Point at the gap, don't write the fix

Most written feedback fails in one of two directions: too vague to act on ('develop your analysis') or so specific it does the work ('change this sentence to...'). Shute (2008) reviewed the formative feedback literature and the useful space sits between: specific about the gap, silent about the solution. 'Your second paragraph asserts the cause but never shows evidence' names exactly what is missing and leaves the repair to the student. (Manning's ai-feedback-design-principles skill audits automated feedback against these same two failure modes; the test works just as well on your own comments.)

In practice

Here are comments I drafted on student work, with
names removed: [paste comments]

For each comment, classify it as: too vague to act
on, does the work for the student, or in the useful
middle (names the gap, leaves the fix to them).
Rewrite every comment outside the middle so it
names the specific gap without supplying the
correction. Keep my tone.

• Before writing a comment, name the gap to yourself in one sentence. If you cannot, the comment will be vague no matter how long it is.
• Write what is missing or broken, not the corrected version. 'This conclusion repeats the introduction' beats rewriting the conclusion for them.
• Check each comment against one question: does the student still have thinking left to do after reading it?
• Save full model answers for after their redraft, when they can compare rather than copy.