Chapter 5 Activity: Writing a Next Steps Plan

Now that you’ve read about how to write an effective ‘Next Steps’ plan, and reviewed a sample version, you’ll practice writing one yourself.

You will read this  Gender and Women’s Studies student paper and write a ‘Next Steps’ plan in response. This plan should follow the guidelines set out in Chapter 6: it should include 3-4 clearly prioritized revision tasks, written as direct, actionable suggestions. Remember, you’re imagining the student sitting down to revise, so be specific about what they should do and how to do it. Don’t forget to end your plan with a brief, encouraging closing statement.

As you read the student’s paper, pay attention to both:

• Higher-level issues, such as organization, clarity of argument, topic sentences, repeated patterns in ideas or development;
• Lower-level issues, such as sentence structure, grammar, or word choice patterns.

You are not expected to address everything. Just choose the top 3-4 things you think the student should work on in their next draft.

If you’re a new consultant at the University of Wyoming Writing Center, we will go over your Next Steps plan together during our in-person training meeting. Be ready to discuss the following:

• How difficult was it to give actionable feedback considering the student has not provided the context of the instructor’s prompt? How did you decide to pick the top 3-4 things for the ‘next steps’ plan without context?
• What was your first instinct when looking at the student’s paper? Did you find yourself noticing higher-level or lower-level issues first? Why do you think that is?
• What challenges came up for you as you tried to identify the student’s main weaknesses?
• Did you get ‘hung up’ on any parts of the paper? Why or why not?
• What did the student do well? How would you frame praise or encouragement in a way that feels authentic and supportive?

This activity is meant to give you a low-stakes opportunity to apply what you’ve learned about prioritizing revision and writing helpful, student-centered feedback. Don’t worry about being perfect!