How to Critique Work in a Group Setting

Giving and Receiving Honest Feedback is Important to a Writer

May 5, 2009 Stephanie Williams

For a writer one of the most difficult tasks is editing their own work.

Every sentence that is written seems of vital importance and it is hard to know how to be ruthless when cutting a manuscript down to a polished finish. This is where critique groups become valuable tools for a writer. They provide a captive, unbiased audience who will give honest feedback and help to decipher the brilliance from the unnecessary waffle.

Submitting Your Work!

Critique groups work in a variety of ways when it comes to submitting work but the most popular are:

a) emailing work around the group in advance

b) reading work aloud to the group

There are advantages and disadvantages of each. If work is emailed in advance then group members are able to read it, correct any grammar or spelling mistakes and write notes on the work which can be returned to the writer at the end of the meeting.

The advantage of reading work aloud is that the reader gets an insight into how their work sounds. Reading aloud is a very important method for any writer when editing their work. It also gives the other members of the group the chance to ask questions when they are fresh in their mind.

Giving Good Feedback

The most important thing to remember when giving feedback is to be constructive as opposed to overly critical. Remember that the writer will feel extremely protective about their work and may take personally any comments which do not appear to serve a helpful purpose.

Keep comments short and to the point. Make sure that points are backed up with suggestions of improvement. For instance; if the work is long and unfocused then give structural advice on how to tighten up sentences and which parts of the text seem irrelevant to the work as a whole. A writer should leave a critique group with an idea of what they need to work on and not feeling deflated.

Give structured positive feedback and relate it to examples within the work if possible.

The Golden Rule

The golden rule of critiquing someone’s work should never under any circumstances be broke…. Do not get personal.

People who attend critique groups are there for advice and guidance from their peers. They may have less actual experience than the other people in attendance but this does not mean that their work is less valuable or their talent under developed. Remember that the person whose work is being critiqued now may have good points and suggestions in regard to other people’s work so do not alienate anyone with unsubstantiated criticisms.

The work is there to be critiqued, not the writer so ensure that you stick to the point, be accurate and thoughtful and above all else remember that you are there to help!

The copyright of the article How to Critique Work in a Group Setting in Writing Fiction is owned by Stephanie Williams. Permission to republish How to Critique Work in a Group Setting in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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