How to Grade Papers Using Microsoft Word
Do you find yourself occasionally writing the same comments on students’ papers? Want to save time and
save your hand from cramping? Try grading electronically using Microsoft Word. Here is how:
□ Step #1: Create a code for frequently used comments (see the end of this document for a helpful list of
comments). Go to FILE  HELP  OPTIONS  PROOFING then click on “Autocorrect Options”
Type a symbol (either an alpha-numeric code such as e1 or an abbreviation that is easy to remember...such as
cs for comma splice) into the REPLACE box. Next type your first prescriptive comment into the WITH box. It
might be good to begin each comment with the common diacritical mark (abbreviation or symbol) to help
your students learn these editing marks.
For example: In the REPLACE box type “e1” then in the WITH box type: “cs: COMMA SPLICE: two independent
clauses cannot be joined together with only a comma. To fix this error, insert a conjunction (fanboy) following
the comma, OR change the comma to a semicolon if the two clauses are closely related, OR make these two
clauses two separate sentences by adding a period.”
□ Step #2:
Create shortcut buttons on your toolbar for frequent actions you will use while grading. For
example: crossing through text and writing in a different color. You will do this through creating macros (this
will record your actions, clicks, keystrokes formatting styles, change of color, size, etc, to allow the user to
perform the same line of action over and over again without having to perform it manually).
First go to VIEWMACROSRecord Macro... This will bring up the Record Macro dialog box where
you will click BUTTON to create a macro button. Next click the ADD button in the next Option dialog box to
indicate that you want this button to show in the Quick Access toolbar for later use. Then click on MODIFY to
choose the design of your button. On your next click, it will start recording a macro using your movements.
When you’ve performed a set of actions, stop the macro by going back to VIEW MACROS  STOP
RECORDING. Then test your button to make sure your actions were correct.
Your new buttons
are now on your
toolbar at the top!
□ Step #3: You can comment on any word, phrase, sentence or paragraph by selecting the text and
heading over to the Review tab and then clicking New Comment.
□ Step #4:
Have your students turn in their papers electronically (whether through the
shared drive or an online program). You may want to consider having the students include
the rubric at the bottom of their essays for you to record their score. After you finish grading a paper
electronically and adding your comments, make sure you Save As your changes so that your student can go
back and make corrections if needed. This will save paper, too! 
A fun fact:
After Microsoft Word finishes checking spelling and grammar, it will display readability
statistics. First you need to make sure that the Readability Statistics are activated.
To do this just go to FILE  HELP  OPTIONS  PROOFING then make sure
that the “Show readability statistics” box is checked off. Now you are set
These statistics will be good for students to see so that they can improve their
papers through removing passive sentences and improving other elements.
To view the readability statistics for any paper click on the Review tab at the top of the Word Document
and then click on Spelling and Grammar; here is what you will
see at the end of the spellcheck:
Flesch Reading Ease Score: This rates the text on a 100point scale; the higher the score, the easier it is to
understand the document. For most standard
documents, aim for a score of approximately 70 to 80.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Score: This rates the text on a
U.S. school grade level. For example, a score of 8.0
means that an eighth grader can understand the
document. For most documents, aim for a score of
approximately 7.0 to 9.0.
Advantages of Using This Tool:
1. Once you get used to your grading code, it will save you oodles of TIME, which is what we all need more of
(and it saves your hand from cramping, too)! It normally takes an average teacher anywhere between 10-25
minutes to grade one student essay. Now it can take five minutes or less to grade using this electronic
method. With an average batch of 90 essays (I know many of you have even more students than this!) this
means a times-saving of 7.5 hours (90x10=15 hours. 90x5=7.5 hours). With this method, you can include
twice as many comments per essay in half the amount of time.
2. This method will help us in our mission to become more paperless and environmental friendly through
requiring students to submit their essays electronically (whether through a web site, the shared drive, etc).
3. You can explain what is wrong and offer solutions to correct or revise the writing issue...not just identify the
problem. Also, students can get feedback sooner rather than waiting to get the paper back in class
4. You can link to resource sites that will provide additional practice or reference
5. You can require students to address each of your comments using the “Track Changes” and then resubmit
with their corrections. With this step, your grading changes from static to dynamic
6. You eliminate the student excuses of: “But I DID turn it in on time” or “You lost my paper” since everything is
electronic.
