New Marking Tool: Adding Grades and Feedback
The guidance outlined on this page covers marking on the platform where standard marker allocation is in use (i.e. how to mark for the majority of assessments). The following guidance may also be useful:
Overview: for general information on the platform.
Marking and Moderation Variations and Workflows: for general information on marking workflows
Video guidance for new marking tool features is also available. Access New Marking Tool Video Guides.
Note: although the legacy marking tool is no longer the default tool in use, you can still view guidance on using the legacy marking tool. The legacy marking tool will be fully deprecated in late 2026.
Getting started | |
Feedback | |
Grades | |
Viewing shared feedback | |
Space saving tips |
New Marking Tool Overview
The new marking tool (also known as the new marker journey) aims to streamline the process of delivering feedback and entering and submitting grades.
Assessments that have the new marking tool enabled will have a blue “New Marker Journey” label next to them which can be seen in your flow overview:
Clicking on an assessment in your overview will bring up the main assessment page:
The start and end of the marking period.
General information, including the assignment
The Marking tool (to mark papers)
The Marking Overview (to review the marks you have entered and to submit these as final)
Participant list (candidate/student information), including similarity report scores and individual marking deadlines
Offline marking options
IMPORTANT: Marking and moderation must be completed by the end of the marking period. You will not be able to deliver feedback or enter and submit grades once this date/ time has passed. If you know you will not be able to meet this deadline, contact the module lead or your programme administrators.
Click on Open the marking tool to load the first student submission in the new marking tool:
View a list of allocated participants (students), navigate to the next submission
Full screen, zoom and page layout options
Annotation tools and annotation list view
Options to access the submission overview (including submitted files and offline marking), rubrics, submission feedback (comments) and enter/ submit grades
Access common feedback (comments for all allocated students)
A view of the current selected submission/ file
Exit the new marking tool
Toggle the quick navigation panel
Delivering Feedback in the New Marking Tool
Feedback can be delivered in three ways:
Annotations
Making an Annotation
Click on the appropriate option from the annotations toolbar, depending on the type of annotation you’d like to make:
Specific annotation formats:
Annotate:
Underline
Highlight
Free text
Note
Squiggly underline
Strikethrough
Shapes:
Basic shapes (square/ rectangle, circle, polygon)
Freehand drawing
Freehand highlight
Lines
Insert:
Rubber stamp
Signature
Date
Tip: most of the pre-set rubber stamps are not particularly useful for marking student papers but you can create your own custom stamps.
Once you have selected a type of annotation, you can select the specific format from the annotation toolbar. Further colour options can be accessed from the colour dropdown menu, including custom colours and opacity:
To make an annotation, left click to highlight your chosen piece of text, click on a space in the student submission or draw on the submission as appropriate.
When you release the left click, an annotation box will appear after a slight delay in the annotation list view to the right of the submission:
You can type additional feedback in the text field of the annotation box:
If you have added typed feedback, click Save to finish. Repeat this process as needed to continue adding annotations to the student submission.
Tip: although there are no visible formatting options for this typed feedback, it is possible to use keyboard shortcuts for bold, underlined and/ or italicised text. You can also still produce bulleted lists by entering a dash before text, or numbered lists by entering “1.” before text.
IMPORTANT: typed feedback is no longer automatically saved in annotations or comments. Make sure you click Save or Submit after you have typed any feedback in an annotation or comment, otherwise it will be lost. Unsaved feedback cannot be recovered!
Sharing an Annotation
To change who your annotation is shared with, select an annotation from the annotation list view and click on the sharing options, represented by a coloured square in the upper right corner:
From here you can choose one of the following sharing settings:
Co-assessors: visible only to you and other markers or reviewers allocated to the student
Participants: visible only to you and the student(s)
All: visible to you, the student(s) and any other markers or reviewers allocated to the student
Private: visible only to you and any reviewers allocated to the student
Note: feedback that is shared with a participant/ student is not available to them instantly. Students will only be able to access shared feedback when the following conditions are met:
A grade has been entered and submitted for them (the grade does not have to be released to the student)
The marking period has ended
OR
Early release of feedback is enabled on the assessment and you have released the feedback to the student
Editing or Deleting an Annotation
To edit or delete an existing annotation you have made, select an annotation from the annotation list view. This will reveal options on the annotation to edit typed commentary, change the colour of the annotation or delete it.
You can also click the ellipsis button in upper right corner of the listed annotation to access edit/ delete options:
From here you can edit the typed feedback associated with the annotation or delete the annotation. If you are editing typed feedback, make sure you click Save to finish.
Search, Sort, Filter and Bulk Selection
There are a number of ways to search for and organise annotations:
Search for an annotation. You can search by co-assessor name, annotation reference code or written commentary.
Sort annotations by their position in the document, date, sharing state, co-assessor, type or colour.
Enable multi select. This will produce check boxes next to each annotation, allowing you to select multiple annotations to amend their sharing settings, colour or delete them in one go.
Filter annotations by co-assessor, sharing state, colour or type.
