The Marking App

Comment bank

How to write, organise, and copy reusable feedback comments.

Adding a comment

Type your feedback into the text box at the top of any page and press Enter (or click Submit). The comment appears in the bank below. Use Shift+Enter to add a new line without submitting.

Tagging while you type

Type a #hashtag anywhere in the text box to tag the comment as you write it. The hashtag is stripped from the saved text - only the tag is kept. You can also add or change tags from the tag picker in the bottom-right of the text box, or from the options menu on any saved comment.

Tip: Tag by rubric criterion - for example #argument, #evidence, #structure. When marking, you can filter the bank to a single criterion and work through that section of every student's submission in one pass.

Writing effective comments

The most useful feedback is specific, actionable, and written in second person so the student knows exactly what to do. Some guidelines:

  • Name the problem specifically. "Your citations don't follow APA 7th edition" is more useful than "fix your referencing."

  • Explain why it matters. "Hedging language like 'seems to suggest' weakens your argument - state your claim directly."

  • Give a next step. "Revisit the conclusion and link it back to your thesis statement" is more actionable than "the conclusion needs work."

  • Use placeholders for student-specific details. A comment like "Your answer of {{student_answer}} was incorrect" turns a generic comment into personalised feedback without requiring a new comment for each student.

Copying comments

Click any comment to copy it to your clipboard. A brief flash confirms the copy. If the comment contains placeholders, a fill-in form opens first - complete it and press Enter to copy the finished text.

Copying multiple comments at once: hold Shift or Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click each comment you want, then click the final one to copy all of them joined by newlines.

Searching and filtering

Use the search bar above the comment list to filter by text. Click a tag chip in the filter bar to show only comments with that tag - multiple tags can be active at once.

Editing a comment

Open the options menu on any comment (the icon on the right of the row) and choose Edit. The edit dialog also gives you access to AI rewrite - see AI assistance for details.

Favouriting comments

Choose Favorite from the options menu to pin a comment to the top of the list. Favourited comments are highlighted with a star icon. Unmark them the same way.

Importing comments in bulk

Click the upload icon in the page toolbar to import comments from a CSV or JSON file. Download the template from the dialog to see the expected columns. Imported comments appear in the bank immediately.

Note: Comments are attached to the page they're created on. To reuse comments across multiple pages, either duplicate them manually or share the page with the markers who need access.

Last updated May 2026