Scene to read · Self-awareness, Empathy
So what?
You are a student in an evening memoir-writing course.
In tonight's peer review workshop you returned Yan's chapter with comments like "cut this" and "so what?", the direct style your last writing program trained you to use. Yan, 70, and Andres, another classmate, are at the workshop table with you.
The scene
Yan: I read your notes twice. Honestly, what did I do to you?
Andres: They read like contempt to me. 'So what?' beside her mother's last letter?
Yan: Where I learned, you'd say one kind thing first. Maybe that's old-fashioned.
Andres: Blunt works in some rooms. So did you mean it that way?
The two questions
- 1How would you respond to Yan and Andres?
- 2How do you decide how direct to be when you give someone feedback on work they care about?
What raters look for
- Self-awareness
- Recognizes own biases, limits and emotions, and seeks and uses feedback.
- Empathy
- Recognizes what others feel and need, and lets that shape the response without losing judgment.
Answer scenarios like this on the real timers
Answer both questions on the clock, and get each one scored 1–9 the way raters score. Your first set is free, no card.
Practice free
