Return one thing to fix, not five

A page of corrections feels thorough to write and overwhelming to receive, so students file it rather than act on it. The risk is real: in the landmark meta-analysis of feedback studies, over a third of feedback interventions actually lowered performance, often because the feedback overwhelmed or threatened rather than directed (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996). One precisely chosen next step, stated as an action, actually happens. The craft is in the choosing.

In practice

• Pick the upstream error: the one which, fixed, would have prevented two others. Structure before style, method before presentation.
• Phrase it as a do: "Rewrite paragraph two so each sentence has evidence," not "needs more evidence."
• Log the other issues privately if you must. They'll still be there next week, and next week one of them will be the one thing.
• Whole-class version: if half the stack shares the same next step, teach it once from the front instead of writing it fifteen times.