Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

A simple tool for providing feedback to a writer.

“Mary had a little lamb.”

The above five-word phrase can be said at least ten different ways. It can be assigned at least ten different meanings. Which one did the writer intend?

Now we come to providing feedback to a writer. Ask, “Do you mean …?”

If the answer is, “No” three times in a row, we both need to work on how we are writing and how we are reading.

If the answer is, “Yes” three times in a row, we agree and can progress.

For example:

• Do you mean that of all sizes of lambs, Mary’s was small?
• Do you mean that Mary used to have a lamb but no longer has one?
• Do you mean that Mary had one and only one lamb?

Ask honestly and candidly. Seek understanding. Seek clarity. The writer, sensing a lack of understanding, can modify the text accordingly. For example:

• Mary had a choice of many sizes of lambs. She chose a small one.
• Mary owned a lamb last year. She sold it.
• Mary owned many lambs. What distinguished one of the lambs was that it was little.

Oh, that’s what the writer meant. Thank you.