Will EssayGrader mark APA/MLA style guide criteria?

At the moment, not directly; but, this functionality is in active development. EssayGrader extracts the raw text from student submissions and sends that text to the AI grader without layout, formatting, and most visual/structural elements.

Because APA/MLA and other style guide rules often depend on what the page looks like (spacing, indentation, margins, running head, page numbers, etc.), EssayGrader can’t reliably grade many “formatting compliance” requirements.

Why formatting-based rubric criteria can’t be graded

When formatting is removed, the grader no longer has access to signals like:

• Font family/size (eg, 12pt Times New Roman vs 11pt Calibri)
• Line spacing (double spacing)
• Margins and page layout
• Page numbers, running heads, headers/footers
• Title page layout and placement
• Hanging indent in the reference list / works cited
• Block quote indentation
• Figure/table formatting and placement
• Exact visual capitalization/styling conventions that depend on typography

What can still be graded from raw text

Even without formatting, many style-guide expectations have a text-based footprint and can be assessed (especially if you include them as rubric criteria or instructions), such as:

• Presence of required sections (eg, an abstract, headings, references/works cited section) when those sections are clearly labeled in text
• In-text citation presence and patterns (eg, parenthetical citations, author–date style, signal phrases)
• Consistency of citation approach (eg, not mixing multiple citation styles heavily)
• Basic completeness of citations (eg, citations appear where claims are made; a reference list exists)
• Bibliography/reference content quality at a high level (eg, sources look credible/appropriate, enough sources are used, sources align with the topic)
• Some rule-driven text conventions, depending on how students typed them (eg, “Works Cited” vs “References,” “et al.” usage, date formats, quotation integration), though these can’t be guaranteed without the original document context

What usually won’t be reliably gradable

These items depend on visual formatting or exact layout rules and typically should not be used as grading criteria in EssayGrader:

• Hanging indents, indentation levels, and paragraph formatting rules
• Double-spacing, margins, font, and other page setup requirements
• Title page formatting rules (placement, spacing, running head, instructor/course block layout)
• Header/footer requirements (page numbers, running head formatting)
• Block quote formatting (indentation, spacing)
• Precise heading formatting requirements (font styling, bold/italics rules, spacing before/after)

Recommended approach

If you want to assess APA/MLA compliance inside EssayGrader, focus your rubric on what can be validated from the text alone (citation presence/consistency, required sections, and reference content).

Here is an example of a rubric criteria and associated scoring level descriptors that assesses compatible style guide-related writing elements.

Score 5: Consistently follows a single citation style (APA or MLA) in text. Most claims that require support include appropriate in-text citations. Citations generally match the expected pattern for the chosen style (APA: author–date; MLA: author–page) and are integrated smoothly with signal phrases or parentheticals. A clearly labeled References/Works Cited section is included, and most entries contain the key elements needed to identify and locate sources (author, title, publication/source, date, and access information where relevant).

Score 4: Uses one citation style most of the time with minor inconsistencies. In-text citations are present for most supported claims, with occasional missing or incomplete citations. References/Works Cited is present and labeled, and most entries include the main identifying elements, with a few omissions or inconsistencies.

Score 3: Citation style is inconsistent or only partially follows the chosen style. In-text citations appear sometimes but are missing for several claims that require support. References/Works Cited is included but may be incomplete, loosely formatted, or missing key details for multiple sources.

Score 2: In-text citations are rare or frequently incorrect, and the style used is unclear or mixed. References/Works Cited is missing or very incomplete, and entries often lack enough information to identify sources reliably.

Score 1: No meaningful attempt to cite sources in-text and no usable References/Works Cited list.

For strict formatting compliance, use a separate check against the original document (or require students to submit a PDF/Doc that you review for layout), since those elements are not preserved in the text EssayGrader grades.

Updated on: 02/06/2026