Few questions spark more debate in a classroom discussion of "A&P" than whether Sammy tells the story honestly. He describes the three girls with a mix of admiration and condescension, judges the other customers harshly, and presents his own decision to quit as an act of conscience. Students who notice the gaps between how Sammy sees himself and how the reader sees him are doing sophisticated work. Responding to those essays well requires feedback that recognizes both the insight and the places where the argument needs support.

The phrase unreliable narrator is often introduced as a vocabulary term, which leads to shallow essays that simply announce Sammy is unreliable. A stronger paper identifies specific places where his perspective seems limited, exaggerated, or self-serving. For example, he is quick to mock the customers in the store but never questions why he feels entitled to judge them. Teachers can guide students toward this level of specificity by asking what the evidence shows and not just what label applies.

Because this topic invites opinion, grading it can feel subjective. Some teachers worry about penalizing a student whose reading differs from their own. The fix is to evaluate the reasoning process, since a student who argues Sammy is mostly honest and a student who argues he is deeply self-deceived can both earn full credit if they support their claims. Writing that standard into your comments helps students trust the process.

Pushing Past the Label

A common weak comment is something like "you need more analysis," which tells the student almost nothing. A better comment names the missing step, such as asking how Sammy's description of the girls reveals his own assumptions about them. This points the student back to the text and shows what kind of thinking is expected. Over several assignments, students begin asking those questions on their own before a teacher has to.

• Ask the student to identify one moment where Sammy's judgment seems too quick
• Prompt them to compare Sammy's view of himself with what his actions show
• Point out when a quotation is summarized instead of interpreted
• Encourage them to consider what Sammy does not notice or does not say
• Invite a counterargument that treats Sammy more generously

Recognizing Strong Evidence of Perspective

Good evidence for narrator reliability tends to cluster around moments of strong feeling or judgment. Sammy's mocking descriptions of customers, his detailed attention to the girls' appearance, and his sudden decision to quit all reveal how he wants to be perceived. A student who selects two or three of these and explains the gap between tone and consequence has built a real argument. Feedback should celebrate that choice and push the student to connect the pieces.

Students sometimes treat the ending as proof that Sammy is simply a hero or simply a fool. The more interesting reading is that he acts impulsively, feels the weight of the choice almost immediately, and has no guarantee it will mean anything to anyone. Comments that nudge students toward this complexity help them avoid black and white conclusions. This is also where individualized feedback pays off most.

Keeping Feedback Consistent Across a Large Class

When a teacher is grading 100 or more essays on the same prompt, the quality of feedback usually drops by the thirtieth paper. Fatigue leads to shorter comments, harsher tone, or inconsistent standards. Defining a small set of feedback priorities in advance, such as claim clarity, evidence selection, and explanation of perspective, makes it easier to stay consistent. Software that applies the same criteria to every paper can act as a steady baseline that you then refine.

Consistency is especially important for essays that argue opposing views. Two students may reach different conclusions about Sammy's reliability, and each deserves feedback measured against the same standard. If one receives detailed guidance and the other receives a quick checkmark, students will notice. Using structured comments helps ensure that thoughtful work is recognized no matter where it falls in the stack.

Turning Feedback Into Revision

Feedback only helps when students use it, so the revision step matters as much as the comments. Ask students to rewrite a single paragraph that addresses your most important suggestion and to explain what they changed. This keeps the task manageable and shows whether the feedback was understood. It also gives you a quick way to check progress without grading an entire new draft.

Over the course of a semester, this approach builds real skill with narrative perspective. Students who practice questioning Sammy's reliability become better readers of every other first-person narrator, from classic short stories to contemporary novels. The skill transfers because it rests on evidence and reasoning rather than memorized terms. That is the payoff teachers are really looking for when they assign this story.