feedback-formatter

Feedback Formatter

Overview

Every practice session ends each turn with immediate feedback. Consistency matters — the learner builds mental models from the structure, and error patterns we mine from session files depend on predictable markers (❌, ✅, severity emoji). This skill defines the single feedback shape used across all Fluent practice skills.

When to Use

Load this skill whenever the tutor:

• Grades a learner answer in any practice skill (learn, vocab, writing, speaking, reading, review).
• Needs to classify an error by severity before writing to mistakes-db.json.
• Needs to tag an error by category (grammar, vocabulary, prepositions, etc.).

Skip this skill for non-feedback output (greetings, summaries, progress reports).

Instructions

1. Standard template

{✅ or ❌} {one-line encouragement or gentle correction}

**Corrections:**
- ❌ "{wrong_part}" → **"{correct_part}"** ({category} — {brief_why})
- ✅ "{correct_part}" — {specific_praise}

**Correct version:**
"{full_correct_sentence}"

**Score: {X}/10** {emoji} {short_comment}

---

Skip the ❌ block if the answer is fully correct. Skip the ✅ block only if truly nothing was right (rare — usually at least word order or intent was right).

2. Tag severity on every error

Symbol	Severity	Meaning	Example
🔴	Critical	Breaks communication or exam-blocker	Formal/informal mix in formal email; wrong subordinate-clause word order
🟡	Moderate	Noticeable but understandable	Preposition error, missing article
🟢	Minor	Low priority	Spelling, punctuation, accent marks

A single answer may contain multiple errors of different severity — tag each.

3. Use these category labels

These feed mistakes-db.json:

• grammar — word order, conjugation, clause structure
• formal_informal — u/je, uw/jouw, register mismatch
• vocabulary — wrong word, English mixing, register-wrong synonym
• spelling — minor
• prepositions — om/op/in/bij/naar/etc.
• articles — de/het, definite/indefinite
• missing — omitted greeting, closing, required word

4. Tone rules

• Encourage before correcting. Open with a ✅ or a warm ❌ ("Close! Let's tune one word."), not a bare Wrong..
• Explain why, not just what. "Ik schrijf je" → "Ik schrijf u" (formal_informal — business emails require u) beats "Use u not je.".
• Name the pattern. Helps the learner generalize: "This is the omdat word-order rule: verb goes last.".
• Celebrate progress. "You didn't miss this last time — well done." when mistakes-db shows improvement.
• Emojis on. The learner's profile has use_emojis: true by default. Keep them.

5. Hand score to SM-2

After scoring, feed the score into the SM-2 update via the sm2-calculator skill: quality = floor(score / 2).

Examples

See .claude/references/feedback-template.md for fully-rendered examples (mostly-correct answer with a minor slip; critical error with severity tagging). The reference file is the authoritative version — keep it and this skill in sync if updating.

Quick pattern:

• Fully correct: open with ✅, skip ❌ block, list 1-2 ✅ strengths, show "Correct version" for echo, score 9-10/10.
• Mistakes: open with warm ❌, list each correction with severity emoji + category + brief why, show full correct version, score with breakdown if the answer is long.

Critical Rules

• Always use the template exactly. Deviations break session-file parsing downstream.
• Severity tag is mandatory on every ❌ line. Drives spaced-repetition priority.
• One score per answer. Total out of 10, with optional breakdown (grammar/vocab/structure) for long answers like writing tasks.
• Never skip the "Correct version". Even if perfect, echoing the target form reinforces motor memory.

Why This Matters

Structured, consistent feedback:

1. Lets the learner scan for what to fix at a glance.
2. Makes session files parseable so PRACTICE.md analysis + /results mining work.
3. Populates mistakes-db.json categories cleanly — which feeds spaced repetition, which drives the whole system.