Personally, I never liked the end note summary form of feedback unless it was paired with another strategy, like the I statements. As I said, I can get stuck in my own head about my errors, and if the flaws are not directly pointed out, there is a chance that I will not find it. I feel like this is expected; otherwise, we would catch the errors during our own revision. That being said, the end note summary is typically the first place I’ll look when it comes to feedback so I can get a general idea of the comments the reader has provided throughout my writing.

I’ve found that the “I statements” the video mentions have been extremely helpful to me in the past when I’ve received feedback, both from professors and fellow students. The main benefit of these statements, I think, is that when you read them out loud, it’s almost like you are saying the statement to yourself, putting yourself in the reader’s position and allowing you to see the confusion they saw during their reading. You become the reader, and you begin to see the flaws from their point of view, making them easier to spot.

Personally, I have never liked the end note summary unless it was paired with additional comments throughout the writing. Sometimes, I will get stuck in my own head about the errors I have and it makes it harder for me to spot them right away, so I typically benefit from a direct acknowledgment of an error that a reader has found.

Digesting the entire work before making any comments or criticisms – Sections that the reviewer might not understand while reading might be explained later in the work or make sense after thinking about the section in its full context. If the section still is confusing or the reviewer has a way they think it could be improved, then they can write their suggestion.

Re-framing criticisms as questions and misunderstandings – A review is not always right and even when the reviewer is right, making absolute statements about the author’s work, especially when the author disagrees, can be off-putting to the author. The purpose of peer review is to help the author, not to lambaste them. By asking the author questions and asking for clarification, the reviewer respects the author’s choices and makes the process more rewarding for both.

These strategies also help to avoid making summative feedback since comments will be questions and not judgements.