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ACTING ON FEEDBACK

How to use feedback constructively

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Purpose of feedback

Feedback and comments on essays should explain areas where improvement could be made

It is important to understand the comments that tutors often make

Rectifying these areas can lead to significant improvements in future assignments

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Understanding feedback

Comments should cover a number of areas.

Substantive issues are the most important. Argument and analysis Quality of resources Structure

Formatting concerns, grammar, and word count are secondary, but still important.

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Need for more..

Elaborate

Explain further

Expand

Analyse

Substantiate

But what do these mean?

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Interpreting comments…

Let’s look at what these comments mean using the topic:

“Democracy is the preferable system of governance”.

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Elaborate / Expand

This means that you have likely asserted a point without taking it to its logical end.

For example: “Democracy is preferable to non-democratic forms of governance since democracy encourages active citizenship.”

This point is incomplete Unclear 1) why active citizenship is important,

and 2) how democracy facilitates this.

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“Democracy is the preferable system of governance”.

Rather:“Deliberative democracy ensures that there are on-going platforms for citizen participation. This may include referenda, open hearings and public consultation by parliament, and various constitutional rights such as the right to assembly and the right to protest. Deliberative democracy therefore provides a political environment that encourages active citizenship. Active citizenship is an important component of governance since acts as a counter-balance to the power held by official government posts. This helps to minimise abuse of these posts, as well as helps to ensure that citizens are directly and indirectly affecting the outcomes of debates that concerns them.”

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Explain further / Substantiate your claims

You may have written your point, but you have not sufficiently substantiated the assertion that you have made.

For example, “democracy is the ideal system of governance”.

You have not explained why it is ideal.

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“Democracy is the preferable system of governance”.

Rather:“Democracy is the ideal system of governance because it allows for free and fair elections. This means that citizens have the opportunity to participate in electing who governs their country. This may help make leaders more accountable to the public since they know that their jobs are at stake if they do not perform well.”

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Analyse

You may have only repeated (paraphrased) other authors’ arguments without showing that that you have thought about the argument being made and how it is relevant for the topic.

For example, “Smith provides a weak definition of ‘democracy’. He defines democracy as ‘free and fair elections’. However, Watkins provides a stronger definition of democracy and this is more useful. Watkins defines ‘democracy’ as ‘free and fair elections’ as well as a change in the ruling political party, whilst retaining a stable political environment.”

This example shows that the student has simply regurgitated two definitions from readings that they have done, and they have failed to provide any analytical insight. Consequently, they have failed to link it to the essay topic.

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“Democracy is the preferable system of governance”.

Rather:“Watkins’ definition of democracy is preferable to Smith’s. Watkins agrees with Smith that ‘democracy’ must include ‘free and fair elections’. However, Watkins also argues that a system of governance can only be considered a ‘democracy’ once there has been a peaceful handover of power between different political parties. This means that there is a stricter condition set for what is considered a ‘democracy’ that requires that out-going political parties accept their electoral defeat and handover power without destabilising the country. The definition of ‘democracy’ is crucial when considering the statement “democracy is the preferable system of governance" since there ‘democracy’ is a deeply contested concept. Both Watkins and Smith’s definitions can be considered “weak” definitions. While Watkins’ provides a stricter definition, his version still overlooks important components of democratic living, such as public participation.”

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Need for less…

Too descriptive

No argument

Too lengthy

Not to the point

Omit

Confused/Unclear

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Too descriptive / No argument

There are two components to consider. Have you analysed? Secondly, are you making an argument?

You need to minimise contextual information to that which is essential for understanding the topic and your argument.

E.g. For example, when discussing the endurance of authoritarian regimes, it is important not to spend too much time describing what authoritarian regimes are – ie. Several different definitions. Your focus needs to be on answering the question: what

are the causes of the endurance of authoritarianism.

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Too lengthy / Not to the point You need only include information that

serves the purpose of supporting your thesis statement.

You should try to do this as directly and concisely as possible.

Ask yourself: “why am I telling the reader this?”

Write as simply and succinctly as possible.

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Not answering the question Before writing your paper or exam you need to

take some time to ensure that you have clearly understood the question that has been set.

