How to give useful feedback when you review writing

Could you check this for me?'
'What do you think of this?'
'Keen for your feedback.'

When people ask us to review their writing, our instinct is to turn on track changes and fix it for them.

But this can take a lot of our time.

The other person can end up questioning their ability as a writer when they see all the changes. 'Gosh, was it that bad?!'

Try using comments rather than track changes

Tell the person what to fix and why the fix will improve the writing.

Examples:
What to fix – Break this paragraph into two.
Why it matters – People skip long paragraphs because they look dense.

What to fix – How can you say this more simply? 
Why it matters – I read this sentence a few times before I understood.

What to fix – Choose between ‘and’ or ‘or’.
Why it matters – ‘And/or’ looks like we still need to clarify our thinking.

It's a good discipline for you, and your teammates' skills grow

Using this method helps you check that your suggestions are objectively improving things.

It also helps your workmates to learn, and their writing will improve over time.