Criticism is something I am not used to giving because I am young and just now reaching the point where I have to participate in it. I’ve always been used to being the one to get the criticism, not give it to other people. Since I am somewhat shy and afraid to tell people the truth if it something I know they will not want to hear, I would have to say I am not the best with confrontational criticism. However, over the internet when I am not telling the person directly what I feel needs improvement, I am pretty good at it because I know they cannot judge me right then and there. Also if the paper I am criticizing is really bad and I can easily recognize what needs improvement I am good at it. If the paper I am critiquing is really good and hard to find mistakes then I am a bad at trying to give tips and pointers because I cannot find enough things wrong with the paper.
Good, constructive criticism will usually entail several key things to fix in an assignment. Also, each tip or note that is made will be very detailed in how to change it and the person critiquing will usually give an example of a way for the person who wrote the essay to fix the mistake he or she made. Usually, it is just small ideas on how to reword a phrase or make a sentence sound better to the readers.
I believe I can produce good criticism if I really focus and understand what I am trying to criticize. In the brief past of my peer criticism, I think I did a decent job of giving advice and helpful hints to enhance my classmates work. I tried to give around three big tips to each classmate and I always end my criticism with one, lengthy, positive quality that the paper holds. I feel it is important to give honest pointers for others to make so that they can improve their work. It is also imperative to compliment that person on their strongpoints in their work so that they have the confidence to continue working on making their assignment the best it can be.
The best criticism I have ever received came from my bible teacher in high school. We always had to write really in-depth papers about certain biblical topics. Although the assignments were very difficult, she always helped us through them with her critiques. We would have to turn our papers in by first draft, second draft, third draft and then final copy. Each time, she wound write a massive paragraph on the back page and if we corrected what she said we got good grades on our papers. The reason why this was the best system for me is because it was organized and laid out in a way that there was no excuse not to be able to fix what she said. The structure was really helpful plus it made me learn from my mistakes after I was finished with the entire assignment.
It is harder when we're young and try to give people constructive criticism and not sound offending. As we get older, we become more confident! Great blog!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you make an effort to at least give three good comments for the constructive criticism. I think that is something everyone in the class should try to do!
ReplyDeleteGiving criticism on someone's work really is difficult, especially in a situation where you do not know the person as well as you would like to. Then again, there is always the difference between "constructive criticism" and purely attacking a writer with your personal differing opinions.
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