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TRANSCRIPT: One effective way to turn feedback into concrete improvement, is by working with it alongside exemplars—real examples of similar work.
Exemplars act as mental benchmarks, helping you visualise what someone might have in mind when they suggest you change something, or try something. For example, if a teacher tells you your writing is too descriptive, then you could look at a well-written essay on the same topic and pay close attention to the level of detail: what might a more appropriate level of detail look like? The feedback helps you know what to look for in the exemplar, and the exemplar can help you understand how to take the feedback on board.
But what if you’re not given an example of similar work? This doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. You can find exemplars yourself. Let’s say you’ve received some unclear feedback about a short story you wrote. If you don’t have any examples of other students’ short stories you could look at short stories in the same style by published authors. These examples might be quite different from the assignment you completed. But they could still give you insight into what your feedback might mean, such as by demonstrating effective writing styles, or new creative ideas.
The exemplars you use don’t have to be perfect. Comparing your work to pieces of varying quality can give you a deeper understanding of what works and what doesn’t. For example, if you’re told that you spoke too quickly in a presentation, then you might watch online videos of different people presenting. Some might pace themselves well, while others might be too quick or painfully slow. Both good and bad examples give you ideas about what does and doesn’t work, and maybe even some tips on pacing techniques you could try out.
Remember though, the goal is not to just copy an exemplar. Instead, use it to guide your reflection and planning: pay attention to the features of the exemplar that you might try to take on board, or want to avoid, and then make note of these things for future reference.
In summary, exemplars can really help you to understand and apply feedback better. Even when you aren’t directly given an exemplar, finding your own exemplars can give you reference points to make sense of the comments you’ve received. By engaging with exemplars, you can turn even vague or imprecise feedback into something much more useable.
Practice Activity
Practice Activity