7. Unlike our purple handwritten marks, students tend to read these online comments and take them a little
more seriously (especially if they are required to correct their mistakes and resubmit).
*If you have writing comments that you frequently use that are not on our shared list, please feel free to e-mail them
to Joni Gilman so that others can benefit from your ideas and add to their own codes.
Here are some frequently used comments from Peachtree Ridge’s Language Arts Teachers:
(Just copy and paste the ones you can use as you are completing Step #1)
“Make your main points stand out”
“Main points are confusing or not seen”
“MLA error--Proper Heading (Left, Top, Four Lines): John
Doe-Pennington–11 CP LA–7 March 2009”
“slang/colloquial. Use more sophisticated language and show
more control in your tone”
“ AWK--Wording is awkward. Find a way to reword this”
“PR—unclear pronoun reference”
“MLA error-- Set one inch margins; double space; use Times
New Roman 12 (no bold face); and indent each paragraph
one inch–don’t skip lines between paragraphs.”
“Work on clarity. The reader is confused about the content of
“good CD:CM! = good ratio of CD to CM”
what you are trying to say because the grammar / spelling /
punctuation is causing a breakdown in meaning.”
“Skim Milk! Aim for Whole Milk through richness in details”
“Vary your sentence structure. Include more
compound/complex sentences, etc”
“X Summary-- avoid summarizing and instead analyze”
“All SUM—Summary, no analysis
“Losing focus here”
“X TS—This is not a topic sentence. Make sure you direct the
reader where this paragraph is going”
“Your CMs (Commentary) should NOT be a summary.
Instead your CMs need to EXPLAIN your CDs (Concrete
Details)”
“CD? You need to add something concrete. Your argument
has gotten too vague.”
“Avoid making an assumption by using the word YOU.”
“SHOW, don’t tell! For example: rather than telling me a
storm was violent, show me through your details. How was
it violent? What did it do? DETAILS!”
“Weak CM- Your commentary needs more insightful
analysis”
“Passive voice obscures meaning and leads to wordiness.
Passive voice occurs when the subject is receiving the action
rather than doing it. For example, the cookies were brought
to the teacher by the students. Instead use active voice: the
students brought the cookies”
“BMS—Be more specific! You have very little detail”
“NMD—Needs more specific detail (some detail, not
enough) “
“Work on more effective conclusions that provide closure
without being repetitive.”
“Include transitions between paragraphs and within
paragraphs. Consider using transitional words to help you
with this”
“Missing a thesis that addresses your argument”
“Your details are too vague/general. Think of more specific
details through using examples.”
“WC---Word choice is not appropriate. Use more specialized
vocabulary”
“ MW- Missing Word”
“Keep your verb tense consistent”
“ //---lacks parallel structure. Parallel structure is the
repetition of sentence structure. For example, we like
running, jumping and swimming.
“CS. ---COMMA SPLICE: two independent clauses cannot be
joined together with a comma. To fix, insert a conjunction
(fanboy) following the comma or change the comma to a
semicolon or period.
RO--- RUN ON SENTENCE: two independent clauses cannot be
joined together without proper punctuation. To fix, insert a
comma followed by a conjunction (fanboy) or change the
comma to a semicolon or period.
“PA---pronoun/antecedent disagreement: Make sure the
pronoun agrees in number, person and gender with its
antecedent (the word to which it refers to).
Each,either,neither,one,anyone,anybody,everyone,everybody,
somebody,another,nobody,aperson are singular and use “he
or she”!”
“SV--- make sure your subject and verbs agree”
Grading Legend Example
Essay Formatting
Essay Conventions / Fluency
Symbol
What Does It Mean
Symbol
What Does It Mean
MLA?
MLA Heading/ Formatting is missing
or not correct
Poss
Apostrophe is needed
.
Period is needed
,
Comma is needed
W/W
Wrong word is used
D/B
Don’t begin a sentence with this word
AWK
Awkward word or sentence
CC
Coordinating conjunction used but not
needed
APP
Indicated an appositive that needs a comma
or commas
PREP
Indicated a prepositional phrase that needs
a comma or commas
R/ON
Run on sentence
DQ
Not a direct quote- quotation marks are not
needed
DQ
Quotation marks are needed because this is
a direct quotation
SEP
Should be two separate words
COMB
Words should be combined to form one
word
S/V
The subjects and the verbs of the sentence
do not agree
Title
#
Title of the essay or a piece of
literature is not punctuated or
capitalized correctly
In general spell a cardinal number (a
number that can be expressed in two
words or less. The exception for this
rule comes from when you are
discussing numerals for dates,
measurements, addresses. Ex: 29
percent
PC?
