Marking takes time, especially when you’re writing out formative feedback for your learners.

You can speed up the process by having a bank of ready-made strengths and targets on hand.

This way, some of the synthesis is already done.

Instead of having to think up appropriate strengths and targets for every piece of work you mark, you can refer to your banks and identify pre-made strengths and targets that are relevant.

While you might need to tweak them so they are tailored to individual learners, you’re still going to save a boatload of time.

Here are sixty ready-made strengths for you, focussing on three areas:

• Thinking Deeper
• Developing Creativity
• Precision and Accuracy

You can use them as they are to speed up your feedback, or adapt them to suit your needs.

A whole load more ready-made strengths and targets can also be found at the Assessment for Learning Knowledge Base.

Enjoy!

20 Ready-Made Strengths: Thinking Deeper

1. It is clear that you have developed a sound grasp of the key concepts we have been studying.
2. Your work shows a sound understanding of the concepts that are central to the topic. The result of this is that you are expressing your ideas skilfully.
3. I can see that you are taking the time to explore the ideas we have been considering in depth. This is good because it shows a clear engagement with the topic and will help you to further develop your understanding.
4. It is a feature of your work that you explore what ideas mean and how they might affect people and the world around us. Well done.
5. You consistently make unusual connections between different ideas, concepts and examples. This is excellent as it shows you are thinking carefully about the work and are considering how it might relate to other areas of learning.
6. There are many occasions (I have highlighted some) where you connect together ideas or examples in original ways. This shows creative thinking that is closely engaged with what we are doing in class.
7. You frequently connect elements of what we are studying to your own experience. This helps to contextualise your learning and shows that you are connecting it to what else you know.
8. Your use of personal experience to supplement the ideas and content we are looking at in lessons is excellent. It really brings home the real-world relevance of what we are studying.
9. I have indicated a number of points where you have made connections with other areas of the curriculum. This is really good. It shows that you understand the work we do in class is not isolated, but is in fact connected to other areas of learning.
10. Excellent use of current events to exemplify the concepts and ideas we have been looking at in lesson.
11. Your answers display a great deal of thought and careful consideration. For example, this last piece of work considers a range of viewpoints, many of which would not have been immediately apparent.
12. I am pleased to see how much thought you are putting into your work. It is clear that you are engaging carefully with what we are doing in lessons.
13. This is an excellent piece of analysis. You provide a detailed breakdown of the material, showing what it is about and how the separate parts fit together.
14. Your work demonstrates sound analysis throughout. You have investigated the topic carefully and given me a really clear insight into what you think.
15. It is clear from the extent of your evaluation that you have a sound understanding of the content. You highlight a variety of strengths and weaknesses, remaining critical throughout.
16. You have engaged critically with the material, considering it in light of what you understand about the topic and the subject. This has resulted in work that is highly evaluative.
17. Much of what you have done has been highly original and creative. This is good because it shows that you are prepared to take the material on and develop it in ways that you think are best.
18. Your work shows great originality. This stems from your knowledge of the subject and your confidence in developing your own thoughts and perspectives. Well done.
19. You are working hard in lessons and completing all the extension tasks. This is really good to see. Keep it up, as its helping to develop your thinking.
20. The answers you are giving to the extension tasks demonstrate an ability to think deeply about the subject.   

