Rather than be repetitive on everyone's individual assignments, I have elected to post the most common feedback that I wanted to provide in more depth.
Papers
Writing - Grammar and style are important, because they guide readers through the work with less effort and greater understanding.
From an Organizational Effectiveness point-of-view, effective communication is an essential skill.
Effective persuasive writing is vital, and something that is not regularly reinforced in the specific style of writing that we use in psycho-ed reports.
One of the best resources for writing are called OWLS (Online Writing LabS).
I have cited the one at Purdue as a reference.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
However, for all things APA, you are better off referring directly to the source.
Academically, this will be an essential skill for your dissertations.
By default, you dissertations will tend to be dry, academic, and require upper-level comprehension.
You want everything that you do as a writer to assist in making life easier for the reader.
If not, it will make it even more difficult for your readers to follow.
If you want to be effective, you have to make it you job to convince readers with little effort from them.
You don't want to make it too tough for them to follow you.
They have the option of not believing you and/or not reading anymore.
MAJOR POINTS!
Supporting evidence - Vague statements and generalization need to be backed up with data, evidence, or supporting points. (Again, refer to persuasive writing.) You cannot just make a statement or conclusion, you have to prove it persuasively to the reader.
Logic - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/01/
Presentation of Effective Persuasion - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/696/1
Effective strategies (and fallacies) in Persuasion -http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/04/
Anecdotes, quotes, specific examples... - Anecdotes by themselves are not persuasive evidence. This does not mean that they do not serve a purpose in writing. When used to illustrate a specific point that is representative of evidence and/or the data, they can be very effective in "painting the picture" for the reader to visualize or understand the point you are trying to make. Although they do not prove a point, they provide context and understanding when used correctly. They also make your work more enjoyable to read.
Paper Length - I am, by nature, not a page counter. However, I will check to see if I found the paper to be lacking in depth. In general, not too many papers were bloated with fluff. The ones that were missing depth were pretty short. If I was not clear, my page requirements were based on content, not total pages including Title, Citations, and Appendices.
Common smaller errors -
Commas - Many were missing. Compound sentences where the biggest culprits.
See #1 and #2 at the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/02/
Run-on or awkward sentences - Often, these sound ok if you were speaking, but are difficult to read on a page.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/598/02/
Overuse of the word, ""However" and other words that are not always necessary.
Usually, you can just omit.
If you do not, make sure that you are punctuating correctly.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/02/
Lack of consistency - Once you start a sentence or thought with one convention, make sure you see it through. We mess this up a lot in the act of Cut & Paste and in the editing process.
This includes Noun-Verb consistency.
It also include verb tense consistency.
Variety is nice to keep the reader engaged, just do not change mid-thought.
Numbers - APA has specific rules on when to spell out numbers and when you can type numbers. You must learn these conventions.
http://www.iupui.edu/~uwc/pdf/APA%20Style%20Rules%20for%20Numbers.pdf
Finals
Similar notes as above, but most of the points lost on reading the instructions.
Some folks lost points because they did not answer every mandatory component of a question.
For example, "Given an example for each...."
Papers
Writing - Grammar and style are important, because they guide readers through the work with less effort and greater understanding.
From an Organizational Effectiveness point-of-view, effective communication is an essential skill.
Effective persuasive writing is vital, and something that is not regularly reinforced in the specific style of writing that we use in psycho-ed reports.
One of the best resources for writing are called OWLS (Online Writing LabS).
I have cited the one at Purdue as a reference.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
However, for all things APA, you are better off referring directly to the source.
Academically, this will be an essential skill for your dissertations.
By default, you dissertations will tend to be dry, academic, and require upper-level comprehension.
You want everything that you do as a writer to assist in making life easier for the reader.
If not, it will make it even more difficult for your readers to follow.
If you want to be effective, you have to make it you job to convince readers with little effort from them.
You don't want to make it too tough for them to follow you.
They have the option of not believing you and/or not reading anymore.
MAJOR POINTS!
Supporting evidence - Vague statements and generalization need to be backed up with data, evidence, or supporting points. (Again, refer to persuasive writing.) You cannot just make a statement or conclusion, you have to prove it persuasively to the reader.
Logic - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/01/
Presentation of Effective Persuasion - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/696/1
Effective strategies (and fallacies) in Persuasion -http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/04/
Anecdotes, quotes, specific examples... - Anecdotes by themselves are not persuasive evidence. This does not mean that they do not serve a purpose in writing. When used to illustrate a specific point that is representative of evidence and/or the data, they can be very effective in "painting the picture" for the reader to visualize or understand the point you are trying to make. Although they do not prove a point, they provide context and understanding when used correctly. They also make your work more enjoyable to read.
Paper Length - I am, by nature, not a page counter. However, I will check to see if I found the paper to be lacking in depth. In general, not too many papers were bloated with fluff. The ones that were missing depth were pretty short. If I was not clear, my page requirements were based on content, not total pages including Title, Citations, and Appendices.
Common smaller errors -
Commas - Many were missing. Compound sentences where the biggest culprits.
See #1 and #2 at the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/02/
Run-on or awkward sentences - Often, these sound ok if you were speaking, but are difficult to read on a page.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/598/02/
Overuse of the word, ""However" and other words that are not always necessary.
Usually, you can just omit.
If you do not, make sure that you are punctuating correctly.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/02/
Lack of consistency - Once you start a sentence or thought with one convention, make sure you see it through. We mess this up a lot in the act of Cut & Paste and in the editing process.
This includes Noun-Verb consistency.
It also include verb tense consistency.
Variety is nice to keep the reader engaged, just do not change mid-thought.
Numbers - APA has specific rules on when to spell out numbers and when you can type numbers. You must learn these conventions.
http://www.iupui.edu/~uwc/pdf/APA%20Style%20Rules%20for%20Numbers.pdf
Finals
Similar notes as above, but most of the points lost on reading the instructions.
Some folks lost points because they did not answer every mandatory component of a question.
For example, "Given an example for each...."
