(Please note, this post is about the practical rather than the emotional labour involved in dealing with feedback on your research writing. They are equally important, and a post on the emotional side of approaching feedback is coming soon!).
Have you ever opened a document with your supervisor’s or PI’s track changes and just wanted to slam the laptop shut and never look at it again? Yep? Me too.
If you have a supervisor who’s particularly generous with the track changes feature in MS Word, (especially when you may be at a stage when a ‘summary approach’ to content would be more useful), you may be unsure of where to even begin.
There are often plenty of gems in feedback from experienced writers. But sometimes comments need a little unpicking to help you get the most value from them.
The following is a practical approach to help you deal with ‘feedback- overload’.
Do you have multiple supervisors who give you different feedback?
This approach can be useful when you have multiple supervisors commenting on sections of your draft and you need a systematic way to keep track of who’s saying what.
You’ll also be able to document decisions about whose guidance you’ll follow when there are differing opinions (also very common).
By all means do slam that laptop shut and have a cry or a scream first.
Then, when you’re ready to come back to it, open your document (or print it out if you prefer to work on paper).
First, we’re going to break down the feedback into four main categories.
Four categories of feedback
- macro, content, or big picture feedback
- style
- formatting
- proofreading
Your master documents
Also, start two new documents: a proofreading checklist and a stylesheet.
We’ll come to what these all are later.
For now, just choose four colours (digital or actual highlighters) and open and name your documents.
Colour code the feedback
Now, go through the comments in your feedback document and colour code comments according to the categories 1-4 above: macro, style, formatting, and proofreading. As you go, you’ll be adding to your proofreading document and stylesheet as well.
1. Macro feedback
This might include suggestions to include more information on a certain topic or to rearrange sections. It could also include suggestions on your argument or reasoning.
Comments could be something like: “The main thesis of this chapter is somewhat obscured by tangential discussions. Focus more on directly supporting your central argument throughout.”
2. Style feedback
Here, your reader may point out wordiness, length of sentences, and overuse of technical terms for example.
Comments may include: “You rely heavily on jargon in this section, which may alienate readers unfamiliar with the terminology. Aim to strike a balance between technical precision and clarity.”
3. Formatting feedback
This might involve adjusting headings or bullet points. Perhaps: “The formatting of your figures and tables is inconsistent throughout this chapter.” Or “should be a level 2 heading”.
4. Proofreading/ writing conventions feedback
This feedback focuses on the ‘correctness’ of language, including following writing conventions such as spelling, grammar, and consistent use of abbreviations and figures/ writing out numbers in full.
Comments might include “Ensure consistent use of acronyms (write in full on first mention).”
While you go through the comments, you’ll be adding to your style sheet and your proofreading checklist.
Add to your stylesheet
Your ‘stylesheet’ is a document outlining specific guidelines and preferences for writing, formatting, and presentation that will save you heaps of time. This document will ensure you’re consistent in your writing, even if you’re just working on small portions at once. Your stylesheet is not about what’s ‘right or wrong’, just about preferences (or referencing conventions) for this particular document.
Example stylesheet headings:
Numbers:
write in full up to nine
Hyphenated words:
re-elect vs. reelect
Other:
“PhD” vs. “Ph.D.” vs. “Doctor of Philosophy
Referencing:
APA/ Havard
Language Usage:
American vs British spelling
ise or ize verbs when there is a choice.
Add to your proofreading checklist
As you go through comments in this final category, it’s a good idea to make notes on a separate checklist of common errors to use before resubmitting or submitting your next chapter. This will be your proofreading checklist.
These might be notes like:
| acronyms written in full on first mention | |
| figures | |
| subject/ verb agreement |
Next steps
Once you’ve highlighted the comments and populated your checklist and style sheet, you can tackle thee comments based on your current mental capacity and time availability.
What feels doable right now?
If you’re feeling up to it and want to focus on the big picture, start with the macro feedback. Consider moving sections around or adding or removing content.
If you’re low on brain power but have some time to spare, focus on formatting first. Set up your word styles and ensure headings and other formatting elements are consistent throughout the document. This task doesn’t require as much mental energy so you can do it when you’re feeling tired.
Style feedback can be saved for later in the process, after you’ve addressed the big picture issues. There’s no point in obsessing over sentence structure or word choice if you’re going to end up deleting or moving entire paragraphs.
When you’re tackling proofreading you’ll be glad you set up your checklist and stylesheet as you’ll be able to check over anything you added or changed in the macro stage or when you were looking at style.
By breaking down the feedback and tackling it in sections while adding to your master stylesheet and proofreading checklist, you’ll make the revision process more manageable and less overwhelming.
Remember, everyone has their own process, so find what works best for you.
And, if something different works, you’re not doing it wrong!
If you’re wondering how you get more usable feedback, you may find this post on asking for the right kind of feedback useful.