Methods for providing feedback
One-on-one Meetings
Audio Comments
Peer Review
Addressing syntactical confusion
Approaches to Assessment
Rubrics
Rubrics clarify writing goals and makes expectations clear to students. They can also take the over-thinking out of evaluating writing. Instructors can create their own rubrics, of course. But you might also ask your students to create a class rubric that can be used to assess their writing for different assignments. It takes time and debate, but the process makes students really convince each other about what makes writing effective.
Contract Grading
P/F options
Self Assessments
Peer Assessments