【Teaching Practice Report】

Quick and Effective Feedback on Writing During Online andClassroom Lessons
Tanya L. Erdelyi
Abstract
Feedback on writing is an essential part of process writing that supports drafting and revision. Yet some teachers
might have difficulty incorporating feedback into the writing course syllabus for various reasons, such as time
limitations or difficulties with changing online and classroom settings. The following is a report on a five-stepfeedback process or activity I developed during the COVID-19 pandemic for providing both peer and teacher
feedback on student writing quickly and during classroom time. With a few minor adjustments, the process can beused in both online and offline classes. The goals of this feedback process were to provide both peer and teacher
feedback regardless of the lesson setting, alleviate overtime work for the teacher outside the lessons, and promote
the development of good writing skills through collaboration. The key to success is to create and follow a rubric that
focuses on key elements of effective writing and reflects what has been taught during the lessons leading to
feedback sessions. First, I provide theoretical explanations to support my decisions, and later I offer a detailed
description of the five-step feedback process. After describing a few observations, I conclude by offering
troubleshooting tips and adjustments that can be implemented to suit different circumstances.
Keywords: feedback, writing, rubric, online, classroom

Introduction
Teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges, including a need to adjust
reliable teaching practices. One such practice is providing feedback on student writing. This feedback
can come in the form of suggestions from teachers, peers, or both.
Some teachers might forego the feedback step of writing altogether. A few possible reasons forthis decision might be time limitations during lessons because of a need to adhere strictly to asyllabus, excessive teacher workload outside of working hours (Gibson et al., 2015), problems withteacher and student feedback literacy (Carless, 2020), and difficulties adjusting to new settings, suchas online lessons (Cox et al., 2015).
However, feedback is a vital step in process writing that supports drafting and redrafting (Hyland& Hyland, 2006), and has numerous benefits, such as the promotion of learning through collaboration(Hyland & Hyland, 2006; Lin & Yang, 2011), strengthening of classroom relationships (Diab, 2011;
Zhao et al., 2014), and improvement of writing (Diab, 2011; Ge, 2011; Hyland & Hyland, 2006). Witha few adjustments to teaching practices, such as increasing student feedback literacy andopportunities for feedback uptake (Ducasse & Hill, 2019), students can benefit from feedback on
their writing. Therefore, it is worth considering devoting time to providing feedback on writing whendeveloping a writing course syllabus.
The following is a report on how I have been providing quick and effective feedback on writing
during lessons since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I will begin by explaining my five-stepprocess. I will include tips on how to use this activity in online or face-to-face lessons to help alleviate
the burden of working overtime, and how office hour consultations can be used to support major
problems with student writing that require more time and attention. The paper is concluded with171

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observations from my classes, and suggestions for making adjustments.

Procedure
In order to provide students with effective feedback on their writing in a timely manner,
preparation is required. The first three steps of this feedback activity will lay the groundwork for the
success of steps four and five, the feedback steps.

Step 1 – Decide on the Type of Feedback
The first step in this feedback activity is to determine what sort of feedback can be offered in thetime permitted and with the available resources. Along with self-checking, the two sources of
feedback are from peers and the teacher. Therefore, the teacher must decide whether they will havestudents provide peer feedback, and whether they will provide teacher feedback on the students’
writing. This step will depend on how much time can be made available on the syllabus for feedback.

Step 2 – The Syllabus
After the type of feedback has been decided, the teacher should develop, if possible, a syllabusthat allows enough time for their choice. Of course, this step might be impossible if a teacher is given
a fixed syllabus that must be strictly followed. If that is the case, and if the existing syllabus does notprovide in-class time for feedback, review the syllabus to determine if there are activities that can beshortened to free up the necessary time required for providing feedback. Fortunately, I have been
granted the luxury of creating a syllabus that will suit my students’ needs. As providing feedback isa vital part of process writing (Hyland & Hyland, 2006), I personally prefer providing both peer andteacher feedback, and thus, I devote two full lessons per essay for feedback. After the students havecompleted their first drafts, I ask them to check their own essays. In the same lesson, they provide

Figure 1
Example syllabus from an Academic Skills Writing course
Week

Topic

Homework Due

1

Course Intro; Paragraph Writing (sentences, unity, coherence)2

Paragraph & Essay Writing; Essay 1 Intro; Topic Choices

Paragraph Assignment

3

Thesis Statement; Writing an Outline

Essay 1 Topic

4

Finding & Evaluating Sources

Essay 1 Outline 1 (with ideas)

