Have you ever been given feedback on one of your papers or assignments and not taken well to it? Grauman’s “What’s That Supposed to Mean? Using Feedback on your writing” tells us why people have such a hard time using feedback as well as gives steps to use once we have received our feedback. This ensures that we make the most of the constructive criticism given to us.
There are many reasons people have a hard time using feedback. For starters and arguably the most important in my opinion, is that writers often view their writing abilities as “an unchangeable character trait”. All writers, no matter if they consider themselves good or bad at writing have something to learn. In other words, you’re never too good for feedback. Additionally, people have trouble deciphering their feedback. For example, is it only local feedback like grammar or mechanics? Or does it pertain to global feedback such as organization or idea development. Everyone wants local feedback because it’s the easiest to fix. However, global feedback means the structure or the whole idea doesn’t really make sense. This type of feedback is probably the most offensive assuming the author took time to develop their idea. However, it could also be the most helpful type of feedback. Lastly, people struggle “Deciding whether you have to or should take recommendations in your feedback”. Here Grauman is reminding us that we are the authors of our paper, and we make the rules. Feedback can be helpful but if the suggestion from another person doesn’t align with what you’re trying to do in your paper, then maybe it’s not worth it to make those changes.
Grauman also gives her readers steps to go through once they’ve received their feedback. Step one is to set your own goals. For example, what do you want to learn from this feedback? Step two is to go through everything and take notes on your feedback. Step three is to acknowledge emotional responses. If you feel offended, those feelings are normal, but the reviewer is just trying to help you (most of the time). Follow up with your reviewer. Perhaps you can clarify something, so they understand better and see if the feedback changes. If they’re being rude, tell them, or don’t, it’s up to you. However, remember that most of the time they’re just trying to help. Step four would be to act on your goals. In other words, put your feedback to good use and get started on revising your paper.
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