Goals
- Collaborate with classmates in planning, researching, writing, revising, and presenting information. [CLO 5]
- Analyze your draft and find ways to improve your project, using strategies related to technical writing [CLO 1–7]
The Task
What I Want You to Do
Every week you will share a draft or part of a draft in Discussions, asking for specific feedback from your group members. You will also read and respond to the work of the other students in your group. You must post your work early enough in the week to give others time to respond.
Why I Want You to Do It
The goal of these discussions is learn how to give and take advice that will improve your writing. I won’t be in the workplace with you, so you have to learn how to help yourself and others.
Since we are focusing on how to improve a writing project, the feedback you give one another should be formative feedback (rather than summative feedback). Let’s begin with some definitions:
Formative Assessment
- Focuses on comments that help form and improve the project.
- Provides advice on how to proceed.
- Points out where the reader is lost or has questions.
- Avoids any judgment of quality.
Summative Assessment
- Focuses on summary comments.
- Makes judgments that relate to the quality of the finished product.
- Happens when it’s too late to improve.
Essentially, you won’t make judgments of quality; you will focus on comments that help one another strengthen your projects by giving detailed and constructive feedback. One widely-used analogy explains the difference between these two kinds of feedback this way:
Formative Assessment
A chef is using formative assessment when she tastes a dish while cooking to decide if she needs to add anything.
She is considering how she can improve the dish.
Summative Assessment
Diners are using summative assessment when they taste the finished dishes and share their comments.
They are judging the final quality of the dish.
How You Do It
- Choose something specific in or about your draft that you need help with. Here are some example scenarios:
- You want to know how well the introduction to your report entices your audience to read further.
- You wonder if the emphasis strategies you have used adequately helps the reader find the most important information.
- You need help deciding on headings for your document. You have some ideas, but you’d like a second opinion.
- Navigate to your Technical Writing Group in Canvas
- Click on the Groups button in the Canvas right sidebar (shown in the image below):
- Click the link for your group.
- See the Canvas help page “How do I create a discussion in a group?” if you need help
- Click on the Groups button in the Canvas right sidebar (shown in the image below):
- Click on the Discussions link for your group.
- Create a new Discussion Thread. If you need help, see the Canvas help page “How do I create a discussion in a group?”
- Write a post that explains the kind of feedback that you want and asks your group members for specific help.
- Attach the draft of your project, or paste in a short passage from your document.
- Read over your post to make sure it’s clear.
- Save your post.
- While you wait for responses from your group, read the posts that others have posted and respond to the questions of at least two people. Ideally, respond to all group members.
- Once you receive feedback, decide on the best action to take to improve your draft.
Obtaining the Points for Your Work
You track and grade your own work in this course. Each week, be sure to do the following::
- Track your work in your Weekly Work Log.
- Claim points for submitting your draft and giving your group members feedback when you complete the weekly self-assessment in Canvas.
Feedback Discussions FAQ
Do I have to read every Feedback Discussion? (Click to reveal)
No, but it may help you. By reading the passages and questions from others in your group, you may figure out how to improve your own project. Practically, it is up to you. The goal of this course is to put in your best effort, so do your best.
Do I have to respond to every single Feedback Discussion to claim points? (Click to reveal)
No, you do not have to respond to every post. Remember that the feedback process is a collaborative task though. When you help out your classmates, they have more motivation to help you in return. Again, the goal of this course is to put in your best effort, so do your best.
Do I have to respond on the same day of posting? (Click to reveal)
No, you do not have to respond on the same day as the posting. Just respond by the end of the grace period (Mondays at 11:59PM) so you can indicate your work in the self-assessment.
Can I ask for feedback on more than one passage a week? (Click to reveal)
Certainly. Ideally, the class will develop a collegial give-and-take feeling in the Feedback Discussions. If you need more help, ask for it. If you can help someone else, do so!