by Amairini Sanchez

As a grad student, I am constantly learning how to improve my writing and I am often skeptical in considering myself a good writer. Throughout my early years in school, writing is something that I struggled with significantly because English was my second language. On account of my early writing struggles, pursuing a career in a writing discipline was not something that I initially intended to do as an undergrad. The idea came to mind after realizing that I enjoyed writing within the discipline of sociology. Receiving encouragement and supportive feedback on my writing is what essentially validated my decision to further my career within this field. Thus, even though I tend to second-guess my ability to provide useful feedback on students’ writing, I think that it is important to embolden students on their writing skills and embed in them the notion of writing-as-a-process.

The most important thing that I have learned as a WIP TA is to grade student writing as if I were a reader. By making a vast number of edits to a student’s paper and restructuring the main argument, one can unintendedly remove ownership of that paper from a student. It is essential to avoid line edits and one-worded comments because they do not provide students with any indication in how they can improve their overall writing. It is best to focus on the overall argument and guide students in showing them how to improve their work by providing them with the key strengths and weaknesses of their paper. Students can benefit greatly from this method because they are both receiving encouragement about their writing and being taken seriously as writers. Additionally, students will feel empowered through the process of interpreting the feedback received and making changes that they themselves deem necessary.

Through the process of providing feedback, I have learned that the determination of a grade should not be the priority. It is more important to be receptive to a student’s writing while reading and to compose a reply that will encourage and motivate students to make the necessary adjustments. A grade should not be given until the end of that process because it should not interrupt the exchange that we intend to have with student writers through their work. The idea of focusing solely on interpreting the writing first can also help students by allowing them to proceed with their writing as a process instead of seeing it as a one-shot task.

Students can only continue to grow as writers through encouragement and reassuring feedback on their writing.

In sum, the principle that I think is most important for students to recognize is writing-as-a-process. I believe that students can only continue to grow as writers through encouragement and reassuring feedback on their writing. As a WIP TA, I have learned that I should not question my ability to provide helpful feedback just because I am still learning how to become a better writer. I now know that it is better to provide feedback on the writing skills that I am knowledgeable of rather than pointing out weaknesses in students’ papers on aspects that I am uncertain of. Teaching is a process just like writing is a process. I will continue to grow in my career by recognizing that I will always be learning how to become a better writer and by encouraging students to approach writing with the same level of openness.