Student Guide

Table of contents


Overview

Welcome to FeedForward! This platform helps you improve your writing through AI-powered feedback and iterative drafting. You can submit multiple drafts of your assignments, receive detailed feedback aligned with your instructor's rubric, and track your progress over time.

Getting Started

Your Journey in FeedForward

  1. Receive Invitation - Your instructor invites you via email
  2. Create Account - Set up your profile with secure login
  3. Join Course - Automatically enrolled when you accept
  4. Submit Drafts - Upload your assignment drafts
  5. Receive Feedback - Get AI-generated, instructor-reviewed feedback
  6. Revise & Improve - Submit new drafts based on feedback
  7. Track Progress - See your improvement over time

First-Time Setup

When you receive your invitation email:

  1. Click the invitation link in the email
  2. Create your account: - Enter your name - Create a strong password - Accept terms of service
  3. Verify your email if required
  4. Log in to see your courses
Save your login credentials in a password manager to avoid lockouts during important submission deadlines.

Understanding FeedForward

How It Works

Your Submission Journey:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

1. Write Draft β†’ 2. Submit β†’ 3. AI Analyzes β†’ 4. Instructor Reviews
                     ↓                              ↓
                7. Improve ← 6. Revise ← 5. You Receive Feedback

Key Features for Students

πŸ“ Multiple Drafts

  • Submit up to 3-5 drafts per assignment (varies)
  • Each draft builds on previous feedback
  • No penalty for using all attempts
  • Track improvement between drafts

πŸ€– AI-Powered Feedback

  • Fast, detailed feedback (usually within hours)
  • Multiple AI models provide diverse perspectives
  • Aligned with your instructor's rubric
  • Specific suggestions for improvement

πŸ‘©β€πŸ« Instructor Oversight

  • All feedback reviewed by your instructor
  • May include personal comments
  • Ensures quality and relevance
  • Maintains human connection

πŸ“Š Progress Tracking

  • See scores improve across drafts
  • Identify patterns in your writing
  • Celebrate strengths
  • Focus on growth areas

πŸ”’ Privacy Protected

  • Your drafts are temporarily stored
  • Automatically deleted after feedback
  • Only you and instructor see your work
  • Secure, educational environment

Your Dashboard

When you log in, you'll see:

Student Dashboard
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

πŸ“š My Courses (2)
β”œβ”€β”€ ENGL101 - Academic Writing
β”‚   └── 3 active assignments
└── HIST200 - Research Methods
    └── 1 active assignment

πŸ“‹ Recent Activity
β€’ Feedback received: Essay 1 Draft 2
β€’ Due soon: Research Paper (3 days)
β€’ New assignment: Final Project

πŸ“ˆ Your Progress
β€’ Average improvement: +15%
β€’ Drafts submitted: 8/12
β€’ Current average: B+ (85%)

[View All Courses] [Submit Draft] [View Feedback]

Understanding Status Indicators

Assignment statuses help you stay organized:

  • 🟒 Available - Ready for submission
  • 🟑 In Progress - You've started drafting
  • πŸ”΅ Processing - AI generating feedback
  • βœ… Feedback Ready - Review available
  • πŸ”΄ Overdue - Past due date
  • ⏸️ Max Drafts Reached - No more submissions

Submitting Assignments

Preparing Your Submission

Before submitting:

  1. Check Requirements - File format (PDF, DOCX, TXT) - Word count limits - Formatting guidelines - Rubric criteria

  2. Review Your Work - Proofread carefully - Check citations - Verify formatting - Save backup copy

  3. Name Your File - Use clear naming: LastName_Assignment1_Draft1.docx - Avoid special characters - Keep under 50 characters

Submission Process

Step-by-step submission:

  1. Navigate to Assignment - Click course name - Select assignment - Click "Submit Draft"

  2. Upload Your File - Click "Choose File" - Select your document - Wait for upload confirmation

  3. Add Optional Note - Mention specific concerns - Ask for focused feedback - Note any technical issues

  4. Confirm Submission - Review file name - Check word count - Click "Submit" - Save confirmation

After Submission

What happens next:

Timeline:
Immediate: Confirmation email sent
5-10 min: AI begins processing
30-60 min: AI feedback generated
2-48 hrs: Instructor reviews
When ready: You're notified

Understanding Your Feedback

Feedback Structure

Your feedback includes several components:

Overall Assessment:
  Grade: B+ (85%)
  Summary: Strong thesis with good evidence integration
  Key Strengths: 
    - Clear argumentation
    - Excellent introduction
  Areas for Improvement:
    - Conclusion needs strengthening
    - Some grammatical errors

Rubric Breakdown:
  Thesis Statement: 18/20 (90%)
    "Your thesis is clear and arguable..."

  Evidence & Support: 22/25 (88%)
    "Good use of sources, but consider..."

  Organization: 17/20 (85%)
    "Logical flow with minor transitions..."

  Grammar & Style: 13/15 (87%)
    "Generally strong with some errors..."

  Conclusion: 15/20 (75%)
    "Needs more synthesis of ideas..."

Specific Suggestions:
  1. Strengthen conclusion paragraph
  2. Fix comma splices in paragraphs 3 & 5
  3. Add transitional phrase before para 4

Instructor Note:
  "Great improvement from Draft 1! Focus on
   that conclusion for your final draft."

