---
title: "Feedback template in Markdown: what to keep, start and stop"
slug: markdown-feedback-template
excerpt: "The section Feedback template to copy gives a fenced block, for pasting into a .md file you start empty, then explains the block's parts."
quickAnswer: "Under Feedback template to copy, one block holds a heading on top, then For, From and Date as dash lines, then the headings Keep doing, Start doing and Stop doing, each over one dash line that pairs a point with an example."
keyTakeaways:
  - "The section Feedback files and postmortems says what one feedback file holds and how a postmortem differs from it."
  - "The section Sample feedback for John Doe shows Jane Doe writing to him about a made-up training day and front desk shifts."
  - "The section Keeping feedback short and specific gives four tips, and each tip shows up in both fenced blocks."
  - "Under Keeping feedback short and specific, two pointers name the posts on status reports and meeting minutes."
  - "The section A name for each feedback file picks one folder and a dated name per file and links the post on file names."
publishedDate: 2026-10-22
dateModified: 2026-10-22
author: Bobby Huang
cluster: A
role: post
status: published
faq:
  - q: "How is a feedback file different from a postmortem?"
    a: "Under Feedback files and postmortems, this page sets a feedback file next to a postmortem and gives a link to the postmortem template."
  - q: "How do the header lines read once filled in?"
    a: "Under Sample feedback for John Doe, the For line names John Doe, the From line names Jane Doe, and the Date line holds one date."
  - q: "Where do feedback files go?"
    a: "Under A name for each feedback file, this page sets out one folder and a year-first name for each file."
related:
  - markdown-postmortem-template
  - markdown-status-report-template
  - markdown-meeting-minutes-template
  - markdown-file-naming
---

This feedback template sets a fixed shape for written feedback from one colleague to another: what to keep doing, what to start and what to stop, with one example for each point. With this peer feedback template, the feedback goes in one plain Markdown file with three short headings and a few dash lines.

This template's three headings give it the shape of a start stop continue template, with Keep doing standing in for continue. Below come this post's own template, a short line for each part, one sample worked through for an office that doesn't exist, tips on keeping the file short and specific, and a pick for the file's name. The template holds nothing but plain text, so you have nothing to install.

## Feedback files and postmortems

Here a feedback file means one .md file, written on a single date, in which one colleague writes to another about that person's work. The For line at the top names the one person the file is for. The From line names the writer, and the Date line says when the file was written.

Under three headings, the file lists what to keep doing, what to start and what to stop. Each point sits on a dash line of its own and carries one example, so the file holds a moment that backs the point as well as the point itself.

A [postmortem](markdown-postmortem-template.md) covers different ground. It looks back at one event after a problem was found and fixed, and its template sets that event out with a timeline, causes, and a list of action items. A feedback file speaks to one person's work instead, and it holds no timeline.

## Feedback template to copy

The fenced block here holds this post's template. Start an empty .md file, copy the block into it, then swap each placeholder for your own words.

```markdown
# Feedback for the colleague's name

- For: the one colleague this file is for
- From: your name
- Date: YYYY-MM-DD

## Keep doing

- Something the colleague does now that you want to see go on. Example: one time you saw it, with the date.

## Start doing

- Something the colleague does not do yet. Example: one time it would have fit, with the date.

## Stop doing

- Something the colleague does now that you want to see end. Example: one time you saw it, with the date.
```

Each part of the block, in order:

- **Title line.** Line one is a `#` heading made of the words "Feedback for" and the colleague's name, so it says whose work the file covers.
- **For.** The name of the one colleague the file is for. This line holds one name.
- **From.** Your own name, as the person who wrote the file.
- **Date.** When you wrote the file, as a year-first date like `YYYY-MM-DD`.
- **Keep doing.** Things the colleague does now that you'd like to see go on.
- **Start doing.** Things the colleague doesn't do yet that you think would fit the work.
- **Stop doing.** Things the colleague does now that you'd like to see end.
- **Example.** Each dash line under the three headings ends with the word Example, a colon and one moment, with its date. Under Keep doing and Stop doing, the moment is one you saw. Under Start doing, it's a moment where the new habit would have fit.

The For, From and Date lines form a dash list under the title, with one item per line. The block gives one placeholder dash line to each of its three headings, and you can add more dash lines in the same form.

## Sample feedback for John Doe

Everything in this sample is made up. Doe Holdings stands in for a company, both people named Doe stand in for colleagues, and the training day and the front desk shifts are invented as well.

```markdown
# Feedback for John Doe

- For: John Doe
- From: Jane Doe
- Date: 2026-10-21

## Keep doing

- You start the training day on time. Example: on Thursday 2026-10-15, you began at 9 in the morning with all eight staff in the room.
- You write down the name and number of each caller at the front desk. Example: on Monday 2026-10-19, you took down three callers for me while I was out.

## Start doing

- You could leave five minutes for questions after each training topic. Example: on Thursday 2026-10-15, I saw two staff hold their questions about the travel form until lunch.

## Stop doing

- You leave the front desk empty over lunch. Example: on Tuesday 2026-10-20, I found nobody at the front desk from 12:00 to 12:30.
```

In the header, For holds John Doe alone and From holds Jane Doe. Keep doing holds two points, Start doing holds one and Stop doing holds one, so the sample carries four points in all. Each point opens with You and names something about John Doe's work.

Each Example gives a weekday and a date. The four Examples use three dates, and each of those dates falls in the six days before the Date line of 2026-10-21. The point under Start doing names a habit John Doe doesn't have yet, and its Example names the moment it would have fit: two staff holding their questions until lunch.

## Keeping feedback short and specific

This template's aim is short feedback that names real moments. The four tips below each rest on lines in the template and in the sample:

- **One point per line.** Each dash line under a template heading holds one point, and the sample gives each of its four points a separate line.
- **An example on each point.** Each dash line under a template heading ends with an Example placeholder, and each sample point carries an Example with a weekday and a date.
- **Three headings in a fixed order.** Keep doing, Start doing and Stop doing come in that order in the template and in the sample.
- **A date on the file.** The template's Date line calls for a year-first date, and the sample's Date line reads 2026-10-21.

A record of your own week of work goes in a separate file, shaped by the [template for weekly status reports](markdown-status-report-template.md). Points raised at a meeting go in a minutes file instead, which the [meeting minutes template](markdown-meeting-minutes-template.md) lays out with an agenda, decisions and action items.

## A name for each feedback file

Use one .md file per colleague and date, holding the feedback written to that colleague on that day. A separate post on [Markdown file names](markdown-file-naming.md) covers names in lowercase, a hyphen between words where a space would go, and putting a date with the year first ahead of the other words, for files that collect as time passes.

This template's pick is a `feedback/` folder with one file in it per person and date, with each file named for its Date line and then the colleague's name, such as `feedback/2026-10-21-john-doe.md`. That name carries 2026-10-21, the same date as the sample's Date line. Since the year comes first, the names sort in date order.

## Where Sashmark fits

Sashmark will be desktop software for reading Markdown and editing it, planned for people who get their .md files from the AI agents they work with. All of Sashmark is in development at this stage, and no piece of it is out so far. Groups of files are what Sashmark is planned for, such as a folder of feedback files kept beside the other .md files of a project.

See the [planned features](/features), the [help pages](/help) and the [roadmap](/roadmap) for where each part stands.

Visit [sashmark.com](https://www.sashmark.com/).