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How do I use Writing Coach?

Updated

Hi there! If you're reading this, you're probably curious about how to use our powerful tool, the Khan Academy Writing Coach. Powered by our AI tutor, Khanmigo, the Writing Coach is designed to guide you through every step of the essay-writing process.

We've written a guide that will help you through the several stages of the Writing Coach experience:

How do I know if I have Writing Coach?

  • If you are a learner with an active Khanmigo account, you have access to Writing Coach.
  • If you were assigned a Writing Coach essay, you have access to Writing Coach.

Note: If you’re a teacher with a access to the Khanmigo teacher tools, you also have access to Writing Coach. You can find more information here.

Get started!

1. Access the Writing Coach

 - Depending on how you have access to Writing Coach, there are a few different ways to access it.

If you have access to Writing Coach and were assigned an essay, you can access Writing Coach by:

  • Viewing a class, and looking under "My assignments"
  • By going to khanacademy.org/writing-coach
  • Using the link and/or code your teacher provided 

 

In addition, if you have access to the Khanmigo learning activities:

  • By clicking the "Khanmigo" drop down menu near the top,  clicking on the arrow and then clicking on "Writing Coach"
    • You could also click on "Learner Activities", then click on Writing Coach from the left hand side.

 

 

 The Writing Coach page

 

Managing your essays

  • View existing essays
    •   If you have existing essays, you’ll see each one listed on the page.
    •   You can see details like the title and the current stage.
    •   Clicking on a specific title will take you to that essay in the stage you were previously on.
  • Delete an essay
    •   Click on the trash can icon to delete the essay.
    •   Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Note: Once deleted, the essay can’t be recovered, so make sure you export it if needed.

Next, we will describe the entire essay writing process. This is where the fun begins!

Writing your essay

1. Outlining

  • Once you’re finished asking Khanmigo questions during the “Understanding” phase, you’ve done any research you need to do for your essay, and you’re ready to start on your outline, click on “Next: Start outlining.”
  • Use the graphic organizer to enter your thesis and evidence for your body paragraphs.
  • You can add more body paragraphs if needed by clicking on the “Add Body Paragraph” button. You can also rearrange paragraphs by clicking on the up or down arrows.
  • To add more evidence/examples or reasoning/explanation in each body paragraph, click on the corresponding buttons.
  • You can remove different outline fields by clicking on the trash can icon.
  • On the right hand side, you can chat with Khanmigo if you need help getting started, if you have questions, or if you want Khanmigo to review your outlining progress so far.
    • Clicking on the "Assignment" tab will display your essay's instructions.

 

2. Drafting

  • Click on “Next: Start drafting.”
  • This is where you will write your essay in the editor.
  • On the right hand side you will see your completed outline.
    • You can copy/paste content from your outline into the draft by clicking on the “copy” icon next to the different parts of your outline, and pasting into your draft.
    • Click on "Khanmigo" to chat if you need help getting started, if you have questions, or if you want Khanmigo to review your drafting progress so far.
    • Click on "Assignment" to get your essay's instructions.
  • Click on “Next: Start revising” once you’ve completed your first draft. Note that right now, you can only submit your first draft for feedback once, so make sure it’s a complete first draft before moving on to Revising.

Analysis and feedback

  • Khanmigo will analyze your essay and provide feedback on the right side of the screen.

Feedback sections

  • At the top of the analysis section, see all feedback areas.
    • Click on a section to view specific feedback.
    • Highlighted text in the editor will correspond to feedback.
  • Click on "Khanmigo" to chat if you need help getting started, if you have questions, or if you want explanations or examples

 

Editing and revising

  • Make corrections in the editor based on feedback.
  • You can chat with Khanmigo to confirm if your edits addressed the feedback.
  • Click on “Mark resolved” for each feedback item once satisfied.
  • See a running count of resolved feedback at the top.

Submit and export

  • Click on “Mark as complete” when you finish resolving feedback and are satisfied with your essay.

  • Export options: Once you've finished/submitted your essay, you'll get the opportunity to export your essay in the following formats:
    • Microsoft Word (.docx)
    • PDF
    • Save to Google Drive (requires a Google account)

 

That's it! Whenever you return to the Writing Coach activity, you’ll be able to see your essay!

Happy writing! If you have questions or need assistance using the Writing Coach, please reach out to our support team through this link. We are here to help!