ESL Podcast 685 - Getting Feedback on Writing

marked up - edited; revised; corrected, usually by drawing lines and comments in red ink

The professor marked up Jim's essay because he used the passive voice instead of the active voice.

draft - an initial version of a written document that needs to be reviewed and edited one or more times before it is finished

How many drafts did you go through before you had the final version?

revision - edit; a suggested change to improve a written document

Most of these revisions focus on sentence structure and word choice.

comment - a written opinion about something or additional information about something, usually written for the consideration of the original author

Most of the comments were positive, but some people really disliked the third paragraph.

margin - the white space at the top, bottom, and right- and left-hand sides of a page; the white space around printed text

The teacher asked us to use one-inch margins for our homework assignment.

to underline - to draw a thin line underneath text, usually for emphasis

This style guide says we should underline the titles of books and put the titles of songs in italics.

introduction - the first paragraph(s) of an essay, used to present the subject of the entire essay and let readers know how the rest of the essay is structured

The introduction should be interesting enough to catch the readers' attention and get them interested in what is coming next.

run-on sentence - a sentence that is very long, usually because it uses "and," "or," and "but" too many times, and would be better if separated into two or more smaller sentences

Run-on sentences can be very difficult to understand. Try expressing the same ideas in two to three shorter sentences instead.

body - the main part of an essay, usually the paragraphs between the introduction and conclusion

You should use the body of your essay to provide detail and include supporting statistics.

transition - a word or short phrase used between sentences or between paragraphs to make the writing smoother and help readers follow the flow of ideas

"Additionally," "in addition," "moreover," and "furthermore" are all transitions that have the same meaning.

well supported - with a lot of proof or evidence; with a convincing or persuasive reason to believe something

Janey's essay about the need to eat more fruits and vegetables was well supported by statistics from the American Medical Association.

to cite - to refer to what is written in another document or what has been said by an expert in order to support one's own argument or idea

If you cite an encyclopedia in your essay, be sure to include the page number.

source - the book, article, or interview where a particular piece of information comes from, especially when referring to that information in one's writing

Most students know that a peer-reviewed scientific journal article is a much better source than a webpage found on Wikipedia.

conclusion - the final paragraph(s) in an essay, used to restate one's main argument or idea, briefly referring to the main ideas that were included in the body of the essay

Make sure your conclusion refers back to the main ideas you discussed throughout your essay.

to summarize - to state the main points or main ideas of a larger document, usually in just a few sentences

Our homework assignment is to summarize the novel in just one paragraph.

constructive criticism - advice that is meant to help someone improve something by showing him or her what is wrong with it

At first, I was hurt by Quinton's constructive criticism, but then I realized he was just trying to help me.

demoralizing - frustrating and depressing; making one feel like one shouldn't try to do something because one is very bad at it or because it won't be successful

The company's president has been announcing budget cuts every week for the past three months, and it is very demoralizing for the employees.

battle wound - something that happened to one in the past and was difficult or painful, and that one remembers clearly, but is no longer difficult or painful and has actually made someone stronger in some way

They've been happily married for more than 30 years, and they often laugh when talking about their battle wounds from the first few difficult years of marriage.