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Step 4 - Set up your first assignment – Source material and grading settings

Set up your first assignment – Source material and grading settings


In the last article we described how to select a rubric for grading from existing rubrics and to create a new rubric or import an existing one. The next part of the Start grading screen involves source material upload and adjusting the grading settings. The numbered sections in this article correspond to the numbered markers in the screenshot below.


  1. Select Rubric


We covered rubric selection and creation in the previous article.



  1. Upload essays


You have two options, uploading essays or manually entering the essay text. Select the option you want (it defaults to uploading).


As a source for essays you can:


  • upload from your device (computer, tablet, phone, etc.)
  • import from a cloud-based service like Google Drive and OneDrive.
  • use your webcam to import and upload a paper-based essay


Advanced optical character recognition (OCR) reads and converts handwritten essays that have been scanned and are already on your device or that you hold up to your webcam. Other paper based essays, even if not handwritten, are also recognized and converted for grading.


  1. Add source materials (optional)


There is more information in the A Deeper Dive section of the help center that covers source materials, what they are, why they are helpful, and how you should use them. We will continue to add more articles to that section over the coming days and weeks. For this current article, however, we will just point out that you have the opportunity to upload them to the assignment for grading purposes.


If you select the Add Source Materials button, a box will slide out from the right hand side of the screen showing existing source materials for this assignment. If you select Create Source Material you will be presented with an upload screen very much like the essay upload screen with the same upload and import options. You can also manually enter source material text by selecting that tab.



Once you've finished providing source material, close the box by clicking the X in the top right corner, or click anywhere outside of the box.


  1. Customize grading


The next step involves selecting a variety of settings that drive some of the AI's grading behavior and the style and language of the feedback report that is produced. Any of these that overlap with settings in the rubric will default to the rubric settings.


You have the following options to set:


Student Level

This reflects the academic level of the students whose work is being graded and will default to the level assigned to the rubric. You can change it, however, if you so choose.


Language

You can set both the input and output languages here, but the default assumes that both are the same. The options you have are UK, USA, and Australian English, as well as Spanish and French.


If you wish to produce a feedback report that is in a different language than the essay (e.g., a Spanish essay but an English report), then then uncheck the box below the language options that says 'Your output language is the same as input language' and choose a new output language from the selections that appear below.


Feedback Detail Level

Do you want the AI to create a report with feedback that is more wordy or less so with respect to explanations provided. Your options here are Detailed, Medium, and Short.


Grading Intensity

While the scoring criteria are most importantly set in the rubric itself, you can instruct the AI to apply those criteria in a Light, Moderate, or Strict manner by selecting a grading intensity option.


Custom Instructions (optional)

Custom instructions add extra context or instructions for grading that aren't as well suited to the rubric. You might be dealing with students who struggle with language and you only want feedback to focus on content and not grammar. You could indicate that here.


Another example might be a situation where you want the AI to use specific language, like referring to the assignment as a paper rather than an essay. You could specify that here. You could also reference source material considerations here, although this can also be provided in the custom instructions section in the Create Source Material screen.


  1. Start grading


You've set the AI up for success and now you can sit back as it evaulates how successful your students have been. Just click the Start Grading button at the bottom right of the screen. Isn't technology grand!?


It may take just a few seconds or a couple of minutes to grade the essays you've selected, so be patient. Once it has finished, the software will take you back to the assignment screen where you will now see a populated list of essays and their feedback reports ready to review.



Continue the walkthrough: Select your LMS below for the next article:


Updated on: 09/20/2025

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