How to use ScholAR Grade

Go to scholargrade.io and click 'Get Started Free' or 'Dashboard' in the top navigation. Click 'Sign in with Google' and select your Google account — no separate registration or password required. Your account is created automatically on your first sign-in.

After signing in, you land on the Dashboard. It shows your total papers graded, average score, pass rate, and saved rubrics at a glance. Quick Actions in the center let you jump directly to Grade Paper, Bulk Grading, Rubric Builder, or Comment Generator.

Click 'Grade Paper' in the sidebar or use the Quick Action on the Dashboard. The Grade Paper page has three input modes: Upload File, Paste Text, and Code. Choose the one that matches your submission format.

Click 'Options' to expand the settings panel. Choose your Referencing Style — APA 7, APA 6, MLA 9, Chicago 17, Chicago 18, Harvard, Turabian, IEEE, Vancouver, AMA, Bluebook, OSCOLA, or AGLC4. The matching system rubric auto-populates in the Grading Rubric dropdown. Enter the student's name for personalized feedback and name the session for easy retrieval. The Options button turns amber when options are configured.

Hit the 'Grade Paper' button. The AI analyzes citation compliance for your selected style, writing quality, argument strength, and code sections (if present). Results appear across six tabs — Issues, Analysis, Compliance, Corrections, Notes, and Integrity — with an overall score, letter grade, and per-criterion breakdown.

Navigate to Bulk Grading in the sidebar. Enter a Session Name (e.g., 'ENG 201 Midterm — Spring 2026'). Select your Referencing Style — the matching system rubric auto-populates. This session name appears in Grade History and on exported reports.

Select the Referencing Style for this class (APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 17, Chicago 18, IEEE, Harvard, and 7 more). The matching system rubric auto-populates in the Grading Rubric dropdown. Override with a custom rubric or upload a rubric file using the 'Upload File' button.

Drag and drop individual files or click 'Add Files' to select multiple papers at once. PDF, Word, TXT, and code files are all supported. Once your files appear in the list, click 'Grade N Papers'. Each paper is graded independently with full AI analysis.

Click 'Rubric Builder' in the sidebar. The 'My Rubrics' tab shows your saved rubrics. The 'Rubric Marketplace' tab shows community-shared rubrics you can clone. System rubrics (one per citation style) are always available in the Grade Paper and Bulk Grading dropdowns without needing to be saved.

Go to Rubric Builder in the sidebar. The Create / Edit tab is active by default. Fill in the Rubric Name, an optional description, the total points value, and the citation style (all 12 styles supported).

If you already have a rubric in a PDF or Word document, use the 'Import from Rubric Document' section. Paste the text or upload the file — the AI extracts all criteria, weights, and descriptions automatically. You can then edit them as needed.

The Grading Criteria section shows each criterion with a name, weight slider, max points, and description field. Use the sliders or type directly into the percentage fields. Click 'Add Criterion' to add new rows. When the weight total reaches 100%, click 'Save Rubric'.

Click 'Comment Generator AI' in the sidebar. The Student Comment Generator tab is active by default. Enter the student's name and assignment title in the optional fields at the top.

Select one of three tones: Encouraging (warm and motivating), Neutral (balanced and objective), or Strict (direct and rigorous). The tone shapes the language and framing of the generated comment.

In the large text area, paste the student's paper, your grading notes, or a brief summary of the work. You can also load from a recent grading session using the 'Load from recent grades' panel. Click 'Generate Comment' — the AI writes a personalized, ready-to-post comment on the right.

Click 'Citation Generator' in the sidebar. The Generate tab is active by default. Select from all 12 supported citation styles and the source type (Journal Article, Book, Website, Conference Paper, etc.).

In the Source Information field, paste anything — a DOI, a URL, an existing citation, or raw bibliographic details. The AI formats it correctly for the selected style. Use the optional structured fields accordion for higher accuracy on complex sources.

Click 'Grade History' in the sidebar. Every grading session appears as a card with the session name, date, citation style badge, number of papers graded, and status. Use the search bar to filter by session name or use the Citation Style dropdown to filter sessions by style (APA 7, MLA 9, IEEE, etc.).

Click 'View' on any session to open its full results page. From there you can review individual paper scores, download a PDF report for each student, or export the entire session as a CSV spreadsheet for gradebook import.

Click 'Research & Writing Studio' in the sidebar. You'll see a form to configure your paper. Choose the Project Type (Essay, Research Paper, Dissertation, Thesis, Book Chapter, Novel Chapter, Case Study, Lab Report, Literature Review, Annotated Bibliography, Business Report, Short Story, and more), enter your topic, set the word count, choose your citation style, and select the humanization level.

Click 'Generate Paper'. Once the paper is ready, click the 'Split View' button in the toolbar. The left panel shows the editable Markdown — you can type and revise directly. The right panel shows the live formatted preview (APA headings, proper indentation, references) that updates as you type with a 300ms debounce. Switch back to Document View at any time.

Click the 'Download DOCX' button to download the paper as a Microsoft Word document with proper APA (or chosen style) formatting — correct heading levels, font, indentation, abstract, and references. You can also download as PDF. The downloaded document is ready to submit or publish.

Click the 'Grade' button in the Writing Studio toolbar to run a full APA/MLA/Chicago compliance check on your generated paper. The grading result opens in a new tab with a detailed score breakdown, critical errors, and suggested corrections — the same analysis your professor would see.

Click 'Ad Studio' in the sidebar. Enter your product or company name, a description of what it does, the target audience, and optionally your website URL, main competitors, and any special offer. The more context you provide, the more accurate and compelling the ads will be.

Choose one or more platforms: Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Facebook, Google Ads, TikTok, YouTube, or Email. Each platform gets its own copy format — Instagram gets a visual hook + caption + hashtags, LinkedIn gets a professional narrative post, Twitter gets a punchy 280-character tweet, Google Ads gets headline + description pairs.

After clicking 'Generate Campaign', the AI first researches your product — analyzing your website, identifying key selling points, pain points, and audience insights. A Research Brief appears showing what the AI learned. Then it generates 3 creative angles for each platform, each with a different hook strategy. Review the brief to confirm accuracy before using the ads.

Click 'Publishing Hub' in the sidebar. You'll see all supported platforms: Medium, dev.to, WordPress, LinkedIn, Leanpub, Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, and Substack. Click 'Connect' on any platform. For LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, a popup will guide you through OAuth. For Twitter/X, enter your API credentials. For WordPress, enter your site URL and application password. For Medium, dev.to, and Leanpub, enter your API token.

After generating a paper in the Writing Studio, click the green 'Publish' button in the toolbar. A dialog shows all your connected platforms with your username. Click 'Publish' next to any platform. For content platforms (Medium, dev.to, WordPress, LinkedIn), the full paper is published as an article. For social platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), a post is sent. Leanpub requires your book slug.

In the Publishing Hub, use the 'Generate Social Content' feature to create tweets, LinkedIn posts, or Facebook posts from any paper. Paste your paper text or link a Writing Studio result, choose the platform and tone, and click Generate. The AI writes platform-optimized content ready to post.