Any tips for how to better implement feedback on drafts? My work is so heavily redlined that I struggle to consistently follow through with every comment/feedback. I am in patent prosecution, so it is a lot of detailed technical writing, but is also fairly formulaic, which is nice. Thankfully the partner I work with is extremely patient and a very good teacher, I would just like to be better at learning from his very thorough feedback.

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Print out redlines, check off changes in the hard copy as you make them in the electronic version, once done, save as new version, run a compare to previous document, go through the changes in the electronic redline and compare to the hardcopy, make a second check or an x to confirm the requested change has been made. I have to do this for the same reason.

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This is very helpful, thank you! I’m a little more concerned about more general feedback such as "add more transitional language between main concepts" rather than specific edits though, because those are a bit more nebulous

Yeah, cant help with that, but it will come. My favorite comment on some of my drafts is “NO”.

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Think of it like this, there’s three types of edits: 1) grammar, spelling, little mistakes; 2) rewriting for personal preference; and 3) edits or comments that actually make your writing better. Try to isolate the type three redlines and focus on those. After a project is done, schedule time to go back with the person who made the redline and talk about the type threes to try to help improve your writing.

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So not everyone is open to it (because it’s a loss of billable time on both ends), but my mentor did it with me and I swear it made me an infinitely better writer: review and edit the draft together in person (or even by Zoom) on a large monitor, like one in a conference room. You’ll start to understand writing preferences, and get real time feedback as to why a certain argument or point was raised (in front of a certain judge this would be better, based on the testimony and line of questioning this issue should be addressed, etc.), why to use X phrasing or sentence structure as opposed to Y, and so on. Again, this is extremely time consuming and I’m not suggesting this is the best or only approach. But it did wonders for me and I personally haven’t seen anyone else, not even within my firm, implement it.

If that’s not an option, set up a call or meeting with the partner and say you want to further discuss the red lines/edits so you have a better understanding of their preferences and what to be aware of on the next draft. Unless the partner is an absolute jerk, I’ve never met a partner who didn’t appreciate an associate going out of their way to obtain additional feedback because it shows they are proactive, care, and want to learn and excel. This approach also gives you a chance to further elaborate on the issues noted above.

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