Build Your Feedback Template
Video coming soon.
Walkthrough
A feedback template tells the system how feedback should be written — tone, structure, level of detail, and what kind of guidance students receive.
Start with a preset. For a draft students will revise, Revision Guide is a strong starting point. The preset gives you the first version of the structure; nothing is locked in.
Set the key options:
- Audience. Year 7 student vs. IB Diploma student — set the level that matches the readers.
- Tone. Direct, encouraging, direct-but-encouraging, neutral. Choose what sounds natural for the way you usually give feedback.
- Detail level. Brief, moderate, detailed. Substantial pieces of writing usually want more detail; shorter tasks want less.
- Structure. Strengths / areas for growth / next steps is a solid default. The next-steps section is the most important — if a student reads the feedback and doesn't know what to do next, the template needs work.
- Scores. Sometimes students need to see where they stand against the rubric; sometimes the feedback is more useful without the distraction.
Custom instructions matter most. This is where teacher judgment becomes visible. Add the guidance that reflects how you give feedback:
- "Always quote specific evidence from the student's work."
- "Begin each section by acknowledging what the student did well."
- "Use 'you' — address the student directly."
- "If a student's argument is missing a clear thesis, suggest a specific revision — don't just say 'your thesis needs work.'"
Be concrete. Vague instructions produce vague feedback.
Preview before saving. Read it the way a student would read it. Does the tone feel right? Are the next steps specific enough to act on? A template can look fine in the builder and still produce feedback that feels too broad or too flat.
If something feels off, adjust and preview again. Small changes here often have outsized effects on the final feedback.
Save with a clear name — IB English — Essay Revision Feedback, for example.
What to read or watch next
Templates make a much bigger difference once your voice is on paper. Presenting Your Voice in Feedback walks through the Voice Profile exercise — the most useful 30 minutes of Layer 3 prep.