How to handle giving and receiving criticism.

The single hardest thing to communicate in emails is the tone in which you want to be read. This is one reason the genre, that is, this kind or type of writing, has developed the little emoticons, like, ; ) or : (. These emoticons try to communicate how a message is to be read, something which is easier to do in spoken communication, but it is still difficult to capture the tone in which something is meant or taken. Emails tend to be written quickly, kept relatively short, and criticism is one of the most difficult things to do well using short, quick messages. Unfortunately, email is one of the best ways for students to interact in an online course.

The upshot? Always read your fellow students with charity. Remember they are new to the work they are doing and, usually, fairly new to working with others. Industry and the private sector value how well you work with others, but our early education system trains you to judge your performance on *your* work and *your* grade. Also remember: each student is doing their best in this difficult situation (which everyone in the class shares). Finally, remember that criticism is always just an opinion offered by an editor to an author. As long as the editor stays within the bounds of criticizing the message and not the author, the most valuable person an author knows is an editor who doesn't pull punches when offering a well reasoned opinion. This doesn't mean the editor is right in their opinion, but it does mean you can count on them to be honest, something you can't count on your parents to be, because they do pull punches. The author decides if the criticism is valid and if they are going to take the advice offered; and, the author should always remember that it is their writing being criticized--something they want to improve. This is one of the things which being an author entails, that is, making the final decisions about what is your best work and what changes you are willing and able to make given the limitations on your time and energy. If these decisions were easy, then we wouldn't pay editors or authors so well nor would you need a college class and a professor to teach you these skills.

Steve