20 Ready-Made Strengths: Developing Creativity

1. Your work contains a number of original ideas. I am impressed by this creative thinking. It shows that you are pushing yourself to develop the ideas we are studying.
2. Excellent, original ideas throughout your work. These demonstrate how carefully you are thinking about the topic.
3. You have made some unusual connections in your work. This is good as it shows that you are looking to develop your thinking on the topic.
4. I have indicated some of the unusual connections you have made. I like these and am impressed by the originality of your thinking. Well done.
5. In recent weeks you have really jumped into the tasks in lesson and made them your own. This has helped you to produce original and creative work.
6. The way you have put your own spin on this task is great. It demonstrates a real independence of mind as well as some thoughtful, creative thinking.
7. Your work is innovative. It goes beyond the norm and takes the ideas we have been looking at in new and creative directions.
8. I am impressed at how you have innovated in class in recent weeks. Your ideas and suggestions have really helped your group to create some fantastically original work.
9. The way in which you have responded to the task shows that you have thought carefully about how you can best convey your ideas. The results are creative and original.
10. There is clear evidence that you have created your own individual style of response to the analysis tasks we have been practising recently. Well done.
11. A feature of your work is that you make thoughtful connections to other subjects and areas of the curriculum. This creative thinking situates the ideas we have been studying in a broader context.
12. I like the way you develop connections between what we are studying and other areas of the curriculum. Your use of similes is particularly creative.
13. You have used the task as an opportunity to explore the idea in depth and to try to establish what it might mean in different contexts.
14. Your exploration of the ideas shows a creative approach to analysis. This is particularly evident from the way in which you have used unusual examples to support your points.
15. The examples you have called on in your work indicate a creative approach to the task. They are far from standard and cause the reader to think differently about a familiar topic.
16. You have clearly taken time to develop examples to support your points. The result is a creative piece of work that is original rather than repetitive. Well done.
17. I am impressed at how you have taken risks in your answers. This has resulted in some particularly creative responses that shed new light on the ideas we have been studying.
18. It was a risk to approach the work in this way but the results are really good. You have created an unusual and original response to the topic.
19. I have been pleased to see you trying out different possibilities in your group and paired work in class. This has allowed you to explore different areas of the learning.
20. Your work shows a thoughtful consideration of the different possibilities that could stem from what we have been studying.

20 Ready-Made Strengths: Precision and Accuracy

1. You are expressing yourself clearly in your work. It is clear what you think and what reasons you have for thinking this.
2. Your work demonstrates a high level of clarity. This suggests that you are accurately expressing yourself.
3. I have highlighted a series of instances where you have used key terms correctly. This shows you are really getting to grips with the language linked to the topic.
4. There is clear evidence that you are able to use key terminology accurately. This shows a good understanding of the topic.
5. From the contributions you are making in class it is evident that you have an accurate understanding of the topic.
6. The understanding of the topic demonstrated throughout your work is consistently accurate. This stems from your knowledge of the key ideas we have looked at in lessons. Well done.
7. You have continually answered the question in your work, never deviating. This is excellent. The accuracy of response means you are doing exactly what has been asked of you.
8. In every answer you keep linking your points back to the question. This ensures that your answer remains precisely focussed on the demands of the question.
9. Your work in class and at home shows that you are paying close attention to what the tasks ask you to do. As a result, you are producing material of a consistently high standard.
10. I am impressed at how you have analysed the requirements of the task and then used these to inform your work. The result is a high level of precision in relation to what has been asked of you.
11. It is pleasing to see how you have made use of the assessment criteria to plan and execute your work. This has resulted in material of a high standard.
12. You have made accurate use of the success criteria in planning your work. This has led to material that addresses all the key points necessary to receive high marks.
13. There is evidence of you taking great care over your work. It shows significant attention to detail.
14. Your work shows a high level of attention to detail. This has led you to create responses that are accurate and precise, showing a careful consideration of what it is that the tasks require.
15. I note that you have edited your work in a number of places. This is good as it shows you are paying attention to how you might improve.
16. I am pleased to see that you have refined your work. This suggests that you are looking critically at what you have done, comparing it the question or task and then making improvements.
17. Throughout your work you have chosen appropriate examples and evidence that accurately support the arguments you have made.
18. Your choice of structure for this work was exactly right. It has allowed you to meet the demands of the task and to demonstrate a high level of skill at the same time.
19. Your use of self-assessment to check the accuracy and precision of your work is first rate. Keep it up.
20. It is evident that you have developed your work through the use of self-assessment. I can see evidence of where you have improved the accuracy of things you have revisited.