5

Cause & Effect Structures; APA Formatting; Common errors

Essay 1 Outline 2 (with sources)6

Peer Feedback

Essay 1 Draft 1

7

Revising and editing; Teacher consultations

Essay 1 Draft 2

8Intro to Argumentation; Compare & contrast; Persuasion

Essay 1 Final Draft

9

Reading Academic Journal Articles

Essay 2 Topic

10

Avoiding Plagiarism (paraphrasing, citations, reference)

Essay 2 Outline Part 1 (with ideas)

11

Academic Vocabulary and Tone

Outline Part 2 (with sources)

12Peer Feedback

Essay 2 Draft 1

13

Revising and editing; Teacher consultations

Essay 2 Draft 2

14

Essay 2 Group Discussions

Essay 2 Final Draft

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peer feedback. After revisions are made to the second draft, in the following lesson, I provide teacher
feedback they can use to revise their final draft. Figure 1 shows an example of a 14-week syllabus I
developed for an Academic Skills Writing course.

Step 3 – The Rubric
Using rubrics as teaching tools for formative purposes is highly contested in the world of
education. Some researchers claim that asking students to learn from a rubric promotes instrumental
learning and criteria compliance (Sadler, 2014), or that using a rubric narrows the type of peer
feedback provided (Bouwer et al., 2018). However, an analysis of 27 articles discussing the use of
rubrics revealed that there was limited empirical support for the negative claims made against theuse of rubrics; most of these claims were based on theoretical speculations and anecdotal evidence(Panadero & Jonsson, 2020). If designed and implemented correctly, rubrics have been shown tohelp students improve their performance (Turgut & Kayaoğlu, 2015), take responsibility of their own
learning, and identify what should be done and how it should be executed. Despite the debate overwhether rubrics help or hinder student learning, and the need for more studies on whether the useof rubrics promotes long-term retention (Panadero & Jonsson, 2020), I have chosen to use rubrics as
writing tools in my writing courses to profit from some of the aforementioned benefits, in addition toproviding transparency to the students about what I expect in their writing and consistency while I
am grading their papers.
Therefore, the third step in the feedback process I am explaining is to develop a bespoke rubric
that incorporates and clearly indicates the aspects of good writing that will be graded for the written
assignment. Each descriptor on the rubric reflects a skill taught in the lessons leading to the first
feedback lesson (compare Figures 1 and 2). Because I am asking my students to use the rubric as atool for checking their own writing and that of their peers, I avoided overly complicated descriptors,
as clarity and ease of use of the rubric is preferred by students while using it as a peer feedback tool
Figure 2.
Cause and effect essay rubric
Does Your Essay Have:

No (0)

Some (1)

Yes (2)

Total:/25

4 paragraphs describing causes and/or effects
a hook & background information about the event, situation, or action in the
introduction
a clear thesis statement (stating the cause & effect and your opinion) at theend of the introduction
topic sentences (topic + controlling idea) for P2, P3, and P4
logical structure and organization of the C&Es
3 supporting ideas (evidence) in the supporting paragraphs
3 matching details (explanations) in the supporting paragraphs
a summary & a prediction or advice in the conclusion
paragraph unity (1 topic) & coherence (transitions; keywords)
in-text citations from at least 3 sourcesan APA-formatted Reference List of at least 3 sources
no common academic writing errors (from checklist)
correct essay formatting (e.g., font, indents, titles...)173

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第2巻 （ JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL PEDAGOGY AND PR ACTICE, VOL. 2）(Wang, 2014). Therefore, I opted for the clear question form of “Does your essay have…?” instructing
them to focus on and revise any questions from the rubric that were answered with a “No” or “Some.”
Figure 2 shows a rubric I developed for a cause and effect essay in the previously mentioned
Academic Skills Writing course.
Incidentally, as the grades are included on the rubric, this particular tool could also be used for
self- and peer-assessment of writing. These types of assessment, if shared with the teacher, can beused as a formal and collaborative approach between the teacher and students to provide the students
with a grade, or as a possibly insightful suggestion to the teacher while they are grading.