Parenthetical citation is needed but
is missing or is not correct
DBL
Should be double-spaced
ET?
Essay is missing a title / title is
inappropriate or not punctuated
correctly
Essay Focus/ Development
and Organization
Symbol
What Does It Mean
HNA
Hook is not appropriate for this
essay
WT
Weak/Vague Thesis Statement
WTS
Weak/Vague Topic Sentence
SUM?
More summary is needed
PN
Pronoun agreement
TMD
Too much detail
ART
Article is needed
NN
Info/word not needed
SP
Word is misspelled
N TRAN
Needs a transition
P
Begin a new paragraph
Info N/C
Information or facts about the
literature are not accurate
P Miss
Paragraph(s) missing
Word/Sentence is not needed
Most Commonly Used Teacher Comments from Other Schools
Although many teachers prefer to use letters for their codes (such as “ro” for “Run on Sentence”), it might be easier to use
an alpha numeric code (e1). After you create your code, just keep a hard copy of the cheat sheet for your codes next to
you as you grade. The more you get used to grading using this code, the easier it will be since you will slowly end up
memorizing this code.
Mechanics
e1. Use commas before or after speaker tags. Example: She said, “Call me at home.”
e2. Use commas to set apart appositives. Example: That man, the one with the hat, left.
e3. Use commas after each item in lists (except the last). Example: John, Jane, and Jose left early.
e4. Use commas after introductory words or phrases. Example: First of all, you should listen to me.
e5. Use commas between number dates and years. Example: It all happened on May 3, 1999.
e6. Use commas between geographical places. Example: She lived in Tampa, Florida.
e7. Use commas after greetings/closings in personal letters. Example: Dear Ralph, …Sincerely,
e8. Use commas after nouns of direct address. Example: Kristin, leave some for your sister.
e9. Use commas before conjunctions to join two independent clauses. Example: I liked her, and she liked me.
e10. Use exclamation points for surprise or strong emotions. Example: The decision really shocked me!
e11. Use quotation marks before and after direct quotations. Example: Sue said, “I’m going to bed.”
e12. Use quotation marks before and after songs, poems, document titles, book chapters, magazine articles, and
short story titles. Example: Whenever I hear “Clementine,” it reminds me of “Leaves of Grass” and “The
Gettysburg Address.”
e13. Use colons after business letter greetings. Example: Dear Sirs:
e14. Use colons to introduce lists. Example: The following: shoes, pants, and…
e15. Use colons between numbers in relationship. Example: 8:52 P.M.
e16. Use semicolons to join independent clauses without conjunctions. Example: Jamal went to school; Larry
met him there.
e17. Underline movie, television show, book, magazine, play, and work of art titles.
e18. Use apostrophes for contractions. Example: I can’t see what they’re doing.
e19. Use apostrophes for singular and plural possessives. Example: Tom’s and the girls’ coats were red.
e20. Use parentheses to explain or define. Example: The hombre (man) rode off alone.
e21. Capitalize proper nouns (a name that is given to special persons, places, or things). Example: Ryan visited
the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles.
e22. Capitalize holidays, dates, groups, organizations, and businesses. Example: Last Easter on March 24, 2002,
the P.T.A. and McDonald’s helped out.
e23. Capitalize the first, last, and any important words in titles. Example: Prince Charles’s favorite book was
Islands of Adventure.
e24. Capitalize the names of languages and peoples. Example: He spoke Spanish to the Indians.
e25. Capitalize special events and historical periods. Example: The New Year’s Day Parade celebrates the Year
of the Dog.
