Purpose: This study examined students' perspectives on teachers' written formative feedback on their writing assignments in an online learning setting. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was used to gain insights into the effect of individual written formative feedback on writing assignments from teachers in an online setting. Eight matriculated doctoral students participated, and data collection was conducted using a set of open-ended questions distributed at the end of their program. Findings: The findings indicated that feedback helped students improve their writing competencies. Meaningful feedback also played a role in communication between students and the teacher, ultimately promoting effective learning and strengthening the students' motivation and self-esteem. Feedback provided beneficial guidance for students with limited experience in writing academic papers. Practical implications: This study emphasizes the value of feedback during the teaching and learning process for both teachers and students. In a distance learning context where students and teachers are separated, feedback is essential in students' communication with the institution and the teacher. Social implications: The findings emphasize the importance of teacher feedback. Instead of generic praise, students value feedback that addresses specific issues in their assignments. Giving feedback is time-consuming; however, this work reveals that individual formative written feedback is an effective solution to help distance learning students improve their academic writing skills. Originality/value: Meaningful feedback enables students to enhance their critical thinking skills, which in turn improves their academic writing abilities. Further work is required to determine the information that should be included in the feedback to enhance learning outcomes.