This article reports on the findings of an investigative study on teacher feedback at a lower-secondary class in a Singaporean school. Involving an observation of the writing lessons and interviews with several respondents, the study reveals a misfit between desired and actual feedback The potential for such mismatches becomes greater if the writing lesson is set rigidly as a unilateral transfer of knowledge from teacher to student This study argues that the writing lesson should not be viewed as a mere pedagogic event but as a social event as well, allowing room for teacher-student interaction and the provision of personal, substantiated feedback In such an environment, students are guided to discover writing as a process of finding and structuring ideas, and the responsibility that comes with searching for a way to express them (GAGE 1986:25),