Speedy Feedback with AI: Giving Helpful, Personalized Comments in Seconds

Giving meaningful feedback is one of the most powerful ways to help students grow—but it’s also one of the most time-consuming. Fortunately, AI tools like ChatGPT can help you generate thoughtful, personalized comments in seconds.

Author

Michael Rice
July 07, 2025

Here’s how.

Start by copying a student’s written work or response into ChatGPT. Then, use a prompt like this:

“You are a kind and encouraging teacher. Read this student’s response and give helpful, constructive feedback. Focus on what they did well, what they could improve, and offer one suggestion to help them grow. Keep it positive and concise.”

Let’s say a 6th grader wrote this for a science assignment:

“The water cycle is important because it makes rain. Rain helps plants grow and gives us water to drink.”

Using the prompt above, ChatGPT might respond:

“Great job explaining why the water cycle matters! You clearly understand that rain is important for both plants and people. Next time, try adding more details about how the water cycle works—like evaporation and condensation. Keep up the good work!”

This kind of feedback is supportive, specific, and easy to build on—and you can generate it in seconds for every student.

📌 Bonus Tip: You can copy and paste multiple student responses at once and ask ChatGPT to provide a short comment for each. For example:

“Give a 1–2 sentence comment on each of these five student answers to a short essay question.”

Instead of spending hours writing individual notes, you can focus on follow-up and connection—while still giving every student the feedback they deserve.

Tip for Beginners: Start Simple and Be Specific

If you’re just starting with ChatGPT, don’t overthink your prompts. The best way to get helpful results is to be clear and specific about what you want.

For example, instead of saying:

“Help me with this lesson.”

Try:

“Create a 5th grade science warm-up activity about ecosystems that takes less than 5 minutes and includes a student question.”

The more context you give (grade level, subject, format, tone), the better the response.

📌 Pro Tip: If the answer isn’t quite right, just follow up! ChatGPT remembers the thread—so you can say:

“Make it shorter.”
“Add a multiple-choice question.”
“Rewrite this for English learners.”

It’s like having a teaching assistant who learns with you.

That’s it for this week.

P.S. Check out previous posts on our website: www.teachingsmarter.ai

Reply

or to participate.