An easy way to digitally score student writing is with a Google Docs Add-On called “Orange Slice – Teacher Rubric“. You can use your own pre-made rubric or build one with the add-on right in a student’s shared document. In Google Docs, click on the Add-On menu, search for Orange Slice, and add it to your list of add-ons.

If you use your own rubric, first create or copy it in a Google Doc table. The first cell has to contain the words “Rubric Categories“. Then list your rating scale (A, B, C or Great, Good, Okay) in the other cells in the first row. In the left column cells, list your categories. Finally, fill in each cell for what you’ll be expecting or looking for to match the category and rating scale. You can save this as your “template” if you’ll be using the same rubric over and over. Or build a different one for each assignment. Here’s a quick tutorial: