Anyone in the educational field who assigns papers knows that it will be necessary to write comments on the work that results, comments meant to guide students toward improved writing and thinking. Stress results when instructors are uncertain of what kind of feedback to give. Errors are the first to demand attention, yet every handbook on responding advises that we as teachers focus on the content of a student's paper first. We are also advised to encourage students to find their own voices and authority, yet we know that we must teach them what academic language looks and sounds like. We are told to empower students, yet we are responsible for giving them a grade for the class and making sure they meet course outcomes. This work offers an approach to response that can help instructors embrace these tensions and provide effective, useful comments that give students what they need most: a sense of what it means to be a member of the academic community, and a sense of themselves as writers.