When Should Corrected Essays Be Returned? (1)

When do you return test papers or corrected essays? Do you give them back at the beginning of the class and then give explanations and instructions, or do you explain and instruct first and then return them?

Recently, in two of my English classes, I had to return essays at different times due to the progress of the lessons. This made me think that the timing of returning essays might affect the quality of the students' revisions.

The mindset of teachers who return essays first

As for test papers, it's probably most common to return them first and then explain. Many may think the same applies to essay instruction: return first, then give feedback on common mistakes and points to be careful about during revision.

Such teachers may think that listening to general feedback without knowing one's own mistakes may not be effective. Therefore, it makes sense to return the corrected work first, let students understand their individual issues, and then receive additional general feedback.

The mindset of teachers who don't return essays first

On the other hand, some teachers prefer to give general feedback to the whole class before returning individual essays.

These teachers might think that if essays are returned first, students might be too distracted by their own work to pay attention to the general feedback. They also worry that if they didn't make the common errors being discussed, they might ignore the information, thinking it doesn't apply to them.

Which is more effective?

In my case, sometimes I choose the latter method (general feedback first, then return) because I want students to listen and think carefully. But sometimes, due to the flow of the class, I return essays first without any specific intention. In any case, I realized I hadn't thought much about the impact of these different sequences.

As I mentioned at the beginning, in two of my classes, I had to return essays in different sequences due to the lesson's progress.

Class A: Return → General Feedback

In one class (Class A), I returned the corrected essays at the beginning of the lesson and gave advice on common errors and content while students had their essays in their hands. They were then asked to revise for homework.

The next day, when I collected the revised essays, I noticed significant improvements in content. The changes were so evident that it boosted my sense of self-efficacy as a teacher!

What surprised me was that even students for whom I hadn't pointed out content issues in their individual feedback showed improvement. It seemed that they learned from the general feedback in class and applied it to their essays.

Class B: General Feedback → Return

In another class (Class B), due to time constraints, I gave general feedback using handouts before returning the essays. After the explanation, I returned the essays and assigned revision as homework.

When I collected the revised essays the next day, I saw less improvement in content compared to Group A. In short, the quality of the revisions seemed shallower. While individual differences play a big role, I felt a noticeable difference in the quality of revisions between Classes A and B.

Thoughts on the difference

These differing feedback effects in the two classes made me think about the order of giving general feedback and returning essays.

Previously, I had only thought about whether I should return them first or after general instruction in order for them to listen to me properly.

However, the differences I saw in the revised essays made me think more deeply and in detail about the potential impact of when essays are returned.

In my next post, I'll try to analyze this in more detail.

（This is an English version of my previous post, 添削したエッセイをどのタイミングで返却すべきか①.)