Note: while multi select is enabled, it is not possible to edit any typed commentary in an annotation. If you find you are unable to edit annotation feedback, check to make sure you have switched multi select off.
Submission/ Common Feedback (Comments)
Submission Feedback (Comments for Individual Students)
Submission feedback can be used to provide overall commentary on a student’s submission. To leave submission feedback, click the Submission Feedback button in the upper right of the page:
The submission feedback panel will appear on the right:
Add and format typed commentary.
Change the sharing settings.
Attach files to your feedback.
Cancel (any unsaved changes will be lost).
Submit your feedback.
Sort and filter options. Filter existing submission feedback based on their sharing state or feedback author (co-assessor). Sort by feedback author or date.
Once you have finished typing your commentary and making any other changes, click Submit to finish. Repeat this process as needed to continue adding submission feedback.
IMPORTANT: typed feedback is no longer automatically saved in annotations or comments. Make sure you click Save or Submit after you have typed any feedback in an annotation or comment, otherwise it will be lost. Unsaved feedback cannot be recovered!
Common Feedback (Comments for All Allocated Students)
WARNING: Do not enter feedback intended for an individual student this way. Instead, view the guidance above on how to deliver Submission Feedback (Comments for Individual Students).
Common feedback can be used to provide overall commentary to all of your allocated students. To leave common feedback, click the Common Feedback button on the left hand navigation bar:
The common feedback panel will appear on the left:
Add and format typed commentary.
Change the sharing settings.
Attach files to your feedback.
Cancel (any unsaved changes will be lost).
Submit your feedback.
Sort and filter options. Filter existing common feedback based on their sharing state or feedback author (co-assessor). Sort by feedback author or date.
Once you have finished typing your commentary and making any other changes, click Submit to finish. Repeat this process as needed to continue adding common feedback.
IMPORTANT: typed feedback is no longer automatically saved in annotations or comments. Make sure you click Save or Submit after you have typed any feedback in an annotation or comment, otherwise it will be lost. Unsaved feedback cannot be recovered!
Sharing Submission/ Common Feedback
You can change the sharing settings from the default when you first add submission or common feedback by using the feedback sharing dropdown menu:
Or you can edit the sharing settings of existing submission or common feedback by clicking the kebab button on the relevant piece of feedback:
Sharing options:
Co-assessors: visible only to you and other markers or reviewers allocated to the student
Participants: visible only to you and the student(s)
All: visible to you, the student(s) and any other markers or reviewers allocated to the student
Private: visible only to you and any reviewers allocated to the student
Note: feedback that is shared with a participant/ student is not available to them instantly. Students will only be able to access shared feedback when the following conditions are met:
A grade has been entered and submitted for them (the grade does not have to be released to the student)
The marking period has ended
OR
Early release of feedback is enabled on the assessment and you have released the feedback to the student
Editing or Deleting Submission/ Common Feedback
To edit or delete an existing piece of submission or common feedback that you have made, click the Submission Feedback button or Common Feedback button as appropriate and find the feedback in the Feedback overview.
Click on the paperclip icon to attach a feedback file, the pencil icon to edit typed commentary or the ellipsis icon to delete the feedback or amend sharing settings:
Any files that are attached to your submission or common feedback can be downloaded, previewed or deleted by clicking the appropriate icon.
IMPORTANT: typed feedback is no longer automatically saved in annotations or comments. Make sure you click Save or Submit after you have typed any feedback in an annotation or comment, otherwise it will be lost. Unsaved feedback cannot be recovered!
Rubrics
Marking with a Rubric
If a rubric has been attached to the flow by a Manager, you can access this by clicking the Rubrics button on the upper right of the page:
The rubrics panel will appear on the right:
Complete all necessary parts of the rubric. Once all of the required questions have been filled out, click Approve rubric:
If a grade scaler has been added to the rubric, it will automatically calculate a final grade based on your selections. Otherwise, you can type the grade manually into the text input field that appears and click Enter rubric grade to finish:
This will complete the rubric and add the grade to the upper right corner of the screen:
Note: this grade has been entered but not yet submitted. It can still be edited at this stage. See Entering and Submitting Grades for further information.
Editing and Sharing a Rubric
Note: you can change sharing settings at any time but a student’s rubric cannot be edited once you have submitted their grade. If you need to edit the feedback in a rubric after submitting a grade, ask the moderator (Reviewer) responsible for finalising grades to unlock this for you.
If the grade has already been finalised by the Reviewer, this will need to be unlocked by a Manager for the assessment first.
If you have already completed your rubric, it will need to be reopened for editing. Click on the Rubrics button on the upper right of the page to bring up the Rubrics panel.
Scroll down to the bottom of your rubric and click Reopen rubric:
You will then be able to make changes to any written/ audio feedback or select different ratings for the rubric criteria as needed. Once you have made your changes, make sure you click Approve rubric and Enter rubric grade again to finish.
