Two Stars and a Wish

A simple peer-feedback protocol: for each piece of work, readers write two "stars" (specific things done well) and one "wish" (a specific suggestion for revision). Prevents the twin failures of vague praise and overwhelming critique.

Standard assessment-for-learning technique, documented in formative assessment research (Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall & Wiliam, 2003).

Procedure

1. Students complete a piece of writing (paragraph, essay, dialogue, report).
2. Pairs exchange with another pair (or within a pair). Each reader spends 5 minutes with the partner's piece.
3. On a sticky note or template, write:
   • ⭐ Star 1: something the writer did well. Specific. (Not "Good writing")
   • ⭐ Star 2: another specific strength.
   • 🌟 Wish: one focused suggestion for next time.
4. Return the work with the sticky note.
5. Writers read the feedback and act on the wish in a revision.

Why It Works

• Forces specificity: "two things I liked" is vague; naming two specific successes is concrete.
• Positive-heavy ratio: two praises for every criticism creates safety for risk-taking.
• Single focus revision: one wish = one thing to fix. Ten corrections overwhelms; one is actionable.
• Portable across ages and subjects: works for 8-year-olds and adult learners.

Star Template Prompts

For writing:

• A sentence where the word choice was really strong
• A place where the ideas were clearly organised
• A memorable opening or closing line
• An example that worked particularly well
• A grammar choice that surprised me (in a good way)

For speaking (recorded):

• A place where the pronunciation sounded natural
• A moment where your tone matched what you were saying
• A phrase I want to use myself

Wish phrasing:

• Next time, I'd like to see you try...
• One thing you could experiment with is...
• A wish: that you vary your sentence openings.

Variations

• Stars, Stepping-stones, Stretches: 3 praises, 2 suggestions, 1 challenge (more for older/advanced learners).
• Self-first: student writes their own two stars and a wish before seeing peer feedback. Compare.
• Teacher two-stars-and-a-wish: teacher uses the same format for marking. Models what specific praise looks like.
• Audio version: record feedback as a voice note. Good for online or feedback-sensitive students.

Tips

• Explicitly reject vague stars: "it was good" gets sent back for revision. First few sessions, feedback is itself taught.
• The wish must be a single focus. Multi-wish feedback becomes overwhelming and unusable.
• Use for revision cycles, not for grading. Graded work has different affective consequences.
• Train learners to act on the wish in a visible revision. Feedback not acted on is feedback not learned.

Source

Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B. & Wiliam, D. (2003) Assessment for Learning: Putting it into Practice. Open University Press. Widely adopted across UK primary schools under Assessment for Learning initiative (2002–); now standard in ELT peer-feedback pedagogy.