Responding to Student Writing

Nancy Sommers examines the complex dynamics between teachers and students in the writing process, focusing specifically on how instructors provide feedback on student work. The book draws from decades of research at Harvard University's Writing Program. The text presents concrete strategies and frameworks for delivering effective comments on student papers while managing time constraints. Sommers outlines methods for fostering student engagement with feedback and promoting genuine revision rather than superficial edits. Each chapter tackles a different aspect of the response process, from commenting techniques to managing paper load to facilitating meaningful student-teacher dialogue. The book includes actual student papers and teacher comments as case studies. This work challenges conventional approaches to writing instruction and argues for a more student-centered feedback model focused on long-term development rather than just immediate fixes. Sommers' research suggests that how teachers respond to student writing directly impacts students' growth as writers and thinkers.

Readers appreciate Sommers' practical and research-backed approach to giving student feedback. Multiple reviewers note the book's usefulness for new writing instructors and teaching assistants learning to grade papers effectively. Positive comments focus on: - Clear examples of feedback techniques - Realistic strategies for managing grading workload - Research data supporting recommended methods - Brief length and focused scope Main criticisms: - Some concepts could be explained in more detail - Price considered high for length (32 pages) - Limited focus on specific academic disciplines Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (14 ratings) Amazon: No reviews/ratings available One composition instructor reviewer wrote: "Helped me develop a systematic approach to commenting that students can actually use to improve their writing." Another noted: "The brevity makes it accessible but left me wanting more depth on implementing the methods across different course types."

Writing With Power by Peter Elbow Presents methods for engaging with student drafts through focused freewriting and peer response techniques that complement Sommers' feedback strategies.

A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker Provides instruction on responding to student writing through structured handbook format with specific guidelines for marginalia and end comments.

Teaching One-to-One by Muriel Harris Examines writing conference dynamics and feedback methods that build upon Sommers' principles of response and revision.

What Writing Does and How It Does It by Charles Bazerman and Paul Prior Explores writing assessment and response through discourse analysis frameworks that extend Sommers' work on student revision.

Key Works on Teacher Response by Richard Straub Compiles foundational research on writing feedback and assessment that establishes the theoretical groundwork for Sommers' approach to responding to student writing.

📚 Nancy Sommers conducted the largest study of student writing ever done at Harvard University, following 400 students' writing development over four years. ✍️ The book challenges the common belief that more written comments on student papers lead to better learning, showing that the quality and timing of feedback matter more than quantity. 🎓 Sommers pioneered the concept of "forward-oriented feedback," which focuses on how students can improve their writing in future assignments rather than just fixing current errors. 📖 The research that formed the basis of this book revealed that students often receive contradictory feedback from different instructors across disciplines, leading to confusion about writing expectations. 🏆 The methods described in the book emerged from the Harvard Study of Undergraduate Writing, which won the Outstanding Research Award from the Conference on College Composition and Communication.