You turn past the mark on your essay and there it is in the margin again: “develop your analysis”. It was on the last one too. You thought you had analysed, so it's hard to know what more you were meant to do, and being told to read more doesn't make it any clearer.
A comment like that is your teacher naming one skill. Once you know what it's asking for, you can turn it into something small to practise each week with the texts you're already studying, and keep the work that shows whether it's changing.
What the comment means
What four common English comments usually ask for
- Develop your analysis
- One quote; two sentences on one word
- Support your ideas with evidence
- Copy supporting evidence before writing
- Be more precise with your language
- Use two exact words from class
- Proofread your work
- Read aloud and fix stumbles
What the comments mean
How the writer's words create an idea, not only what happens in the text. One quote; two sentences on one word: its suggestion and why the writer chose it.
A quote or detail from the text supporting each point. Copy a supporting line before writing the paragraph.
Words that say exactly what you mean, in place of general ones like "shows" or "good". Use two exact words from your class text in your paragraph.
There are mistakes you could find and fix yourself. Before submission, read aloud and fix anything you trip over.
If your comment isn't there, or you can't picture what it means in your own writing, you can ask your English teacher. You can point to one sentence when you ask: “Could you show me a sentence where I could have developed this further?”
The comments come from what Year 9 English sets out to teach. In the Victorian Curriculum, the statewide plan for what students learn up to Year 10, the Year 9 stage (called Level 9) includes looking at how a text's features shape the way readers respond, and editing your own writing. Your task sheet and marking criteria turn that into what your teacher looks for in each task, so they're useful to read beside the comments.
Reading closely
Analysis can start while you're reading, well before you sit down to write. Reading actively means stopping at the moments that catch your attention and asking why the writer did it that way. With the text you're studying in class, a session can look like this:
- One page or scene can be enough, rather than a whole chapter.
- You can mark two or three words or lines and note why they stand out: a word that sounds harsh, a sentence that's suddenly short, an image that keeps coming back.
- You can take one question about anything that confuses you to your next class.
At the end of a section, you can also jot down what you think of a character or idea so far, then look at that note again later in the text. Level 9 asks students to compare their “initial and subsequent impressions”, and a change in what you think is often something worth writing about.
Words from your reading
A synonym can seem right until you try it in a sentence. A word you collect from your reading comes with the sentence it was used in, so you can see how it behaves before you use it.
Two kinds of words are worth keeping. The first come from the text and your class: a word the writer chose, or one your teacher used to describe it. The second are words for writing about texts, such as “suggests” (hints at) or “emphasises” (draws attention to), which each say something more exact than “shows”. Level 9 English looks at how word choice creates “style, mood and tone”, and precise words let you name that effect instead of calling a line “descriptive”.
A page at the back of your English book or a note on your phone is enough. For each word, you could copy its sentence and write your own. You could start with two words a week.
A paragraph to practise on
Once a week, you can write one paragraph about the text you're studying, aimed at the comment you chose.
- A class question or a line you marked can be your starting point.
- You can use the table's practice with the comment beside you.
- You could reread it the next day and change one thing.
- Each paragraph can be dated and kept together with the others.
The same point about Romeo and Juliet, before and after
A made-up example of working on “develop your analysis”
First go
Friar Laurence says “These violent delights have violent ends”, which shows that Romeo and Juliet's love will end badly.
Revised example
Friar Laurence warns Romeo that “These violent delights have violent ends”. Repeating “violent” ties the couple's happiness to danger, as if the joy itself carries the harm. The audience already knows from the Prologue that the lovers will die, so the line works as a warning Romeo doesn't heed.
- 1Picks out one word
- 2Says what it suggests
- 3Links it to the audience
If your comments are about how a paragraph is put together, our guide to writing a TEEL paragraph covers the structure.
After three or four weeks, you can put your first paragraph beside your latest and read them together, then show both to your English teacher and ask whether the comment still applies. If it doesn't, the next comment on your list can take its place. If it does, your teacher can help you work out what to try differently, which might mean a smaller practice rather than a longer one.
To give the paragraph a regular spot in your week, our weekly study planner can fit it around homework, sport and anything else you've got on.
Who can help, starting with your teacher
Your English teacher can explain the feedback and your next task, and there's free help around them too. Your school librarian can suggest more by the same writer or on the same idea. Your school may also run literacy or homework support, and your year level coordinator can tell you what's on.
If the same comment is still there after a term of practice and talking it through with your teacher, one-to-one tutoring can give that skill regular time. Our Years 7 to 10 English tutors work around the texts, tasks and feedback you get at school, at home or online, and the paragraphs you've kept give them somewhere to start.
For your next English class, you could bring one paragraph and the comment you tried to address.
Other questions about improving at English
Will reading more books improve my marks?
It can help, but it's hard to link to any one comment. Reading for enjoyment is worth keeping for its own sake. For your marks, the close reading of the texts you're studying in class is the place to start.
Where can I find more to read?
Beyond your school library, State Library Victoria offers Victorian residents a free digital card, with parent or guardian consent under 18. Wyndham Libraries are free; under-15s need a guardian with ID for physical borrowing.
What if English isn't my first language?
You can ask your English teacher or year level coordinator whether your school offers English as an additional language (EAL) support. The weekly paragraph works the same way, and your word list can include everyday words as well as words for writing about texts.
Do my Year 9 English marks count towards my VCE?
No. Your VCE starts in Year 11 for most students, with Units 1 and 2, and Year 9 results don't go towards it. Our guide to starting Year 11 explains how it begins.
What if I'm getting different comments from different teachers?
You could start with the most frequent comment. Different teachers can describe the same skill in different words, so your current English teacher can tell you whether two comments are really one.
Where to check the details
We checked these official sources on 6 November 2026.
