Blog #8

During the editing process is when I focus on the linguistic accuracy of my work. As a writer, this is where I can edit for clarity, grammatical errors and misspelled words. Majority of the grammatical knowledge is acquired most heavily during postsecondary education, however the foundation for that knowledge begins well before that and only builds up from there. Another source of grammatical knowledge comes from reading a variety of sources. English writing has so many styles that it takes practice to be able properly use them. It is in the editing process that I find myself referencing all that past knowledge to achieve linguistic accuracy.

I feel that my approach to editing is effective. The best way for me to edit my work is to focus on each paragraph at a time. Then, I break down the sentences and look for errors. This is when I can eliminate unnecessary information, edit for clarification and correct grammatical errors. I think this works specifically for me because I analyze each sentence separately to ensure that it fits and flows into the next.

It truly depends on the writing assignment. I find giving any kind of feedback a challenge. I tend to focus on the errors that pertain to the overall focus of the assignment. For example, if I give a writing prompt about daily routine there is specific information and sequencing that I am looking for in the work. I know that I will encounter others errors minor and major, however some of these errors might be ignored. I would have to say that at the top of my list for feedback challenges would be word choice, because a lack of vocabulary really effects a student’s writing ability.

I have encouraged my students to edit their work by breaking it down. The students are inclined to correct their own work, because they are separating each sentence to insure that it relates to the overall essay and recognize mistakes on their own.  I find that doing this my writing comes together more fluidly and effectively. In addition, I provide my students with a multitude of resources to refer to with samples of work and then attempt model what I want them to produce in class. I have found this to be extremely helpful for myself, because I have something to use as guidelines. 

Blog #7

Feedack throughtout my education has varied greatly depending on the teacher and the setting. Primary school feedback focused on the answer properly responding to a question, grammatical and spelling errors. Secondary school feedback feedback transitioned from simply correctly responding to a question to responding to specific prompts; in addition to using a vairety of sentences structures with new vocabuary. Instructors encouraged peer editing. Feedback addressed issues of poorly answering the prompt and lack of sufficient content. Postsecondary school feedback only addressed simple errors in the footnotes of a writing assignments. Instructors looked for a clearly stated thesis and efficient support in response to writing prompts. Feedback often consisted of instructors pointing out what information was necessary and unnecessary, as well as clarity, flow and understanding. I beleive that explicit feedback that addresses all aspects of writing is beneficia, but hard to accomplish. The best feedback is feedback mode, this where the instructor demonstrate to a student how to do something with a lot of oral feedback. Students can then ask questions and get immediate feedback. Feedback that overwhelmes the student and be seen as problematic. An anundance of error correction can discourage students; they need a balance of psotive and negative constructive feedback in order to succeed.
　
Based on the feedback that I received throughout my education, I feel that some forms of feedback would be appropriate for L2 learners. Depending on the instructor and level, I feel that L2 learners should receive the same feedback that L1 learners receive. This feedback should be modeled, if possile, to provide students with a visual of what they are expected to produce. I feel that feedback needs to be explicit, but not too overwhelming. It should be positive, but still address the issues.


The questions that come to mind when faciliting a student response, are: do they understand what I am asking, are they able to answer the question, and do they know the expectations and standards of L2 writing. For me to provide effective feedback I need to know what I want to them to be able to produce, what expectations I want them to meet, and what skills to teach them. I also feel that I need to know what key information their writing assignments should contain. The feedback that I provide should address the major issues and be constructive in guiding them towards the end goal.


I have always enjoyed peer feedback. In postsecondary school several of my instructors encouraged us to work together throughout the semester in order to complete our assignments. We had to give credit in our completed assignment to those that helped us and sometimes attach questions that arroused while doing the assignment. This was great for me, because I realized that the same things I struggled with so did other students. I don't have specific ideas for collaborative, because what works for one class doesn't necessarily for another. A question that I always ask myself is who to pair students with and what do I want them to accomplish from this collaborative work.