Written Feedback Service

Fill out this form. 

 You will receive your feedback via email, usually within 24 and up to 48 hours after submission. If demand suggests a longer turnaround time, we will contact you via email to let you know the estimated time of completion.  Make sure you submit your document via Word or a Google doc link so that our consultants can place comments on it. (Remember, we do not check forms or do feedback over the weekend)  

Written feedback requests are received and attended to during business hours Monday - Friday.  If you submit during the evening or over the weekend, we will not receive your document until the morning of the next business day. 

First of all, we must specify that this is not an editing or revision service. That is, the consultant will not change your writing. Instead, they will give you feedback on your writing. You will be prompted to describe the kind of feedback you want on the appointment form. You may find yourself wanting different kinds of feedback depending upon your goals, your prior experience, and where you are in the writing process.  

For example, say you have written a first draft of an argument paper and have a few more days until it is due. You want it to be the best it can be before you submit it. So you might ask:

Please give me some feedback on my argument so that I can revise and make it better.  I’m unsure if my thesis statement is carried through throughout the paper, and I want to make sure it makes sense and flows for the reader. I felt things were getting a little disorganized as I was writing.    

This is a great feedback request because it is likely that your professor’s most important grading criteria for the paper is the clarity and strength of your argument and you still have time to revise before submitting!  

But what if you have only a short window of time before submitting your essay and you feel satisfied about the strength and clarity of your argument?  You’re still motivated to improve your essay, but you know you don’t want feedback about substantive revision.  No problem, you can ask something like:

I feel satisfied with my overall argument and organization, but I just want to get some fresh eyes on this paper to make sure I haven’t missed any errors, style issues, or other red flags before I submit!  Also, please let me know if there are any parts that you don’t understand.  

Another scenario is that you might be in the middle of a writing process and you have a specific question to ask.  For example:

I’ve only written the introduction so far, but before I go on, I wanted some feedback on my thesis statement. Am I on the right track?  

Or

I’ve never written in APA format before, can you take a look at this, and see if I am doing it correctly? I am a little unsure where I even need to cite!   

If you give us a general prompt like: please give me feedback on this essay, we will provide a holistic response:  2-3 things that are working well in the paper, 1 -2 areas to work on that will make the greatest positive impact in revision,. And, if applicable, we may point out a couple of grammatical or technical patterns of which you can be mindful when you get to your editing stage.  

Keep in mind that you can always schedule a follow-up synchronous appointment with the same consultant or a different one if you want to discuss the feedback or share your writing again after revising.

• To use this service, you must be a current UB student and the writing you submit must be your own.  (Please do not send us AI generated text.  If you want to learn about AI and the Writing process, make an in-person appointment.)  
• Writers may not exceed one written feedback appointment per week.
  
• We only accept Word doc, docx or Google doc submissions. Assignment sheets can be provided in PDF form.  The consultant must be able to make comments on the document.  

• The consultant will have 45 minutes to work on your draft.  Please keep this in mind when it comes to the kind of feedback you request and the length of the assignment you submit.  (Generally, if your document is more than 10 page double spaced, you may need to submit a specific section you wish the consultant to focus upon.) 
• Remember that our consultants have special training or advanced experience when it comes to giving feedback, but the choices you make related to your writing are your own. You are the author, and you must use your own discernment when it comes to revision. The consultant cannot comment upon the grade they think you might receive. CEW feedback should never compete with your instructor’s; it should be considered another perspective for you to consider in your revision process.   
• We hope written feedback will be a useful form of support that increases access and inclusion for CEW services.  We encourage you, however, to continue to take advantage of the CEW’s synchronous (in person or online) appointments which facilitate conversation and responsiveness.  
• You might find that a written feedback appointment followed by a synchronous appointment to discuss your revision plan is an especially powerful combination!  
• Your submissions are confidential and handled with care.  Only the consultant who is responding to your work will have access to your document and will only pass it along at your request if you choose to make a follow-up consultation with another consultant.