Articles on: Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Step 1 - Become familiar with the Home screen

Become familiar with the new Home screen


If this is first time you are logging in to EssayGrader v4 you will be presented with an empty Home screen. Even if you are an existing user who is just returning to the platform, it will look startingly different. Let's dive in!


For a 60 second video tour of the new Home screen, check out the video below. For a detailed written walkthrough, please continue reading.



The new Home screen in EssayGrader 4.0


The EssayGrader v4.5 Home Screen


A short tour

Let's take a tour of the new Home screen. The numbered markers in the screenshot below match up with the numbered sections in our tour. We'll see each of these again in more detail as we continue the EssayGrader version 4.0 walkthrough.



  1. There's no place like home


From anywhere within the EssayGrader platform you can always get back to the Home screen by clicking the Home button in the top left within the sidebar.


  1. Import Student Submissions


EssayGrader is all about bringing student submissions into dedicated workspaces. You have three options with a 4th coming soon.


  • You can import from Google Classroom or Canvas
  • You can create your own custom workspace manually
  • Soon you will be able to connect your Schoology account as well, so stay tuned!


  1. Setup Rubrics


From this section below the Import panels you can bring up the rubric library (your own and the templates included in our platform library).


You can also create a rubric from here, which allows you to:


  • Choose from templates
  • Upload or import
  • Use AI to do it for you
  • Create your own from scratch.


If you wish to quickly navigate to the Rubric library from anywhere within the platform, click the Rubrics icon in the top left just below the Metrics icon.


  1. The Sidebar


The sidebar sticks with you as you navigate through the EssayGrader platform. Here you'll find:


  • links back to the Home screen, Metrics, the Rubrics library, and Teaching tools
  • your folder structure(s), including any manually created folders as well as linked LMS platform structures (like Google Classroom or Canvas)
  • a subscription and referral section (discussed in section 7 below)


The screenshot above contains an empty sidebar that a new user will see. You'll see what it looks like populated with folder structures as we move through the walkthrough.


If you are new to the product, you'll have the opportunity to create a folder structure. If you are an existing user, your manually created or LMS-connected data will migrate to the new folder structure model and you'll see it in the sidebar.


Manually created classes and assignments and their associated essays from version 3.0 will appear in a migrated folder in version 4.0 called Older Submissions. Read more about locating migrated essays in this help article.


To collapse the sidebar, click the purple caret (arrowhead icon) in the middle of the sidebar. Reopen the sidebar by clicking it again (it points in the direction the sidebar will collapse or expand).


  1. Metrics


Metrics provides a curated analysis of grading results over time. Performance metrics are presented by Assignment, Class and Student and allow you to see patterns and trends in the grading data. Metrics let you focus your content reviews and other teaching where it's truly needed, based on data in the metrics section.


  1. Teaching Tools

Both AI detection and an essay Summarizer are included with EssayGrader as standalone tools. In both cases, they can be accessed through the Teaching Tools menu in the sidebar.


  1. Up Top


Get help by clicking on the help icon, or access your account details by clicking on your avatar (you can change the graphic within the My Account settings). If you closed it quickly the first time or just want a refresher, the guided popup tour can be enabled from the help menu where you can also access our Help Centre, open the chat support box, or submit a feature request.


From the avatar menu you can access information about your current subscription plan along with details on your upgrade options, as well as a page showing your currently linked LMS integrations.


  1. Support chatbox


Sticking to the bottom right of the screen is the support chat box powered by Crisp and monitored 24/7 by an AI chatbot and by humans duringour 9:30am to 5:30pm business hours (Eastern Time – Toronto/New York).


Make sure you provide your email address so that responses that come in after you may no longer be online will be delivered to you via email. Otherwise, you won't see responses until the next time you visit the platform and check the chat box.


Please do not submit essays or other writing for grading through the chatbox. We are tech support, not teachers!


  1. Your current plan and more...


Down to the bottom left you'll see a dynamic section where you may see the essays left in your subscription, upgrade options, and an opportunity to onboard your school, district/board, or institution.


When your current usage is displayed, you will be able to see how many more essays can be graded under your plan. You can always find this in your Account Settings under the Plans & Billing tab. There may also be an Upgrade Plan button that will pop up a screen that shows the different plans, their features for comparison, and pricing with the option to upgrade on the spot.


Note the Monthly/Annually toggle on the upgrade screen to see pricing differences between these two payment options.


Finally there is a link to a form you can fill out if you'd like us to connect with your school about an institutional free trial so they can check out EssayGrader as well.


And that's it! The next article will show you how to manually create a workspace by bringing in student work before we move on to linking your LMS as another workspace creation option.



Continue the walkthrough: Create a folder structure manually >>>

Updated on: 12/30/2025

Was this article helpful?

Share your feedback

Cancel

Thank you!