Available online 27 April 2024

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Receiving feedback is essential to becoming a better writer.

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Critical friends provide feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses of a manuscript.

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Feedback from a critical friend prepares a manuscript for journal submission.

Abstract

Requesting manuscript feedback from a friend or colleague plays an important role in preparing a manuscript for journal submission. Writers benefit from honest feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses of a manuscript. A critical friend balances the roles of critic and friend enabling the writer to view their manuscript from a different perspective. This article reviews the critical friend literature related to providing manuscript feedback. Suggestions for selecting a critical friend, developing a writing feedback group, and how to provide quality feedback are discussed. Benefits and challenges exist when developing critical friendships for manuscript review.

Section snippetsThe critical friend concept

The concept of the critical friend has been around since the 1970's. In the context of classroom education, a mutually supportive and cooperative relationship between an observer and teacher was implemented to critically examine and improve teaching processes (Stenhouse, 1975). Much of the critical friend literature has highlighted the role of critical friends in formal educational settings across the United States and internationally (Mackenzie, 2015). Apart from educational settings, critical

Definition of critical friend

A challenge in the concept of a critical friend is the dichotomy between the terms critic and friend (Swaffield, 2005). The term critic often holds negative connotations as someone who expresses disapproval or harsh judgement (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.; Merriam-Webster, n.d.-a). Alternatively, a friend is an attachment of mutual affection which supports a person's wellbeing (Merriam-Webster, n.d.-b; Gibbs & Angelides, 2008). The critical friend represents a balance of the two roles. By being

Literature search

To examine the critical friend literature, a search was conducted in Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, and ERIC. A reference librarian was consulted to develop a full search strategy. The search strategy aimed to locate both published studies and grey literature. Grey literature consists of sources produced outside of traditional commercial publishing companies and may include preliminary reports, newsletters, government reports, conference proceedings,

Other considerations

Critical friends identify what is unclear, offer gentle criticism, and promote self-reflection. However, challenges exist when initiating and developing critical friendships. Inappropriate practices, boundary issues, or unhelpful dependencies may occur (Mackenzie, 2015). Burgeoning critical friendships require clarifications, refinements, and sometimes dissolution (Mackenzie, 2015). When beginning a critical friendship for writing and feedback, careful attention should be given to potential

Limitations

Research surrounding the initiation, development, experiences, and types of professional roles where critical friendships provide benefit is lacking (MacPhail et al., 2021). Many articles and studies have recommended that a writer should solicit a manuscript review prior to journal submission. Only ten articles were found using the term critical friend or critical friend group for providing feedback on manuscripts or writing. The current review revealed a few areas for future research

Conclusion

Receiving feedback is an essential, necessary component to becoming a better writer. Soliciting feedback from a critical friend prior to journal submission can aid the writer in identifying strengths and weaknesses of a manuscript. Critical friendships are a synergistic blend of friend and critic. This article reviewed the critical friend literature and provided a framework for delivering high quality feedback. Suggestions for establishing and developing critical friendships for manuscript

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Christine M. Olson: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.

Declaration of competing interest

I have no conflicts of interest to disclose

I wish to acknowledge the assistance provided in manuscript review by Susan Piehl, MSN, A-GNP and Christofer Olson; and for search strategy by Aine O'Connor, Reference Librarian at South Dakota State University.

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