Assessment for writing needs point out what the student is doing well. Suggestions for writing need to be specific and in digestible segments. A teacher cannot mearly say that submitted work "needs work" as the student does not get the necessary guidance to know how their work can improve. Some students (especially from low socio-economic backgrounds) might already get a lot of negative feedback regarding the child's accomplishments when, in order to improve, they need to know that they are going in the right direction. That way, they they do not feel unaccomplished and it does not reduce their motivation to continue to put forth the effort into school work.

All assessments and reflections need to be specific and as encouraging as possible. Language can be manipulated to reduce negative impact on the student. For example, instead of stating, "not good enough" the message could be "good effort, however some more detail would make the story more exciting".