Constructive Criticism Vs. Criticism

Hello, writers!

As a writer, or even as someone who knows a writer, you'll probably find yourself asked to give your opinion on a piece of literature—or just anything in general.

This post is for anyone who has ever given advice or had advice given to them about anything. It doesn't even have to be about writing.

So you probably know constructive criticism is helpful. It's when somebody critiques your work in a way where they're not degrading it, but trying to help you and teach you something.

Criticism is just someone critiquing your work with only the goal of tearing it apart.

But there are times when those who are trying to constructively criticize someone's work can have it come across more like criticism.

How do we avoid that?

How do we tell the difference between constructive criticism and just criticism?

Well, that's the topic of today's blog post.

Don't say it's terrible.

The most important part of making your advice sound like actual advice and not criticism is not degrading the person's work.

Don't go into it and say, "This is boring," or "This is terrible," or "This is flat."

Simply saying those things doesn't teach anyone anything. It only makes them feel like they're doing something wrong.

What you want to do if the piece actually feels boring or flat is just touch on sections or things about it that make it boring or flat.

You want to help the person with your criticism. Don't tell them what's wrong with their piece, tell them how they can make it better.

And never just go out and say,"This is terrible."

That's just criticism. It's not constructive.

Think about it. If someone gives you their piece to read and asks for your opinion and you read it over and say, "It's terrible," how does this help them? The main part of constructive criticism is helping the person you are criticizing. If you simply say, "This is terrible," it doesn't help anyone learn anything and only makes them feel bad about their writing—or whatever you're criticizing.

How are they supposed to know why their writing was terrible or why you didn't like it? And what qualifies you to say their work was terrible?

Saying things like this will only hurt one's self esteem.

Instead, point out things that made it flat or boring or whatever problem you had with it and give suggestions on how they can fix it.

Here's an example:

"I think this (dialogue, description, wording, etc.) could be changed a little because the way it is right now feels sort of flat. Maybe if you (change this, do this, add this, etc.) it might help it flow better."

In this section of constructive criticism, the person speaking told the writer what they thought could be changed and why. They also gave them an idea of what they could do to change it and how it would help.

This is called helping.

This is what you want to do.

You want to try and help the person you're criticizing. Teach them. Show them what you don't like and why, but don't say it in a way that makes it sound like they can't write or their writing is terrible.

Don't act like you have all the answers.

When you're giving friendly advice to someone, always try to sound humble about it. Don't say it like, "This is wrong and my way is right." That's the biggest way for someone to get annoyed by your constructive criticism whether you’re right or not.

Think about it.

How would you feel if someone tried to constructively criticize your work while acting like they knew all the answers and were above you or your mistakes?

Even if you're doing nothing wrong, people can sometimes get upset when receiving criticism of any sort. By being humble and not talking down to people, you avoid giving them an actual reason to be upset.

Wording is important.

With constructive criticism, you always want to make suggestions—not orders.

Never order someone to do something. Instead, take the approach of suggesting something else they could do. And always explain why you're suggesting it because that is how they learn something.

Word things kindly. Don't word them in a way that sounds like you're tearing down their work or telling them you're better than them.

With constructive criticsm, you have to remember you're criticizing someone else's work. It's not your own and you aren't the one writing it. So don't act like you are.

Word things as suggestions, such as saying "If you did (something), it could help (something)," or "Maybe you could add (something) because it would help (something)." Try not to say, "Do (something)," or "(Something) is bad so rewrite it like this."

What's the main difference between constructive criticism and criticism?

Attitude and goal.

Those are the main two things that seperate constructive criticism and criticism.

With constructive criticism, your attitude should be "how can we make this better", not "this is bad". Your goal should be to help the person. That should be your main focus. You are not trying to critique or demean this person's work, rather, you are trying to give them your opinion on it and what they could do to make it better.

Overall, guys, it's choice of the one to whom you're giving advice whether they get offended over your criticism or learn from it. Even if you do everything respectfully and make valid points, sometimes people just can't take it.

That happens.

But regardless, you want to make sure what you're saying is stated in a way that is actually helpful and constructive, and not just plain criticism.

I hope you found today's blog post helpful! If you have any questions, just message me in the contact bar below.

Happy writing!

-Jocelyn