times, and it’s bad feedback for a lot of reasons: first and foremost, it's bad because it doesn’t generate or help maintain the open dialogue needed for good feedback to be possible.

Sometimes feedback can be applied to the assignment at hand (e.g., through revision), and sometimes it’s something you'll apply to an assignment later in the term or beyond. Either way, it’s worth having a plan for what you’ll do with it: maybe you’ll keep a checklist for things to keep doing or things to try differently; maybe you’ll save writing assignments that had really useful feedback in a folder that you’ll revisit before starting your next one.