Step-by-Step Guide to Picking up an Email Draft
What to do if you have about 45-60 minutes open in your schedule.
Step One: Log in to the instructor account |
Step Five: Review the Response Summary
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[Sample] Response Summary:
Email address: [Redacted] About You First and Last Name: [Redacted] Preferred name: [Redacted] Pronouns: she/her/hers Wiscmail address: [Redacted] Department or major: Nursing Status: Undergraduate student Do you have a Writing Center account? I'm not sure Create a Writing Center account: I have created a Writing Center account. About Your Draft Why did you choose online instruction for this draft? I have a psychiatric or learning disability that makes online instruction a good option for me. When is your draft due? May 03, 2019 When do you need our instructors to return your draft to you? May 03, 2019 How long is your draft? 1-5 pages (under 1,800 words) What is the source of this draft? Course More about Your Course Paper What course is this paper for? Community and Environmental Sociology What would like feedback about?
Is there anything else we should know about the kind of feedback you're seeking? My essay is slightly over the word limit (400 word max) and I am unsure of how to shorten it while still meeting the requirements. I also feel as if it is not as concise as I would like, but I do not know where I am making errors. Final Questions What are the best parts of this draft? Meeting class criteria Has anyone already given you feedback about this draft? If so, what did they say? No, not yet. If you've previously received email feedback, you may have a preference about which instructor you'd like to work with on this draft. If this is the case, please select the instructor(s) below. No preference/this is my first time receiving email feedback Describe the requirements for this draft in as much detail as possible or copy-and-paste them from an assignment sheet or prompt.
Upload your draft here. File 1 Would you like to be notified in the future when there are periods of low demand for email instruction? Yes |
Step Six: Open the File(s) and download themOnce you have clicked on the links to the student's draft and/or assignment, you'll be taken to a page hosted in Google Drive that displays these files. They have already been shared with all instructors on staff. Please make sure to sign into your WiscMail account in order to access them (you should type in your wisc.edu email address into Google). If you're having any difficulty, please read through this document from DoIT.
Once you've accessed these files, please download them by clicking on the "download" button circled in red in the picture to the right. |
Step Seven: Read & Comment on DraftEveryone is different. I like to comment the first time I read and then go back and make more strategic comments once I've decided on an agenda. Other people prefer to read, decide on an agenda, and then go back and make in-text comments. Go with whatever strategy works best for you!
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Step Eight: Compose Your Feedback
I name the issue and identify it in the student text (I usually copy in the students' words and use them to make my point--see example below). Next, I offer some options for how they might revise, along with some examples. Sometimes I write my own examples, other times--like above--I use the students' writing as an example of how to revise.
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My Template
Hi [NAME]! My name is Maggie and I’ll be working with you on this draft. Here at the top of your draft I offer some general feedback on an important revision issue. Below, in the actual text of your draft, I’ve included comments that point to specific opportunities for revision. I suggest that you read the overall comments first as they help contextualize the inserted comments. Just as in our face-to-face meetings in the Writing Center, the time we have is finite, and there are always many different levels of feedback that could be offered. The comments I’m sending you represent my best effort, given the time constraints of Online Writing Center work, to show you what your next steps might be. I hope they are useful! Overall, I really enjoyed reading this [ESSAY/STATEMENT/ETC]. [GENUINE, REPEATABLE STRENGTH. QUOTE STUDENT TEXT AND EXPLAIN HOW QUOTED SECTION HELPS THE READER] In the submission form, you mentioned that you were concerned about [SUMMARIZE STUDENT CONCERNS; [OVERVIEW OF 2-3 ISSUES I PLAN TO DISCUSS]. [AREA #1: TITLE
REPEAT FOR AREAS #2 AND/OR #3] With such a great draft to work from, [NAME], I know this piece will only get stronger as you revise. If you want to talk in person about this draft or any other work you are doing, you’re welcome to set up an appointment to meet with me! I work at the main Writing Center on Thursday evenings. You can schedule an appointment by calling our receptionists at 608-263-1992. Ask to work with Maggie H! Or if you want to work live with an instructor online as you revise your draft, consider signing up for a Skype session! We work live from 7–10 PM on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Learn more here! Good luck with your revisions! -Maggie |
A quick note: focus on global issues
Just as with your own students, the primary focus of your feedback should usually be on more global concerns. You’re not there to edit their paper, but to give advice to help them develop as a writer, to build their rhetorical awareness.
