Textual feedback to students

For lack of programming experience and lack of proficiency in English, most entering TAs are not capable of providing helpful textual feedback to students. To bring them up to par in this regard, TAs and readers must be given training and incentives. The Department should consider using its most knowledgeable and eloquent TAs as backreaders, who grade the work of the other TAs and readers. The Department should also consider using external software engineers in such a capacity -- by virtue of the Internet, they need not be local.