How to interpret the teacher feedback you’re given

When I received feedback in year 11, I was completely lost on how teachers grade students. Of course you’ll use the marking criteria, but to be frank, it did look very similar between all of them. After experience and guidance however, it became clear to me how teachers can separate a 15/20 from a 19/20 and even the difference between 18s and 19s. Here are some of the best tips I have for you to engage with the marking criteria holistically and improve your marks!

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Spot the difference!

The best way to be inside the head of a marker is to look at what the marking criteria is truly saying. Before an assessment task is handed out, a marking criteria is made with all the key features of what an essay of that calibre would do. For you, this means taking notes on what that specific criteria is requiring (e.g. comparative essay, engages with form) and ensuring you tick those boxes off as you progress through your task. 

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Another tip is examining what is different between mark ranges. An A response may “insightfully engage with features of form” and a B response may only “relevantly engage with form”. Whilst it is subjective, it is up to you to determine what ‘insightfully’ could look like and how it is different to ‘relevantly’. Browsing top tier essays can help here, which we have written a blog on! By looking at these many verb and adjective differences between mark ranges, you will be able to get a feel as to why you got the mark that you did, and improve from there. 

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Holistic feedback, not detailed feedback

Teachers have limited time allocations per essay, therefore they won’t be able to give you comprehensive and detailed feedback. This means you will need to get your highlighter out and highlight where your teacher may have referred to when they said a particular comment. For example, if the feedback is “didn’t engage with elements of form enough” in the question, highlight areas in your essay where you think you could have engaged with elements of form more. Do this for all the comments, and in the process you will see better what your teacher meant. It is important to remind yourself that marking is a holistic process - it never is just one word that lost you those marks, but a combination of different elements that led to that decision!

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Reflection

The most crucial step to be taken is to look at how you can improve for the future. Make a drafted response with your teachers feedback for your essay and feel free to submit it to them for a second look. Whilst they can not change your marks, they certainly can support you in improving from your prior mistakes. By engaging yourself in this reflective cycle by knowing your mistakes and auditing them, you are sure to come out on top when the next exams come around!

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