Spelling
e26. The “i” before “e” Rule—Usually spell “i” before “e” (believe), but spell “e” before “i” after a “c”
(receive) and when the letters are pronounced as a long /a/ sound (neighbor).
e27. The Final “y” Rule—Keep the “y” when adding an ending if the word ends in a vowel, then a “y” (delaydelayed), or if the ending begins with an “i” (copy-copying). Change the “y” to “i” if the word ends in a
consonant, then a “y” (pretty-prettiest).
e28. The Silent “e” Rule—Drop the “e” (have-having) if the ending begins with a vowel. Keep the “e” (closeclosely) if the ending begins with a consonant, has a soft /c/ or /g/ sound, then an “ous” or “able,” or if it ends in
“ee”, “oe”, or “ye.”
e29. The Double the Consonant Rule—Double consonants, when adding on endings if these conditions are met:
1. last syllable is accented (per/MIT) 2. last syllable ends in a vowel–consonant (permit) and 3. ending begins
with a vowel (ed).
e30. The Ending “an”–“en” Rule—End words with “ance”, “ancy”, or “ant” if the root has a hard /c/ or /g/
sound or it ends with “ear” or “ure.” End words with “ence”, “ency”, or “ent” if the root has a soft /c/ or /g/
sound, after “id,” or it ends with “ere.”
e31. The “able”–“ible” Rule—End words with “able” if the root has a hard /c/ or /g/ sound, after a complete
root word, or after a silent “e.” End words with “ible” if the root has a soft /c/ or /g/ sound, an “ss,” or after an
incomplete root word.
e32. The Ending “ion” Rule—Spell “sion” (illusion) for the final zyun sound or the final shun sound (expulsion,
compassion) if after an “l” or “s.” Spell “cian” (musician) for a person and “tion” (condition) in most all other
cases.
e33. The Plurals Rule—Add an “s” even with “y” or vowel—“o” endings. Spell “es” after /s/, /x/, /z/, /ch/, or
/sh/ sounds or a consonant— “o.” Change a “y” to “i” and add “es” when the word ends in a consonant—“y.”
Change “fe” or “lf” ending to “ves.”
Writing Errors
e34. —=Delete
e35. vt=verb tense error
e36. ww=wrong word
e37. ¶=needs new paragraph
e38. v=Close gap
e39. ~=Reverse
e40. ro=run-on sentence
e41. frag=sentence fragment
e42. ‘=Insert an apostrophe
e43. awk=awkward
e44. mm=misplaced modifier
Writing Revisions
e45. dev=inadequate development
e46. irr=irrelevant
e47. nc=not clear
e48. red=redundant
e49. sup=add support evidence
e50. trans=needs transition
e51. wordy=excessively wordy
e52. //=lacks parallel structure
e53. voice—needs third person
e54. slang—informal language
e55. figure of speech—Avoid idiomatic expressions in formal writing.
e56. verb—Too many “to be” verbs
e57. Abbv—Do not use abbreviations in formal writing
e58. cont=Don’t use contractions in formal writing
e59. wc=word choice (word overused)
e60. db neg=double negative
e61. pv=passive voice unnecessary
e62. Rhetorical question in which answer is assumed
e63. Too many prepositional phrase strings
e64. Avoid (parenthetical) remarks.
e65. Don’t start sentences with coordinating conjunctions, e.g. but, and, so, or.
e66. Don’t split infinitives, e.g. “to carefully walk”
e67. Don’t end sentences with prepositions.
e68. Don’t refer to your own writing.
Writing Content
e69. def=Define this term.
e70. spf=Get more specific.
e71. cit=Needs citation
e72. Needs sentence variety
e73. Off topic—focus is off of central idea
e74. Overstated idea—exaggerated
e75. seq=sequence problems
e76. Inconsistent argument
e77. Needs topic sentence
e78. Needs variety of types of evidence
e79. Needs another introduction strategy
e80. Needs variety of introduction strategies
e81. Thesis is unclear—must state purpose or point of view.
e82. Re-state the thesis to introduce the conclusion.
e83. Needs another conclusion strategy
e84. Needs variety of conclusion strategies
e85. Proper Heading (Left, Top, Four Lines): John Doe–Mr. Pennington–11 CP LA–7 March 2009
e86. Set one inch margins; double space; use Times New Roman 12 (no bold face); and indent each paragraph
one inch–don’t skip lines between paragraphs.
e87. def=Define this term.
e88. spf=Get more specific.
e89. cit=Needs citation
e90. Needs sentence variety
e91. Off topic
e92. Overstated idea
e93. seq=sequence problems
e94. Inconsistent argument
e95. Needs topic sentence
e96. Needs variety of types of evidence
e97. Needs another introduction strategy
e98. Needs variety of introduction strategies
e99. Thesis is unclear
e100. Re-state the thesis
e101. Needs another conclusion strategy
*Information in this document has been adapted from http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/grammar_mechanics/how-tosave-time-grading-essays/