A useful discussion starts with one short passage, the task it answers and one specific question. Preparing these takes about ten minutes and turns a general chat into a focused lesson.
This is the last lesson in self-review and feedback use. It draws on your log from the evidence log lesson.
Why prepare?
Time with a teacher is short. If you arrive with a whole folder, the first half of the lesson goes on finding something to talk about. If you arrive with a chosen passage and a question, the teacher can respond to your thinking straight away.
Preparation is also a form of self-review. Choosing the passage forces you to decide what worries you most.
How to prepare, step by step
- Pick the focus from your log: the issue that appears most often.
- Choose a passage of four to eight lines that shows the issue. Quote it exactly.
- Write the task it answers, in one line, with audience and purpose.
- Write your own judgement in one or two sentences: what you think the problem is, and why.
- Write one question that names a place and a choice.
- Add what you tried: one revision you attempted, or one alternative wording.
Worked example
A student’s log shows repeated precision issues in descriptive writing.
Passage (from a description of a railway platform at night):
The platform was quiet and dark. A few people waited. The air was cold and the station looked old and empty.
Task: write a description of a railway platform at night that helps the reader feel the atmosphere, for a school anthology.
My judgement: the paragraph feels flat because each sentence uses general words: “quiet”, “dark”, “cold”, “old”, “empty”.
My question: in the second sentence, what could I show about the waiting people, rather than just saying “a few people waited”?
What I tried: A man in a long coat checked his watch twice, then stopped looking.
This is ready for discussion. The teacher can respond to the exact sentence, compare the attempt with the original and suggest a next step. Notice that the question is narrow, the passage is short, and the student has already made an attempt.
The mistake to watch for
A common slip is to ask a question that is too wide.
Weak question: “Can you check my essay and tell me what is wrong with it?”
It gives the teacher no way to begin except a general read, and you learn little about your own thinking. The correction is to name a place and a choice: “In paragraph two, is my first sentence a clear point, or does it only introduce the topic?”
A second slip is to bring nothing you have tried. An attempt, even an imperfect one, shows the teacher how you think.
Check yourself
1. Rewrite this question so it is more useful: “Is my writing good?” The passage is the opening of a speech.
Show answer
Example: “In the first two sentences of my speech, does the listener know what I want them to do, or is my request hidden?” It names a place and a choice.
2. A student brings a four-page story and asks for feedback on everything. Suggest two ways to narrow it.
Show answer
Choose one paragraph that shows the main issue from the log, and write one question about a specific sentence or choice in it. Also state the task and what you already tried.
3. What goes in step 4, “my own judgement”, and why is it useful?
Show answer
One or two sentences saying what you think the problem is and why. It shows the teacher your reasoning, so they can confirm it, correct it or build on it.
Where this leads next
Put the skills in this module to work in the mixed practice set. To keep your passages and questions organised, use the mistake log and retest queue.
If you would like to bring your passage and question to a teacher who reads your drafts one to one, see our online one-to-one English First Language tuition.