Jennifer--Thank you for your great question. This idea--"Too many comments are written to the paper, not to the student"--seemed puzzling to me when I heard it. I wondered--what does this mean? What would be different about comments directed to a student, not to a paper? So, to start, I began asking: If a student were sitting beside me, how would I approach commenting? Would I tell the student what is missing and deficient in the paper? Would I bark a series of commands--Be specific! Avoid generalizations! Develop more! Or would I think about the particular student who wrote the paper--Marie, for instance--and why Marie chose the topic she is arguing; how she is asking an interesting question that matters to her; how my comments might be shaped to help Marie meet her goals. I find that my comments are more specific, more helpful, more of a dialogue than a monologue when I write to the student. Also, I am less critical and more generous because it feels like an act of communication, not an act of criticism.
As I mentioned in our Webinar, I also find that the practice of asking students to write a "Dear Reader" letter helps me write comments to a student. If, for example, Marie writes in her letter that she needs help with developing an argumentative thesis or with paraphrasing sources, I can shape my comments as responses to Marie's questions.
Let me know if these thoughts help. Let's keep the conversation going. Nancy
