Feed forward, not just back. Feedback that only explains what went wrong in a finished task is easy for students to file away and forget. The most useful feedback tells them what to do differently next time. End every comment with a clear suggestion for improvement.
Tie every comment to the criteria. Students trust feedback that clearly links to the marking criteria they were given. Comment on each criterion, use its language, and show where the work sits against the standard. It makes the grade make sense and helps students see what better work looks like.
Point to the evidence. “Your analysis is superficial” is hard to act on. “In your second paragraph you describe the error but don’t explain why it happened” shows exactly what you mean. A short quote or a pointer to a specific part of the work turns a judgement into something a student can fix.
Be specific about strengths, too. “Good work” tells a student nothing. Naming exactly what worked (“your use of the Gibbs cycle to structure the reflection was clear and well paced”) tells them what to keep doing, and makes the critical comments easier to hear.
Less is more. A long list of every problem overwhelms students, and they often act on none of it. Focus on the two or three changes that would make the biggest difference to their next piece of work. You can save the rest for a conversation.
Comment on the work, not the person. “This argument needs more support” invites improvement. “You didn’t try hard enough” invites defensiveness. Keep comments about what’s on the page, and keep the tone respectful, even when the work is weak.
Be consistent across the class. Students compare their feedback. A comment bank written once against your criteria helps you say the same thing, in the same way, about the same kind of work, which makes your marking fairer and quicker. Personalise it, but start from the same standard.
Use the patterns to change your teaching. If most of the class struggled with the same criterion, that’s not 40 individual problems; it’s one teaching problem. Look at where the class struggled most and address it in the next session, with a worked example, a revision worksheet or a short quiz.
FInalise your feedback. The Feedback Assistant drafts; you decide. Read every piece of feedback before it goes to a student, check that the grades match your own judgement, and change anything that doesn’t sound like you or doesn’t fit the work. The final grade and the feedback are always yours.