Limit Grammatical Instruction
Use Praise to Teach
Use Examples
Limit Grammatical Instruction
- When there are a lot of proofreading/grammatical errors, comment on only the first paragraph, then give them strategies for proofreading—googling phrases they’re unsure about, comparing their phrases to the lit they cite.
- If you feel strongly that grammar is an issue you want to discuss, choose just one grammatical issue to address in your main feedback.
Use Praise to Teach
- Use praise to teach writers how they can help their readers: “Your transition from X to Y helps me as a reader see your argument develop. Great job!”
- When discussing the strengths of the essay, point to a specific place in the student’s writing that he or she can use as a model to address the issues you mention later.
Use Examples
- In your main feedback/headnote, make sure to use examples--from the internet, that you've composed, from the student text--to help illustrate your point
- When offering a solution, try and give several examples for the writer to choose from so they're not just plugging in your "correction."
- Provide example sentences or phrases like this: “Start this paragraph with a sentence like, ‘[write your template sentence]’” or “use a phrase like [insert phrase] to show your reader [something]”
- Use some of the writer’s own language in pointing to issues. For example, if a student asks for help with “flow,” and you address organization as one of your issues, point out that organization is part of flow.
- Use links whenever you can to point to other resources at the Writing Center. If you know of a workshop we offer on a particular subject the writer has requested help with, recommend that workshop and link to to sign up page for it. If you feel like a writer would be better off talking with someone in person, recommend Skype or a satellite.
Looking for examples of email feedback? |
Interested in screencasting your feedback? |
Step Nine: Send your feedback
EXAMPLE EMAIL TEMPLATE
Hey ____ , I've attached my feedback for your ____ . Thanks so much for sending it in--I hope my thoughts are helpful! If you could shoot me a quick email to let me know that you received this and that the document was openable and all that, I would appreciate it. And of course, let me know if you have any brief questions about my feedback. If you have longer questions, this semester I work at main center most Wednesdays from 10:00 to 1:00 and at our Memorial Library satellite on Thursdays from 7:00 to 10:00, and I'd love to chat in person about your writing. Thanks again! Maggie :) |
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Step Ten: Record at WC Online |
See the step-by-step guide below on how to enter your records at WC Online
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Doing Email Records
After sending out an email draft, head over to WCOnline and paste in the opening note from your lesson.
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Adding a Student to the Client List
If a writer is not registered as a user of WCOnline, you can email the receptionists at [email protected] with the writer’s first name, last name, and Wisc email address. When a receptionist has added the student(s), go on back to WCOnline and finish your records.
If you don't want to wait, you're also welcome to add a student to the client list yourself!
If you don't want to wait, you're also welcome to add a student to the client list yourself!
WHAT IF I CAN'T FIND A STUDENT'S NAME IN THE CLIENT DROP-DOWN MENU?
If a writer is not registered as a user of WCOnline, email the receptionists at [email protected] with the writer’s first name, last name, and Wisc email address. When a receptionist has added the student(s), go on back to WCOnline and finish your records.
Don't want to wait? You can also select "Add a new client to the system" (see above for instructions).
Don't want to wait? You can also select "Add a new client to the system" (see above for instructions).
DO I HAVE TO WRITE A SUMMARY OF THE EMAIL FOR MY RECORDS?
Nope! Just copy the opening/summary paragraph into the comments section of the session record.
What if I have a question?
You can text, email, or call me! (contact info below)
I'm here for you. Anytime. Seriously. |