Be sure that every week’s set of comments includes each item on this specs checklist:

• Meet weekly deadline
• Include two comments per week (for each two-week average; may also write four comments in alternate weeks)
• Leave comments for different classmates each week
• Include one positive: what did you love about this post, whether in its content, tone, style, techniques, etc.? What did it inspire you to think about? What connections did you make? Let your classmate know that their post made a difference in your day.
• Beginning with our third post, include one specific, constructive bit of advice to help the author hone their writing and improve for next time: what was less clear to you, whether in theme, specific passage, word choice, etc? What might have helped you, as a reader, to stay fully within this piece or understand it more clearly, e.g. did you love most of it but feel jarred or lost in one specific section?

A reminder: How to write constructive and helpful comments

• Avoid subjective or very general feedback,  e.g. “this piece is too flowery” or “this is too negative” or “use more irony,” because generalities or personal reactions are not usually helpful for writers.
• Instead, be as specific and objective as possible, e.g. “on lines 3-6, I appreciate all of the sensory details you use. I notice the details are all negative, though. Is this intentional, do you want readers to be repelled or disgusted by your narrator’s experience?”