Part III. Providing Feedback

Providing specific and timely feedback is a key to students improving their writing skills, and is one of the great challenges teachers face in teaching writing. How does a teacher get student essays back promptly while still giving individualized feedback to every student? There may not be many great answers to this question, but having clear criteria helps teachers focus their efforts as they read student work. 

In Sample I, you can see an interpretation with very basic, general feedback in the form of a point rubric:

SAMPLE I.

Prompt: In 1-2 paragraphs, interpret “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” by Robert Frost. Try to focus on theme and the main poetic device/devices that help convey this theme. Use specific details and directly quote from the poem to support your interpretation.

SAMPLE INTERPRETATION:

            “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost is a poem that combines soft and calm wintery imagery as a contrast to the heavy burden facing the speaker of the poem. At face value the poem can be appealing for the imagery alone. The speaker stops by a farmer’s wooded property, “To watch his woods fill up with snow.” The speaker’s confused horse, not understanding why they’ve stopped, “Gives his harness bells a shake” as the speaker notes that “The only other sound's the sweep / Of easy wind and downy flake.” Frost’s visual imagery of a snowy night on “The darkest evening of the year” is easy for any reader who has experienced a snowy evening to visualize. It is the sounds, or in this case, the absence of sounds that capture the beauty of such an event. The sound of an easy breeze and downy flake records an image so subtle, so quiet, that the reader may also hear his or her own breaths, footprints in the snow, or other subtle sounds that a person would hear when the buzzing streets, conversational chatter, or other common sounds a person might hear in day-to-day life are no longer present.

            Through the use of dark imagery and subtle symbolism, it is clear that there is more at work here than just a simple snowy night. The speaker’s reference to the darkest night of the year may be both figurative and literal. Figuratively, the state of mind of the speaker becomes more of a focus, as the word “dark” is repeated later in the poem when the speaker contrasts the course that he has set with the alternative course (the woods): “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.” It is clear that he ponders the woods as an alternative to his present course but quickly refocuses his efforts when he reminds himself, “But I have promises to keep / And miles to go before I sleep.” His reminder that he has much to do before he sleeps suggests that he has considered taking his own life, as “sleep” is often a euphemism or a symbol for death in literature. This serves as a complementary symbol to the dark woods, which may also symbolize death. The dependency of others upon the speaker are what break him from his trance as he remembers that he has much to do before he can give in: “And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” The complementary symbols of the woods and sleep allow for the logical possibility of other symbols. Is the horse symbolic of the speaker’s conscience? Does he represent a watchful and caring god? Are the harness bells a signal of a man transitioning from his sub-conscious to a renewed awareness? The establishment of the woods as a symbol of death creates a logical basis for other symbols—which at first glance appear present only for the purpose of imagery—to craft a theme that contrasts the calm, serene beauty of a snowy evening with the dark thoughts and actions of man in turmoil on what must certainly be the darkest evening of his year. 

Main Idea/Statement of Theme:                           5/5     Comments: Clearly stated--provide good focus.

Logic and Support:                                               5/5     Comments: Enough detail--support provides quotes and explanation.

Inclusion of Poetic Elements:                                5/5     Comments: Good inclusion of symbolism and imagery.

Organization:                                                        5/5     Comments: Good flow, transitions help.

Conventions/Wording/Sentence Fluency:            4/5     Comments: Mostly good. Wordy at times.

TOTAL: 24/25

As an assessment, this is quite effective. This point rubric, unlike the sample provided in the rubric section, consists of manageable numbers. Instead of sections that are worth 20 points, 5 point sections are pretty manageable and easy to rationalize. Points are also prioritized in a way that places emphasis on thesis (or in this case main idea since it is a shorter piece) and support. 15 of the 25 points deal with the content and organization of the message. It is the comments, however, that keep this assessment from being helpful as a learning tool.

What are these transitions that help with the flow of the writing? Which sections contain the logic that the teacher would like the student to continue to demonstrate in his/her writing? On the negative side, what is wordy? Which sections are redundant? How will the student know what he/she should improve?

Sample II shows the same interpretation with more specific feedback:

            “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost is a poem that combines soft and calm wintery imagery as a contrast to the heavy burden facing the speaker of the poem. At face value the poem can be appealing for the imagery alone. The speaker stops by a farmer’s wooded property, “To watch his woods fill up with snow.” The speaker’s confused horse, not understanding why they’ve stopped, “Gives his harness bells a shake” as the speaker notes that “The only other sound's the sweep / Of easy wind and downy flake.” Frost’s visual imagery of a snowy night on “The darkest evening of the year” is easy for any reader who has experienced a snowy evening to visualize. It is the sounds, or in this case, the absence of sounds that capture the beauty of such an event. The sound of an easy breeze and downy flake records an image so subtle, so quiet, that the reader may also hear his or her own breaths, footprints in the snow, or other subtle sounds that a person would hear when the buzzing streets, conversational chatter, or other common sounds a person might hear in day-to-day life are no longer present.

**The quotes, and the beginning of your elaboration, "It is the sounds..." provide a great transition from the images you focused on to the elaboration that explains why this could be a poem enjoyed for its imagery alone--very well organized and analyzed!

            Through the use of dark imagery and subtle symbolism, it is clear that there is more at work here than just a simple snowy night. The speaker’s reference to the darkest night of the year may be both figurative and literal. Figuratively, the state of mind of the speaker becomes more of a focus, as the word “dark” is repeated later in the poem when the speaker contrasts the course that he has set with the alternative course (the woods): “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.” It is clear that he ponders the woods as an alternative to his present course but quickly refocuses his efforts when he reminds himself, “But I have promises to keep / And miles to go before I sleep.” His reminder that he has much to do before he sleeps suggests that he has considered taking his own life, as “sleep” is often a euphemism or a symbol for death in literature. This serves as a complementary symbol to the dark woods, which may also symbolize death. The dependency of others upon the speaker are what break him from his trance as he remembers that he has much to do before he can give in: “And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” The complementary symbols of the woods and sleep allow for the logical possibility of other symbols. Is the horse symbolic of the speaker’s conscience? Does he represent a watchful and caring god? Are the harness bells a signal of a man transitioning from his sub-conscious to a renewed awareness? The establishment of the woods as a symbol of death creates a logical basis for other symbols—which at first glance appear present only for the purpose of imagery—to craft a theme that contrasts the calm, serene beauty of a snowy evening with the dark thoughts and actions of man in turmoil on what must certainly be the darkest evening of his year. 

**Your explanation of sleep as a symbol, and connecting it to the woods is essential to your interpretation. Many simply interpret this as a person pondering a major life decision--your adding of death could seem without base or logic until you showed this in your explanation. Nice job!

**While none of these sentences are grammatically incorrect, they get wordy at times. Here are a few examples (in orange). Keep some of these sentences like this because they add sentence fluency. However, when the majority of your sentences are long and wordy, it can hurt clarity or efficiency.

Main Idea/Statement of Theme:                     5/5     Comments: Clearly stated--provide good focus.

Support and support:                                      5/5     Comments: Enough detail--support provides quotes and explanation.

Poetic Elements:                                              5/5     Comments: Great use of symbolism and imagery (as well as your explanation of them).

Organization:                                                   5/5     Comments: Good flow, transitions help.

Conventions/Wording/Sentence Fluency:       4/5     Comments: Mostly good. Wordy at times.

This feedback provides a way for the student to see the positives and negatives of his/her writing. The comments on the point rubric are probably no longer necessary as they have been made at the appropriate place in the writing. This does provide the student, who in this case wrote an exemplary interpretation, a way of knowing of he/she did well and what could be improved upon.