"While Ferris addresses the controversial issues in error feedback in the filed of L2 composition, she does not stop there. By providing practical solutions Ferris makes her book a valuable resource not only for L2 composition researchers and teachers, but also for all teachers facing the challenges of responding to papers of non-native speakers of English." – Issues in Writing, Volume 16, Number 2, Spring/Summer 2006
"The most impressive feature of Ferris's prodigious discussion of previous research is not the ease with which it can be read, however, but the incisive critique which she applies to these studies. An exemplary problematization of the unquestioned application of L1 writing scholarship to L2 writing situations sets the tone for Ferris's persistent analysis....Ferris's diligent cataloging and critiquing of available studies alone makes this volume an asset to any writing teacher....I plan to keep my copy of Response to Student Writing on a handy bookshelf....I'll put it to good use when designing writing classes, contemplating my own response strategies, and writing articles related to response writing. And, whenever a colleague asks if I know any good books on response to student writing, I will recommend this volume wholeheartedly."
—TESL-EJ
"This book will be most useful for ESL teachers, particularly those teaching writing in an academic setting. However, the research finds can be related to the teaching of other L2s, and the practical guidelines will help any instructors who are grappling with the question of how to respond to their students' writing. It is important for L2 instructors to develop both practical skills for response and a philosophy about their own approach. Ferris's book will support both these types of teacher development."
—Studies in Second Language Acquisition
"...Ferris's extensive review of relevant research and accessible presentation of pedagogical implications should prove an invaluable aid to reflection on the why's and how's of current responding practices. Her multiple perspectives, derived from practicing what'she preaches and investigating what'she preaches, give Ferris an empathetic, informed, and persuasive voice that speaks to the interests of teachers, teacher trainers, and researchers."
—Modern Language Journal
"A fine book, clearly written, absolutely thorough, with reasonable and persuasive analyses and suggestions for teaching....It brings the most prickly response issues into the open...providing guidance for teachers, carefully grounded in the professional literature. It will be popular both for individual teachers...and for teacher training courses in L2 literacy."
—Ilona Leki
University of Tennessee
"Dana Ferris has written a compelling and useful survey of response in L1 and L2 composition...and has made strong links between the research and the classroom."
—Carl Whithaus
Old Dominion University
