Feedback is central to the development of effective learning, yet is comparatively underresearched. This article seeks to examine the notion of written feedback on assignments and argue that this feedback process is more complex than is sometimes acknowledged. The author illustrates the problematic nature of assignment feedback by drawing on a large-scale questionnaire survey conducted across eight universities, and then analysing the issue in more depth though fine-grained data collected from students in a teacher education institute. The article is framed by the concepts of discourse, power and emotion. It highlights a number of different perceptions of students and tutors towards the assessment, marking and feedback process. The author concludes by arguing that "assessment dialogues" are a way forward to mitigate some of the mistrust or misconceptions that may be unwanted outcomes of the assessment process. (Contains 2 tables.)