How to get the most out of Classmate

Classmate works best when it knows what you're writing and why. A few small choices before you hit "Get Feedback" make a huge difference in how specific and useful your feedback is. Here's how to get the most out of every submission.

Give it the prompt or rubric

This is the single biggest thing you can do. Without context, Classmate can only tell you whether your writing is clear and well written. With your prompt, rubric, or teacher's instructions, it can tell you whether your writing actually does what it's supposed to do.

Paste it into the context box, all of it. For a college essay, add the prompt and the word limit. For a class assignment, add the instructions and the rubric if you have one. On Pro, you can upload the rubric as a PDF, Word file, or photo instead of retyping it.

Pick the right writing type and focus

The writing type changes how Classmate reads your work. A college application essay is judged on reflection, storytelling, and what it says about you. An academic essay is judged on its argument and how well it follows the assignment. Pick the one that matches: Academic Essay, College Application, Creative Writing, Email, or Other.

Then pick a focus:

• Balanced gives you a mix of everything. Start here.
• Grammar & Spelling is for a final pass once the big things are done.
• Word Reduction is for when you're over the word limit and need to cut.
• Advanced (Pro) lets you write your own instructions, like "focus on my conclusion" or "be harsh about clichés."

Quick or Detailed?

Quick is the right choice for most writing. It's faster, uses fewer credits, and gives great feedback on everything from emails to most essays.

Detailed uses a more advanced AI model behind the scenes, so it takes longer and uses more credits. Save it for especially long or complex writing, where the extra depth actually makes a difference.

Read the overview first

Before you jump into the inline comments, read the Feedback Overview at the top. It's the big picture: what you did well, where you can improve, and (for college essays) what an admissions officer might take away from your essay. If the overview says the essay is missing something big, fix that first. There's no point fixing a comma in a paragraph you're about to rewrite.

Work through the comments

Each highlight's color tells you what kind of comment it is.

When you've dealt with a comment, resolve it so you can see what's left.

Ask follow-up questions

Comments are a starting point, not the final word. Click on any comment and you can ask Classmate about it: why it matters, for an example, or for a few ways to fix it. There are quick buttons for the common questions, like "Tell me more" or "Suggest changes," or you can type your own.

If you ask for suggestions, Classmate gives you a few rewrites of just that highlighted text. Hover over the arrow next to one to preview it in your essay, and click to apply it. You can always undo it.

Revise and resubmit

You don't need to copy your essay back into Google Docs to revise it. Edit right in Classmate, next to the comments, and save as you go. When you've made a real round of changes, hit Resubmit to get fresh feedback on the new version. Your earlier versions are saved, so you can always go back.

For teachers

On Pro, you can turn an assignment into a template: the prompt, the rubric, and the feedback settings, all saved behind one link. Share it with your class, and students only have to paste in their writing to get feedback that's specific to your assignment.