Writers often struggle with low confidence, lack of direction, staying on track, and writer's block. Feedback can help writers by clarifying ideas, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement, providing encouragement and motivation, and helping overcome blocks. There are two main types of feedback - formative feedback given throughout the writing process and summative feedback at the end. Good feedback, or "feedforward", moves the writer forward by providing reasons for what is and isn't working based on the purpose and criteria, rather than just rules. It promotes progress, gives clear critique, provides encouragement, enables reflection, and provides reasons to inform choices.

1. Feeding back to feed forward

2. Internal and external feedback

3. What are some of the common things
writers struggle with?
• Low confidence levels – are my ideas good
enough?
• Lack of direction – where am I going with
these ideas?
• Staying on track – the literature keeps taking
me somewhere else…
• Writer’s block – my fingers won’t type/write!
• Distractions – let me just check my
email/Facebook/Twitter quickly…

4. All writers need feedback

5. Why do writers need feedback?
• Can help you to clarify your ideas and see
where the gaps are
• Can help you to understand what you are
doing well and where you still need to do
some work
• Can encourage and motivate you
• Can get you to your next steps as a writer, and
help fend off long bouts of writer’s block
• Can challenge and extend you as a writer

6. Different goals with feedback
Formative feedback Summative feedback
• given throughout the • comes at the end of a piece
written piece and speaks of work – usually provides a
very closely to the criteria more general comment on
against which it has been the quality of the writing
written • can be detailed but not
• designed to be encouraging usually
and informative • normally more general
• detailed and descriptive rather than detailed in
nature

7. Feedback or Feedforward?
• Good feedback feeds forward (see Lillis 2001; Deyi
2011 among others)
• This means it moves the writer beyond what they have
written and helps them to the next steps in their
process
• It provides reasons for what is working and what is not
• It looks at purpose and understanding in terms of
meeting set criteria, rather than only rules and basic
guidance – it talks about why as well as how to, rather
than just how to
• It gives the writer the space to make informed choices
about their writing

8. What does good feedback do?
Promotes Gives
Motivates
progress clear
critique
Gives
encouragement
Provides
Enables reasons for
reflection what works
and what
doesn’t

9. Some practical tips
• Put yourself in the role of a critical friend – a
reader who can give advice and guidance from
that perspective
• Read a whole section through before you
comment rather than commenting line by line or
paragraph by paragraph
• Try to find reasons (whys) for what is working and
what is not – rather than just saying what works
and does not.
• Try to give advice that gives the writer choices
about where to go with their writing