Tip: it is possible to amend a grade entered through a rubric without reopening the rubric; see Entering and Submitting Grades for further information. If you are going to change the grade without reopening the rubric, make sure that it still aligns with any feedback you have provided.
Sharing settings for a rubric can be accessed via a dropdown menu in the rubric panel’s header:
Tip: you can amend the sharing settings for your rubric without reopening it.
Options for sharing:
Co-assessors: visible only to you and other markers or reviewers allocated to the student
Participants: visible only to you and the student(s)
All: visible to you, the student(s) and any other markers or reviewers allocated to the student
Private: visible only to you and any reviewers allocated to the student
Note: feedback that is shared with a participant/ student is not available to them instantly. Students will only be able to access shared feedback when the following conditions are met:
A grade has been entered and submitted for them (the grade does not have to be released to the student)
The marking period has ended
OR
Early release of feedback is enabled on the assessment and you have released the feedback to the student
Entering and Submitting Grades
Note: if you are marking submissions with a rubric, you must enter the grade there initially. See Marking with a Rubric for more information. Grades which have already been entered via a rubric once can be amended by following one of the processes below.
Entering a Grade
Entering Grades Inside the New Marking Tool
To enter a grade, click on the Grade button on the upper right of the page:
The grade panel will appear on the right:
Grade entry field
A summary of feedback delivered
Score information, if using a rubric or marking a FLOWmulti assessment
Enter the appropriate grade into the grade entry field and press the Enter key or click outside of this field to add this to the student’s submission:
Once entered, the grade will be displayed in the upper right corner of the page and in your list of allocated participants, which can be accessed via the left hand navigation:
Entering Grades via the Marking Overview
Current Flow Page
Navigate to the marking overview by clicking the Open the marking overview button on the main flow page:
A table displaying all of the students you have been allocated to mark will be shown on the screen that follows. Clicking in the appropriate cell of the Grade column will reveal an option to enter a grade:
Click the Enter button or press the enter key on your keyboard to finish.
New Flow Page
If you have the new flow page enabled, scroll down to the marking overview and click the Edit grade button:
This will open the grade panel on the right hand side of the page where you can enter a grade.
Submitting Grades
Submitting Individual Grades Inside the New Marking Tool
To submit a grade for a student inside the marking tool, click on the Grade button on the upper right of the page:
The grade panel will open on the right. Once you have entered a grade for a student, you can click the Submit button underneath to submit it:
A prompt screen will come up, giving you the opportunity to add a note to the grade audit trail if necessary. Click the submit button to proceed:
A closed padlock symbol will be shown next to the grade in the grade panel and the upper right corner of the marking tool, indicating that it was successfully submitted:
Submitting Individual or Bulk Grades via the Marking Overview
Current Flow Page
Navigate to the marking overview by clicking the Open the marking overview button on the main flow page:
A table displaying all of the students you have been allocated to mark will be shown on the screen that follows. Clicking in the appropriate cell of the Grade column will reveal an option to submit a grade individually:
You can also click the pencil button here before submitting to add a note to the grade audit trail if necessary:
Alternatively, you can submit all of the grades you have entered so far by clicking the Submit all button at the top of the page:
A prompt message will pop up showing how many grades will be submitted if you proceed. Click confirm to submit the grades:
You will then be shown a summary of successfully submitted grades:
New Flow Page
If you have the new flow page enabled, you can submit individual grades by scrolling down to the marking overview and clicking the Edit grade button:
The grade panel will open on the right and you can click the Submit button to submit an entered grade:
A prompt screen will come up, giving you the opportunity to add a note to the grade audit trail if necessary. Click the submit button to proceed:
Alternatively, you can submit all of the grades you have entered so far by clicking the blue Submit all button:
A prompt message will pop up showing how many grades will be submitted if you proceed. Click confirm to submit the grades:
You will then be shown a summary of successfully submitted grades:
Note: once grades have been submitted you will not be able to edit them. If a submitted grade needs to be unlocked, ask the moderator (Reviewer) responsible for finalising grades to unlock this for you.
If the grade has already been finalised by the Reviewer, this will need to be unlocked by a Manager for the assessment first.
Viewing Shared Feedback
Shared Annotations
Annotations that have been shared with you can be seen directly inside the new marking tool, where they appear on the student submission and in the annotation list view:
Shared Submission/ Common Feedback (Comments)
Submission or common feedback that has been shared with you can be seen directly inside the new marking tool, either through the submission feedback panel or the common feedback panel:
Shared Rubrics
Any completed rubrics that have been shared with you can be accessed via the Rubrics panel. Click on the Rubrics button on the upper right of the page to bring up the Rubrics panel.
Inside the panel, click on the Shared rubrics button:
This will bring up a read only version of any shared rubrics:
You can use the dropdown menu here to view a rubric completed by a different marker, if applicable.
Tips for Space Saving in the New Marking Tool
Hide the Annotation List View
To hide the annotation list view, click on the annotations button on the right hand side of the top toolbar:
If you need to see the annotation list view at any point, click the annotations button again to bring it back.