Feedback on assignments is supposed to help you improve. When it doesn't — when it's too vague to act on, too late to be useful, or absent altogether — you're being shortchanged.
This article is about how to get more out of the feedback you receive, how to ask for better feedback when what you're getting isn't enough, and how to raise the issue constructively if the problem is systemic.
Getting more from the feedback you already have
Before asking for more, it's worth extracting everything from what you've already got. A few questions to ask of any feedback:
- What specific things did I do well? Can I replicate those?
- What specific things didn't work? Do I understand why?
- Is there a pattern across multiple pieces of feedback? The same weakness appearing repeatedly is your highest-priority development area.
- What would I do differently if I did this assignment again?
If the feedback doesn't answer these questions because it's too brief or vague, that's when you go back and ask.
Flagging it through your feedback platform
If your institution uses StudentPulse or course evaluations, feedback quality is exactly the kind of thing worth flagging there. A specific comment is more useful than a general one: "The feedback on my essay was limited to two sentences and didn't indicate what specifically could be improved. More detailed, actionable feedback would significantly help my development." This gives course coordinators something concrete to address.
Going back to the assessor directly
This is the step most students avoid, but it's usually the most effective one. Going back to a tutor or lecturer to ask for more on your feedback is entirely normal and entirely appropriate — it signals engagement, not entitlement.
How to ask
Approach it in person during office hours, or by email if that's easier. The key is to frame it as a request to understand and improve, not a challenge to the grade.
A direct script: "I've read through your feedback on my [assignment] and I'd like to understand it better. You mentioned [specific point] — could you help me understand what I could have done differently there? I want to make sure I address it in future work."
What you're not doing: arguing about the mark. What you are doing: asking for the learning that should have been part of the feedback in the first place.
What to expect
Most tutors respond well to this kind of direct, development-oriented request. You'll usually get a more detailed explanation than the written feedback provided. If the written feedback was minimal because of time pressure, office hours are where that gap gets filled.
When feedback is consistently inadequate
If the feedback across multiple assignments from the same module is consistently too brief to be useful, too late to apply, or missing entirely — that's a course-level problem worth raising with the module coordinator.
"I want to flag that the feedback on assignments in this module has been quite brief, and I've found it difficult to understand how to improve. I know other students have had the same experience. Could this be something the module team looks at?"
You're not being difficult. Meaningful feedback is a standard part of what students are entitled to, and raising its absence is a legitimate and valuable thing to do.
