A marking guide is very similar to a rubric, but it's simpler. For each marking criterion, a comment explains what is being sought, and provides a maximum mark that can be awarded.
Marking using a marking guide is more detailed and less subjective than awarding a single grade, but it's less time-consuming to set up. You can allow students to view the marking guide before they submit, so that they know what their learning priorities are in relation to this assignment.
Marking guides and rubrics are forms of standards-based assessment. Click the following link to find out more about standards-based assessment.
Step-by-step instructions
- Create a marking guide
- Tell students how to view a marking guide
- Mark an assignment using a marking guide
- Edit or delete a marking guide
Create a marking guide for an assignment
- To set up an assignment with a marking guide, create the assignment as usual, ensuring that in the Adding a new assignment page, in the Grading method field, you select Marking guide from the drop-down list.
- Click Save and display when you have completed the page.
- On the Advanced grading page, select Define new grading form from scratch.
- On the Define marking guide page, type a marking guide Name and, if necessary, a Description.
- At Marking guide, click where indicated (e.g. click the text Click to edit criterion name) to enter:
- a criterion name (for example, a question number or question text, or a desired quality in the answer such as Logical coherence, Grammatical correctness)
- a criterion description that only students will see, directing them as to what the markers will be looking for
- a criterion description that only markers will see, indicating what is expected of the students
- a Maximum mark for this question or aspect of the assignment.
- Click Add criterion. Another set of clickable fields displays.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you have recorded all criteria and their associated marks.
- At Frequently used comments, click Click to edit to enter a comment, then click Add frequently used comment and enter another, until you have entered all comments the markers will need.
- Under Marking guide options, select whether the students will be able to see the description you entered at step 4, or the maximum mark you entered at step 5.
- Click Save marking guide and make it ready
Tell students how to view the marking guide
Once you have created a marking guide and selected Save marking guide and make it ready students will be able to view the marking guide when they open the assigment link. If you choose Save as draft when creating the marking guide students will not be able to see it when they open the assignment link.
Mark an assignment using a marking guide
- On the course home page, click the assignment's link.
- On the assignment's home page, click the View all submissions.
- On the Submissions page, in the Grade column, click the Grade button for the submitted assignment.
- The Feedback page for the student displays, containing:
- a link to the submission
- in the Grades section, the marking guide criteria (with comment boxes and score fields for you to complete).
- in the Feedback section, a box where you can add feedback text and a space for you to add/drag any Response files you want to use in response to the submission.
- You can also select the Notify students check box to let the student know their assignment has been graded.
- Complete the Feedback page and either:
- Click Save changes to return to the Submissions page, or
- Save and show next to save your changes and move on to marking the next submission.
Edit or delete a marking guide
- In the Moodle course home page, click the assignment's link.
- On the assignment's home page, in the Settings block, under Assignment administration select Advanced grading.
- In the resulting page:
- To edit the guide, either click the Edit the current form definition or, in the Settings block, under Assignment administration > Advanced grading, select Define marking guide.
- To delete the existing guide, click Delete the currently defined form.
- When an assignment has been marked using a marking guide you are editing, when you click Save the following message displays, asking whether the assignments require re-grading as a result of your changes: