Dear Thonny, 

I just finished presentations in my IB Literature class. At the end of every presentation, my teacher requires the class to give one compliment and one suggestion. I am worried about giving a suggestion though. I’m afraid my teacher will dock points from the student if it’s something that she didn’t notice before. What should I do?

Sincerely,
A concerned student

Dear concerned student,

I also take IB English, and I also wonder if the criticism we give to our fellow classmates results in possibly getting points taken away from their presentations.

Personally, I think giving criticism is just going to make someone get better and help them in the long run.
To get a definitive answer, I asked IB Literature I teacher Stephanie Hanson about it.

She was quick to say that other students’ criticism definitely doesn’t impact student grades even if it’s something she hadn’t noticed at first.

The organization aspect for IB rubrics is very minor. If you already got points taken off for a small reason, one more thing isn’t going to make a difference.

Now you know that you are free to give suggestions to your classmates after presentations. Don’t worry about hurting their feelings either because it’s likely that they’re as eager to move on as much as you are.

Sincerely,

Thonny