I’m in grad school to become an elementary teacher. Last week in my Literature class, I learned how to do reading and writing assessments for my students. I found the whole experience rather fascinating.

Being a writer myself, I knew I’d need to critique my students’ writing, and I knew that I’d need to work with them on their reading. But it never occurred to me that I would have to do reading and and writing assessments. Check out this scan of the rubric we used in class for a fifth grade writing assessment. It’s intense!

If you can’t see the sheet clearly, click here for a better view.

Kind of overwhelming, right? Well, the good news is, students never see these. These rubrics are a tool for the teacher to monitor how the student is doing. I think they’re also kind of helpful to look at and think about my own writing strengths and weaknesses. Ooh! Which brings me to my next point.

In my class, as we listened to videos of kids reading and later read samples of students writing, our teacher taught us something cool. After we do our assessment form on a child’s reading or writing, we then make two sets of notes, right on the page. This is so we can remember what happened and make a plan. And also so we can look back and track improvement over the year to share with the student and parents. First we write “Strengths” and list what the student does well. Then we write “Next Steps” and list what the student needs to work on next.

I loved this!

I’ve never liked writing “weaknesses” on anyone’s manuscript, so I found the phrase “Next Steps” a perfect substitution. Notice also that my teacher started with strengths and ended with next steps. Later on, she’ll meet with each student and have a little conference as to how they’re doing in which she’ll share the strengths and next steps and a plan to tackle the next steps.

I think this is so great, and it is how I will critique in the future.

  1. Share strengths, what the writer is doing well.
  2. Share some next steps to work on to strengthen the writing.
  3. Give suggestions as to how the author could make a plan to improve on the things listed in Step 2.

Easy peasy! And really nice too.

If you’re new to the idea of critiquing, we’ve written many posts on Go Teen Writers on the subject of critiquing manuscripts. Here is a list of some posts that may help you:

Suggestions for writing groups and critique partners (Part One)
Suggestions for writing groups and critique partners (Part Two)
Preparing to Get Your Manuscript Critiqued
How to Receive a Tough Critique
How to Give a Good Critique
The Value of Critique Partners
How To Be A Good Critique Partner

All this to say, the best way to use positive language when critiquing is to avoid using negative language. Saying “next steps” sounds proactive while “weaknesses” sounds like criticism. Honestly, it’s semantics. Yes, we are all weak in certain areas, and there is no shame in that. But putting our writing out there is a vulnerable act. And it’s helpful if, when others read our work, they use kind and affirming words.

What is your experience with the giving and receiving of critiques? Is is hard for you to use kind words? Do you prefer a harsh critique or a kind one? How can you be both kind and firm? Share in the comments. We can all help each other learn.

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on InstagramYouTubeFacebookPinterest, and Twitter.