SWA "Responding" by Straub

In Richard Straub’s article, “Responding—Really Responding—to Other Student’s Writing,” he talks about how readers need to read and respond to an essay so that the writer can learn from and revise his or her essay. There needs to be a median for the reader. They must find a balance of criticism and neglecting the essay so that both the writer can benefit from the readers responses to better his or her essay. While the reader will provide constructive criticism, the reader must also give encouragement so that the writer can have the confidence to push themselves beyond their comfort level of writing. It is important that before the reader begins reading and analyzing a paper they must know what type of writing assignment has been assigned, the writers intended message, and how far along the drafting process the writer is in. The stage that the writer is in will reflect the style of feedback given. In the early stages of a paper the reader will look for a broader understanding of the paper itself but if the paper were to be in its near complete or latter stages then the reader will more likely look more for grammatical and punctuation errors. As a reader they must be aware of their status as a reader and not think too highly of themselves. For instance, the peers or equals of the writer shouldn’t be too hard on the writer but should rather be honest with the quality of the paper. For every part critiqued by the reader then the same amount of confident boosters or signs of encouragement should be given. Also the reader should be specific with their advice to truly allow the writer to make specific revisions for clarity.