Despite a plethora of studies that describe the characteristics of effective mentors and the qualities of effecting mentoring initiatives, the research does not examine the nature of written feedback provided to beginning alternatively certified teachers. In addition, there is a gap in the literature that identifies the most useful type of feedback that enhances instructional practice as part of the mentoring process. This qualitative study examined written feedback provided to 20 beginning alternatively certified teachers. The findings support the use of functional feedback for mentoring and suggest that alternatively certified teachers perceived functional feedback as more useful.