In Sommer’s essay on paper comments, she detailed the problems teachers have faced when commenting on papers. She highlighted the issues with brief comments (they can be discouraging to students) and very directive comments (the student spends the revision process focusing on what to write for the teacher instead of what to write to improve their argument).
Her conclusion is that we need to focus on different aspects of writing in the different drafts we are given. If we throw dozens of ideas at the student on both a global and sentence level, then they get lost in the revision.
My problem with this is twofold: 1. We’re not supposed to be commenting on drafts. I want to be able to spend that time moving from one style of writing to another, but I don’t know how to build that revision process when the students are meant to rely on the peer revision process. As much as peer revision can be guided by the teacher, it is still out of our hands when it comes down to the act itself. Then, 2., the problem with brief comments. We are told that we can’t overwhelm the students with comments or they will lose focus, but we can’t be brief because it will come off as harsh or apathetic. I wonder how universal that reception is, or if that idea is focused mainly on certain student personalities. Maybe a certain student with a type A personality will respond better to brief, directive comments, while the free-thinking student may need more encouragement.
In the end, I still don’t have an answer and I’m still trying to figure out what is most effective for students.