They are full. They arc thoughtful. And they arc respectful. They take the writing and the writer seriously and address the issues that arc raised responsibly. His com-ments do what commentary on student writing should optimally do. They turn the writer b;JCk into his writing and lead him to reflect on his choices and aims,
The most important part about this detail is that they were respectful notes. Good things come out of giving and getting respect.
His comments are placed unobtrusively on the page, and he doesn't try to close things down or decide things for the writer.
I think it is very important not to try and change things up for the writer because I am sure the writer worked hard on their writing and hard criticism and changes does not help with learning and improvement making.
Jeremy, cre-ates himself not as a teacher or critic but first of all as a reader, one who is Intent on saying how he takes the writing and what he'd like to hear more about
That is a really good strategy to follow.
r:eel free-in fact, feel obliged-to tell the writer what you like and don't like,
Without being too harsh.
Refer specifically to the writer's words and make them a part of your comments. "Add some detail on what it was like working at the beach." "I think we 'llneed to know more about your high school crowd before we can understand the way you've changed."
This helps a lot. Specifics are key.
Let the writer know again and again how you are understanding her paper, what you take her to be saying. And elaborate on your key comments. Explain your interpretations, problertls, questions, and advice.
This makes so much sense. It is like getting a recipe for something but it only gives you the ingredients. Nothing else.
Wouldn't you want someone who was giving you comments not to sound like a teacher's red pen, a judge's ruling, an editor's impatience,
Yes, the job of a reader is to make suggestions not critic your words. There is a difference.
Be reluctant at first even to say what you would do if the paper were yours. It's not yours. Again: Writers write, readers read and show what they're understanding and maybe make suggestions.
This makes things so much clear to a reader and what their job is.
But friends don't let friends think their writing is the best thing since The Great Gatsby and they don't lead them to think that all is fine and well when it's not.
There is always room for improvements, I'm sure famous Authors also have room for improvements.
At one-hour intervals the night guards paced past every room. Each time I heard the approaching footsteps, I jumped into bed and feigned sleep. And as soon as the guard passed, I got back out of bed onto the floor area of that light-glow, where I would read for another fifty-eight minutes—until the guard approached again. That went on until three or four every morning. Three or four hours of sleep a night was enough for me. Often in the years in the streets I had slept less than that.
This piece of writing can put you in the author's shoes. You can see the image playing out in your head. Every hour of the night he'd do the same thing just to get a read in. How can you not see that image of him jumping out of bed constantly. Once again great use of imagery.
I spent two days just riffling uncertainly through the dictionary’s pages.
He grew interest into the dictionary. He goes through the pages in excitement not knowing what was next. The use of the word "riffling," allowed me to know and see how fast he was flipping through the pages, eager to learn something new.
In my slow, painstaking, ragged handwriting,
These three words give so much more of a story when you read it. You could see that his writing wasn't as neat as you would think if these descriptive words weren't present. A great sense of imagery is presented here, showing the strength in his writing skills.