Next, you must make sure that your thesis

statement is arguing a point that answers the question or responds to the statement.

You must be able to show how your argument relates to the topic in a clear way.

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Not answering the question cont.

“What, according to Eva Bellin, are the main reasons for the endurance of authoritarianism in the Middle East? Is this convincing?”

If you fail to identify what Bellin asserted as the main cause, you have not answered the first part of the question.

If you do not explain why or why not it is a convincing argument, you have ignored the second part of the question.

If you fail to clearly show why or why not Bellin’s argument is convincing in light of other literature, you have not answered the second part of the question.

The reader needs to clearly see what Bellin has argued and what you think about his argument, and why you have arrived at this conclusion.

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Omit / Not knowing when to introduce information

You may not introduce new information in a conclusion.

You should not include unnecessary information.

Remember, you must be able to answer the question: “Why are you telling me this?”

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Confused / Unclear

PLANNING! Consider a mind-map

Think carefully about how the point you are trying to make relates to the question asked.

Edit your work.

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- Structure and flow- Valid and sound arguments- Common logical fallacies

Argumentation

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Argumentation – structure and flow

Pay attention to the flow of your argument

Do the points logically follow?

Arguments consist of premises and conclusions.

Premises are statements that support the conclusion.

Basic structure of an argument:

Premise 1

Premise 2

Premise 3

Therefore, conclusion (=1-3)

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Logical arguments

Arguments are convincing if they are valid and sound.

A valid argument is that is logical, but not necessarily true.1. All men are tall.2. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is tall.

This argument logically follows, but the first premise is false. The argument is logically weak.

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Logical arguments cont.

An argument is sound if the premises are true and logically strong.

1. All men are mortal.2. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

This is the desirable type of argument that you should be presenting in your papers.

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Avoid Logical Fallacies

There are a number of common fallacies (invalid arguments).

We will consider: Ad hominem False dichotomy Confusion of correlation and cause

For a comprehensive list see: yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

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Ad hominem

An attack on a person’s character or personal traits to discredit their argument.

This is problematic because it may not actually engage with the substantive issues raised in the argument.

E.g. “Przewoski’s argument is unconvincing because he does not have a PhD from Princeton.”

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False Dichotomy

Two alternatives are presented as the only options, when there are actually more.

Also known as “black-or-white”.

E.g. “Authoritarian regimes endure because they do not have a history of democracy or they do not have democratic neighbours.” We know that there are many different factors that

contributed towards why authoritarian regimes endure

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Confusion of Correlation and Cause

Causality is determined when an effect can definitively be said to be a result of a particular phenomenon.

E.g. Your toe is sore because you stubbed it. Effect = pain. Cause = stubbing.

Thus, it is clear that the effect is a consequence of the cause.

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Correlation

In the social science, we often are considering correlations, and not causality.

Correlation means that there is some sort of relationship between two or more factors, but it is not necessarily clear which direction this relationship runs.

E.g. Strong democracies may be correlated with wealth and education, but it does not follow that wealth and education cause democracy. There may be other factors that are overlooked in this study, such as homogeneity.

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Structure

Weak introduction

Avoid mechanical writing.

Try contextualising the discussion that will

follow with a single sentence.

Thesis statement

This needs to be a more explicit statement

of intended argument and findings.

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Structure cont.

Avoid making readers think: “So what?” Ensure that your paragraphs follow one another

coherently. Conclude paragraphs by relating them to your thesis

statement and/or question.

Weak conclusion Not merely a summary. Final opportunity to starkly state the conclusion your

paper arrived at. No new information, but can consider possible

consequences of your findings.

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Quality of research

Unreliable source Peer-reviewed Date of publication Seminal works

Insufficient Research Important to read authors on both sides of an

argument. Quantity and quality matter – analysis and

presentation matter!

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Quality of research cont.

Misinterpretation Often the result of poor skim reading.

Misrepresentation This can be a consequence of

misinterpretation or a case of dishonesty.

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In conclusion…

It is crucial that you:1. Read through the comments left by

your tutor;2. Jot down some responses to those

comments – whether you disagree with them (and why) or simply because you don’t understand.

3. Consult with your tutor!!