Interpreting Scores

Understanding your performance:

  • A (90-100%) - Exceptional work, minor refinements only
  • B (80-89%) - Strong work with some areas to improve
  • C (70-79%) - Satisfactory with significant revision needed
  • D (60-69%) - Below expectations, major revision required
  • F (<60%) - Does not meet requirements, see instructor

Using Feedback Effectively

Make the most of your feedback:

  1. Read Thoroughly - Start with overall assessment - Review each rubric section - Note specific examples - Understand priorities

  2. Create Action Plan - List specific changes - Prioritize by impact - Set revision timeline - Gather resources

  3. Ask Questions - Use office hours - Email for clarification - Discuss with peers - Utilize writing center

Revising and Resubmitting

Planning Your Revision

Strategic revision approach:

Revision Priority Matrix:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

High Impact + Easy Fix:
  βœ“ Fix grammatical errors
  βœ“ Add missing citations
  βœ“ Clarify thesis statement

High Impact + Challenging:
  ⚑ Restructure argument
  ⚑ Find additional sources
  ⚑ Rewrite conclusion

Low Impact + Easy:
  β—‹ Minor word choice
  β—‹ Formatting tweaks

Low Impact + Challenging:
  βŒ› Complete style overhaul
  βŒ› Topic change

Tracking Changes

Document your improvements:

  1. Compare Drafts - Use track changes - Highlight major edits - Note addressed feedback

  2. Revision Notes When resubmitting, mention: - Which feedback you addressed - Major changes made - Questions remaining

When to Submit Next Draft

Optimal timing:

  • Wait 24+ hours - Avoid rushed revisions
  • Before deadline - Leave buffer time
  • After substantial changes - Make it count
  • When confident - Quality over speed

Progress Tracking

Your Analytics

Monitor your improvement:

Your Progress Dashboard:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

πŸ“ˆ Overall Trend: ↑ +18% improvement

Assignment Progress:
Essay 1:   72% β†’ 81% β†’ 88% (+16%)
Essay 2:   75% β†’ 84% β†’ 91% (+16%)
Research:  69% β†’ 78% β†’ [pending]

Strengths Identified:
β€’ Organization ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
β€’ Introduction ⭐⭐⭐⭐
β€’ Evidence Use ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Growth Areas:
β€’ Conclusions ⭐⭐⭐
β€’ Citations ⭐⭐⭐
β€’ Transitions ⭐⭐

Setting Goals

Use feedback to set targets:

  1. Short-term (Next Draft) - Fix identified errors - Strengthen weak sections - Implement suggestions

  2. Medium-term (Next Assignment) - Apply learned techniques - Avoid previous mistakes - Build on strengths

  3. Long-term (Course/Career) - Develop writing style - Master academic conventions - Build confidence

Tips for Success

Best Practices

βœ… Do's

  • Start early to allow multiple drafts
  • Read all feedback carefully
  • Use specific examples from feedback
  • Take advantage of all draft attempts
  • Ask questions when confused
  • Keep copies of all drafts
  • Track your progress

❌ Don'ts

  • Wait until the last minute
  • Ignore feedback sections
  • Submit without proofreading
  • Skip draft opportunities
  • Make only surface changes
  • Plagiarize or use AI to write
  • Give up after low scores

Time Management

Suggested timeline for 3-draft assignment:

Assignment Timeline (2 weeks):
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Day 1-3:   Research & outline
Day 4-5:   Write Draft 1
Day 6:     Submit Draft 1
Day 7:     Receive feedback
Day 8-9:   Revise for Draft 2
Day 10:    Submit Draft 2
Day 11:    Receive feedback
Day 12-13: Polish for Draft 3
Day 14:    Submit final draft

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Minimal Revisions - Don't just fix typos - Address core feedback - Show substantial improvement

  2. Ignoring Rubric - Review criteria before writing - Address all categories - Balance your efforts

  3. Not Using Resources - Visit writing center - Attend office hours - Use provided links

Getting Help

Support Resources

When you need assistance:

  1. Technical Issues - Can't log in - Upload failures - Missing feedback β†’ Contact: support@university.edu

  2. Assignment Questions - Unclear requirements - Rubric interpretation - Extension requests β†’ Contact: Your instructor

  3. Writing Support - Grammar help - Citation formatting - Structure guidance β†’ Visit: Writing Center

  4. Platform Navigation - Finding assignments - Viewing feedback - Understanding features β†’ Check: Help documentation

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I submit after the deadline? Check with your instructor. Some allow late submissions with penalties.

Why is my feedback taking so long? Instructors review all feedback. During busy periods, this may take 24-48 hours.

Can I delete a submission? No, but you can submit an updated draft if attempts remain.

Is my work private? Yes, only you and your instructor can see your submissions and feedback.

What file formats work? Most assignments accept PDF, DOCX, and TXT files under 10MB.

Privacy & Security

Your Data

Understanding data handling:

  • Temporary Storage - Drafts deleted after feedback
  • No Training - Your work isn't used to train AI
  • Secure Access - Password protected
  • Private Feedback - Only you and instructor see it

Account Security

Protect your account:

  1. Use strong, unique password
  2. Don't share login credentials
  3. Log out on shared computers
  4. Report suspicious activity
  5. Keep email address updated

Next Steps

Explore detailed guides:

  1. Getting Started - Account setup and first steps
  2. Submitting Work - Detailed submission guide
  3. Understanding Feedback - Making sense of AI feedback
  4. Tracking Progress - Using analytics to improve

Remember: FeedForward is designed to help you improve through practice. Each draft is a learning opportunity, not a judgment.
Your instructor is here to help. Don't hesitate to ask questions or seek clarification on feedback.