Step 4 – Peer Feedback (optional, but recommended)
In the first of my two scheduled feedback lessons, students focus on self-checking the first draftof their own papers and providing peer feedback while using the rubric. I introduce the rubric to mystudents simultaneously with the introduction of the writing assignment so they can become
familiarized with what they will be learning and what will be graded as they write their first draft.
During the peer feedback lesson, I explain that the rubric can be used as a tool for checking theirown papers, and for collaboratively working together to provide suggestions that might help improveeach other’s essays. During the scheduled peer feedback lesson, I demonstrate and model how to
use the rubric and provide appropriately polite comments by checking an example essay and thinking
aloud during the demonstration (Chang, 2015; Lam, 2010), which also help promote student feedback
literacy (Ducasse & Hill, 2019) by offering them possible feedback phrases and what they mean. I
then ask them to practice using the rubric by checking their own work to become accustomed tousing the rubric as a checking tool and strengthening their skills in identifying problems (Lam,2010). Self-checking also promotes the necessity of proofreading your own work and helps lighten
the load on the next person checking their paper. The peer feedback lesson ends with a few roundsof checking papers of different partners, writing comments, and explaining the comments that are
not understood by the feedback receiver to promote collaboration, clarification, and comment uptake(Ducasse & Hill, 2019; Zhao et al., 2014). To help facilitate easy access to each other’s work, mystudents write their assignments on Google Docs and set the share settings to “anyone with the link
can comment.” By asking my students to check the first draft, it is my hope that, at minimum, minor
problems will be eliminated during their revision homework, thus making teacher feedback on thesecond draft manageable in the available time.

Step 5 – Teacher Feedback
The lesson following the initial peer feedback lesson is the teacher feedback lesson. Before I
begin the consultations, I review the rubric to help focus my attention on what needs to be checked.
For teachers who are uncomfortable with examining students’ work rapidly, provided they haveenough time, I recommend a brief review of the students’ written assignments, making notes on the
major issues that will affect their grade. These prepared comments can be used by the teacher during
the actual individual consultations with the students. Please note that prior access to the students’assignments is required if pre-checking is to be performed. My students write their assignments on
Google Docs and add me as an editor in the share settings of their document.
During teacher consultations, I adhere strictly to the rubric when offering advice, as consultation
times are limited. I place the rubric adjacent to their writing, once again modeling by thinking aloud174

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to help further their feedback and paper checking training. The key to quick feedback is to focus
solely on the problems that will affect the student’s grade. If the rubric reflects aspects of goodwriting, the students will be receiving feedback that will help improve their essays, not just theirgrades, and help bolster their writing skills. I always remind the students that I will not be
proofreading their papers; I will only be indicating major problems that will affect their grade, as
indicated on the rubric. Should there be other minor problems such as spelling and grammar errors,
I inform the student of their existence in general, and either offer them more time for consultation
during my office hours or recommend other tools (e.g., grammar and spelling checkers) to help
them find the minor problems. I provide further support after class or during my office hours tostudents who have clearly misunderstood important aspects of the skill building courses leading to
the feedback sessions and display serious issues in their writing.
Different preparations will be required depending on the setting of the teacher consultation
lesson. If the lesson is being conducted online, I would recommend a tool such as Zoom that allows
for easy separation of the students into private breakout rooms. During the lesson before teacher
consultations, I explain the procedure so as to save time during the following feedback lesson.
Moreover, I provide a detailed written description of teacher consultation procedures so that students
can review them prior to their lesson (see Figure 3). On the day of the consultation, I offer students
the option of joining whatever room they like and encourage them to switch rooms if their purposechanges. I then create five or six breakout rooms, labeling each room with a different purpose. The
purposes I choose are peer feedback (to give the students a chance to consult with each other for
additional collaborative assistance), silent writing (for students who want to use their feedback inrevisions immediately), chat (to promote a much-needed chance for socialization that some of our
Figure 3.
Teacher consultation instructions.
1. I will set up several Breakout rooms (online) or groups (classroom) with different purposes (e.g., peer
feedback, writing room, chat, and teacher consultation).
2. You can change rooms or groups throughout this lesson, so choose the group matching the purpose that you
would like to devote your time to.
3. One by one, I will meet each of you privately in the teacher consultation room (online) or at my desk(classroom).
4. To save time, I will automatically move you to my room (online) or call you to my desk (classroom). I
apologize in advance for interrupting your conversation with your group members.
5. (online only) Because this room change will happen suddenly, you must please remain at your computer
during this lesson.
6. (online only) If you are not at your computer when I move you to the consultation room, I will bring someone
else to the room and you might lose your chance to talk to me about your essay during the lesson. However,help will always be given during my office hours if you send me an email to arrange a meeting.
7. I will create a column next to your names on a Google Doc and mark an “O” next to your name when I talkto you, so if you want to follow my progress and possibly know when you will be moved to the consultation
room, you can watch the Google Doc.
8. W
 hen you are in the consultation room, I will speak very quickly. To save time, I will not write comments.
9. Y ou can record our conversation if you want (using Zoom or your smartphone’s audio recording function).
10. You
can also take written notes.
11. I will be checking your essay for any major/serious problems you might have. I will not have time toproofread and check all your grammar and small problems.
12. I f you are in a peer feedback room or group, please help each other by giving advice on your essays.
13. I f you are in the writing room or group, please work on your paper quietly.
14. If you do not need to work on your paper, or if you are feeling social and just want to get to know each other,please join the Chat room or group, and take the opportunity to talk to your classmates.

