This article will guide you through selecting the relevant criteria that your students will received automated feedback on. The relevance of the criteria could depend on the type of writing assignment you are using Automated Feedback for, or the language it is written in. To help you decide on what will be most beneficial for you and your students, we will walk you through the function of each one.
Is the criterion you had in mind not (yet) provided? Please let us know at the end of this article so we can improve.
Choosing feedback criteria
The feedback criteria that can be chosen are divided into five overarching categories, addressing the content, language, layout, references, and tables and figures in students’ work. Within each section, you will find which criterion can be selected including their learning goal, description and language support.
Category 1: Content
Criterion | Learning goal | Description | Language Support |
Required sections | Students learn to include all necessary sections and have sections of the appropriate length. | Each section that is required within an assignment can be entered here (including a minimum and/or maximum amount of words). | International |
Word count | Students learn to write work of the appropriate length. | Enter a minimum or maximum amount of words that the work must contain. | International |
Category 2: Language
Criterion | Learning goal | Description | Language Support |
Abbreviation introduction | Students learn to properly introduce the abbreviations they use. | Ensures abbreviations are properly introduced between brackets e.g. AI, (artificial intelligence). | International |
Language | Students learn to write consistently in one language. | Verifies that the document is consistently written in the same language. | English, Dutch |
Grammar | Students learn to use proper grammar | Feedback is given when grammar mistakes are made to ensure student work is clear and comprehensible | English |
| Students learn to avoid first and second person pronouns | Feedback is given to reduce the use of personal pronouns to ensure students writing is objective | English |
| Students learn to avoid using sentences that are too long | Feedback is given on sentences exceeding the specified length. Reducing the length of sentences can make writing more clear | International |
Category 3: Layout
Criterion | Learning goal | Description | Language Support |
Table of contents | Students learn to provide an table of contents | Ensures there is a table of contents present in the document. | International |
Page numbers | Students learn to use page numbers. | Secures that all the pages in the document are numbered. | International |
Category 4: References
Criterion | Learning goal | Description | Language Support |
Reference citation count | Students learn to use high-quality sources for literature. | A measure to guarantee the quality of citations based on a predefined amount of citations by other researchers that can be entered. | International |
Reference count | Students learn to find more literature. | Secures that a minimum and/or maximum amount of references are met. | International |
Reference style | Students learn to use proper formatting for references. | Elaborates on whether the references are written in the correct pre-defined style or are consistent throughout the document. | International |
Category 5: Tables and Figures
Criterion | Learning goal | Description | Language Support |
Figure count | Students learn to include the appropriate number of figures. | Ensures a minimum and/or maximum amount of figures are met. | International |
Table count | Students learn to include the appropriate number of tables. | Secures a minimum and/or maximum amount of tables are met. | International |
We are continuously working on new criteria which can be included while they are in a testing phase named "beta". More information about the criteria in this phase can be read here.
Changing feedback criteria
Any criterion that has been added will appear in the overview. If you’d wish to remove the criterion added, simply press the "rubbish bin" on the right. It is also possible to change the criterion that was selected by navigating to "configure".
If you decide at a later stage that you would like to make changes to the criteria that were set it is no problem. The new changes will automatically be visible for the students, and any work that has been handed in will be checked again to ensure it meets the new criteria.
Do keep in mind that adjusting the criteria will mean that any objections made by students will go away.
Adding new criteria
Is there specific feedback that you would like to provide to your students but currently isn't supported by our tool? Let us know! We will continuously improve and add more criteria to increase the value for you and your students.
This concludes the Choosing the right criteria for Automated Feedback article.
If you have any questions or experience a technical issue, please contact our friendly support team by clicking on the blue chat button (Note: support is available 24h every weekday & unavailable on the weekend).
