A fellow post doc in my department is going through the tumultuous academic job search, and, happily, is preparing a talk for an upcoming interview. Later this week, some other post docs and grad students and I are helping him prepare by sitting in on a practice of his talk. One of the grad students noted that she would be happy to help, but didn't think she'd give very useful feedback. And I'm sure many of us have had the experience of asking others to read our papers and then getting feedback that was less than helpful. Reviewing and giving feedback has been something that I've gotten training on in a few different settings, so I'm going to share what I thought were some of the most helpful points. First, it might be helpful to ask the person you are reviewing about what kind of feedback they are looking for. Maybe they need help polishing the language and spelling only. Maybe they need help organizing. Maybe they are having trouble describing something succinctly or simply. If they need help organizing and all you do is check their spelling, the exercise ends up being a waste of time on both ends. If you are reviewing an oral presentation, the presenter may want notes on the visuals presented (which is likely a powerpoint file), what he or she said aloud, and also how they presented themselves. Once you know what to focus on, make sure to give a variety of observations. Don’t give all criticism or all praise. It's easy to get caught up in what needs to be corrected, so make sure to also point out places that were well written and easy to understand. Conversely, if you thought it was great and had no criticisms, maybe check on what the author needed help on. Be specific with comments. For the parts that need to be fixed, don't just write awkward or confusing. It can be helpful on the first pass-through, but really give some thought about why it was awkward. Is it a grammatical issue? Can some sentences be broken up to help clarify the point? If it was a paragraph that was confusing, could an example help? Or is the paragraph simply out of place? “This is good” does not help either. What did you like about the section? Was it clearly written? Did it flow well? Is the argumetn presented in a logical order? Don't waste time correcting the same grammar mistakes. Point it out once, and try to explain to the author why it is wrong or show them how to correct it so they can understand the need to do so throughout the paper. Powerpoints and oral presentations: When reviewing a presentation, there can be a lot to comment on, and there are lots of different personal styles when it comes to how much is written on powerpoint slides and how it compares to what is said (or sometimes, read) aloud. Without overhauling the presentation, concentrate on when the slide wasn't effective for you- when was there too much written to follow along? When was the summary bullet point confusing? Also for powerpoint presentations, make note of whether the graphs or images are appropriately sized. If you can't tell what they are pointing to during the practice, chances are the real presentation will be in a larger venue and so more people may struggle. Lastly, if you agree to read a paper or listen to a presentation for a friend or colleague, do so only when you can take the responsibility seriously and try your best to give useful and supportive feedback.
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Tania R. IqbalI'm passionate about science- being a scientist and educating others about science. CategoriesArchives |