Your first assessment: a 5-minute walkthrough
Welcome to Marking.ai! This walkthrough takes you from a blank account to your first marked submission in about five minutes. By the end, you’ll have created an assessment, uploaded student work, and reviewed your first set of AI-generated marks and feedback.
Ready? Let’s go.
Step 1: Start a new assessment
On your home page, click the blue Start marking button. This opens the Start marking window, which walks you through three quick steps: Assessment, Submissions, and Review & Start.
You’ll start on the Assessment step. Choose New assessment and give your assessment a name (for example, “Year 9 Biology Test 1”).
Then upload two files:
- The assessment paper — the PDF of the test or exam your students sat.
- The marking guide — the answer key, mark scheme, or rubric you want Marking.ai to mark against.
A clear, well-structured marking guide makes a real difference to the quality of your marks. If you have one, use it. If you’re not sure what makes a good guide, see our article on adding a marking guide.
Once both files are uploaded, click Continue.
Step 2: Upload your students’ work
On the Submissions step, drag and drop your student submissions into the upload area — or click to browse for files. Marking.ai accepts PDFs and common image files.
You have two options for how to get the work in:
- Upload everything yourself — drop in one file per student, or a single combined PDF that contains multiple students. If you upload a combined PDF, Marking.ai will offer to split it into individual submissions automatically.
- Share an upload link with your class — Marking.ai generates a link you can send to your students so they can upload their own work directly. Saves you time and keeps everything organised.
When all of your submissions are in, click Continue.
Step 3: Review & start
The Review & Start step shows you a summary of what’s about to happen — how many submissions will be marked, against which assessment, and how many marks the job will use from your plan.
This is your chance to double-check everything before kicking things off.
When you’re ready, click Start marking.
Step 4: Let Marking.ai do its thing
Marking happens in the background. The window will close and you’ll be taken back to your assessment, where you can watch progress live.
You can also track everything in detail from the Activity screen in the left-hand sidebar — it shows every job that’s running, complete, or has failed.
Most assessments finish in a few minutes. You don’t need to stay on the page — feel free to grab a coffee.
Step 5: Review your marks
When marking finishes, head to your assessment from the home page or the Assessments tab. The submissions table shows each student’s score, status, and a quick preview.
Click any row to open the Mark details workspace, where you can:
- See the student’s work side-by-side with the marks awarded for each question
- Read the AI’s reasoning behind each mark
- Edit any mark, rationale, or piece of feedback yourself
- Move between questions and students using the side rail or keyboard shortcuts
Take your time here. Marking.ai gets you most of the way, but the final call is always yours.
What’s next?
Once you’re happy with your marks, you can:
- Share results with your students — send each one a private link to their own feedback. See sharing your marked assessments.
- Export to PDF or CSV — handy for parent meetings, gradebooks, or your own records.
- Ask Marko — your AI assistant in the top-right of the screen. Try “How did the class do on this assessment?” or “Which questions caused the most trouble?”
Need help?
Stuck at any point? Click the chat icon in the app or email us at connect@marking.ai. We’ll jump in to help.
FAQs
How long does marking take?
Most assessments finish in a few minutes. Larger classes or longer papers can take a little longer, but you don’t need to stay on the page — Marking.ai keeps working in the background and notifies you when it’s done.
What file formats can I upload?
You can upload PDFs and common image files. If your students’ work is in a single combined PDF, Marking.ai offers to split it into individual submissions automatically.
Can I change marks or feedback after Marking.ai has done its first pass?
Yes — every mark, rationale, and piece of feedback is editable from the Mark details workspace. The final say is always yours.
What if something goes wrong with a submission?
If a submission fails to process, you’ll see a clear message and a retry option. See our troubleshooting article on processing failures for more.
Do I need to upload a marking guide?
A marking guide isn’t strictly required, but it makes a real difference to the quality of your marks. If you have a mark scheme or rubric, use it — even a rough one helps.
That’s it — you’ve just marked your first assessment with Marking.ai!
Happy marking!