Although teacher feedback is vital in teaching students to write, and is a topic of interest and debate in L1 (native or first-language) and L2 (second language) composition theory, there are virtually no studies that analyze teacher commentary conducted in a linguistically diverse setting of L1 and L2 first-year composition students. This study, which is part of a larger research project on students' cognitive and affective responses to teacher-written feedback, focuses on the analysis of the most prominent features of the comments written by two teachers and how these features, directive versus mitigated commentary, impact students' revisions. While the results of this study indicate that students' revisions are not significantly affected by the way the comment is written, or whether it is direct or indirect, the affective needs of the students should also be taken in consideration. (Contains 4 tables.)