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first- and second-year students have been deprived of during the COVID-19 pandemic), and teacher
consultation (the room I use for individual feedback sessions). After creating the breakout rooms andsetting the timer of the rooms to close at the end of the lesson, I tell the students to join the roomwith their desired purpose, and I begin the consultation process. I forewarn the students that I will
be pulling them out of their respective rooms and dropping them directly in the teacher consultation
room when it is their turn. I apologize in advance for any conversations I might interrupt during thisprocess. I also share a Google Doc with a list of their names, and I move down the list while placing
an “O” next to the students’ names that I have consulted with, so they know approximately when they
will be moved into the teacher consultation room next. Please note, in addition to the three semesters
that were conducted online during 2020 and spring 2021, I have used the same process in the fall2021 semester while conducting face-to-face interaction in the classroom. The only difference
between an online and classroom setting is that in the classroom, I ask the students to break up into
groups according to their desired purpose, rather than “join a breakout room.” The full set of teacher
consultation instructions offered to students has been included in Figure 3.

Obser vations and Recommendations
Regarding the rooms with different purposes, I have seen varying results. One class used thedifferent rooms fairly equally. Another group of students remained mostly in the silent writing room.
The final outcome was an online class where all the students eventually joined the same “chat”
breakout room, evidently enjoying the time to interact. At the end of the teacher consultations, I
joined that room and was relieved to find that they were actually talking to each other instead ofsilently waiting for the lesson to end.
Concerning class size, I have successfully performed the teacher consultation step with a classof 18 Advanced English students during a 100-minute lesson. I generally allocate four to five minutes
per student. Time is often saved with students whose writing exhibits a few problems, and thus, somestudents with more serious issues can occasionally be given more than five minutes. However, please
note that I have several years of experience checking student writing in a fast-paced environment, so
it is definitely a skill that needs to be developed over time. I would also not recommend this feedback
activity with a large number of students who have written papers longer than five paragraphs. Should
four to five minutes per student seem too daunting, an alternative to the method I described above
would be to conduct teacher consultations and peer feedback simultaneously during the two feedback
lessons, allowing the teacher to meet with half of the students during the first lesson and theremaining students during the second.

Further Troubleshooting and Adjustments
There are a few tricks that I learned while developing my skills checking student writing in a
fast-paced situation. To begin with, I encourage the student to voice record their feedback session.
Nowadays, most students have smartphones with built-in voice recording apps. If in a Zoom room, I
enable the participant record function in the settings prior to the lesson and encourage the students
to record their session. Recording the session saves the teacher from writing individual commentsthat will only slow down the consultation. With a voice recording, the students can listen to thecomments they received at their own pace.
Second, be aware of the role of a teacher. When I first started teaching writing, I acted like a
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proof reader, marking every problem, large or small, that I could find. After reading articles that
focused on the negative effects of providing excessive corrective feedback resulting in the dread of
the red pen (Semke, 1984; Truscott & Yi-ping Hu, 2008), I found that this method might be more
harmful than helpful for some students, possibly leading to being discouraged and overwhelmed.
Now, I have a few personal rules that often guide me as I check student writing: 1) if it seems like I
am putting more time into checking their writing than they spent actually writing, I stop checking,and 2) I focus solely on the big issues (those that affect the comprehensibility of the piece and thatshould be, if possible, reflected by the descriptors in the rubric), and remind my students that I am
available for further consultation. Students eager to learn will seek out their teacher, whether it isafter class or during office hours.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the key to offering feedback quickly and effectively, as explained earlier, islimiting comments to those covered by the rubric. A carefully constructed rubric will allow students
to understand important requirements for academic writing, and free teachers from feeling like they
are only helping students “get a good grade.” Having their writing and the rubric side-by-side during
the consultation will show, through modeling, the importance of using the rubric as a writing tool.
Additionally, limiting comments will save time and help students avoid the dread of the red pen.
Many students will tune out if the teacher goes into too much detail because they just want toimprove their grade. Therefore, by constructing the rubric so that it reflects key writing aspects thathave already been taught, it is hoped that the students will improve their grade and learn how towrite.

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