How do my students work on a Writing Coach assignment I created?
Now that you’ve assigned your students a Writing Coach assignment, what’s next?
Start by sharing the assignment with them. Choose the method that works best for your class.
Remember, when you set up the assignment, you were given some handy options for sharing it:
- For a brand-new class, you were given a class link, class code, and a custom URL for the assignment.
- For an existing class, you were provided a custom URL ready to share.
What students see
As soon as students click the link or type in the class code, they'll be greeted with an invitation page to join your class!
- They can then log in with an existing Khan Academy account or create a new account.
- After answering a few quick questions, they’ll be taken to their Writing Coach dashboard, where all their assignments are listed.
For a new assignment, students must click on the blue “Begin assignment” button. Otherwise, clicking the title will take them to their current stage.
The next time they log in, they’ll be taken straight to their dashboard.
Writing Coach stages
Once students begin, the Writing Coach guides them through structured writing stages.
1. Understanding the assignment
Students begin at the “Understanding” stage, where they have the opportunity to:
- Review the details of the essay.
- Ask Khanmigo any questions they might have about the assignment.
- Receive helpful tips on how to get started.
2. Outlining
Once the students are ready to start outlining their essays, they can use the graphic organizer to plan their ideas effectively.
Here's how they can make the most of this stage:
- Stating their initial thesis and claims.
- Adding body paragraphs by clicking “Add Body Paragraph.”
- Rearranging paragraphs using the up/down arrows.
- Expanding each paragraph with more evidence/reasoning.
- Removing sections using the trashcan icon.
- On the lower right side of this page, students can chat with Khanmigo for help or to review their outline.
- Clicking “Assignment” shows the essay instructions.
- Students will see a banner if they leave any part of their outline empty, but they have the option to dismiss it and proceed if they choose to.
3. Drafting
- After clicking “Next: Start drafting”, students write their essays in the editor.
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They can:
- View their completed outline on the right.
- Review suggestions by Khanmigo.
- Copy and paste parts of their outline into their draft using the copy icon.
- Chat with Khanmigo for guidance.
- Once the first draft is complete, they click “Next: Start revising.”
⚠️ Students can only submit their first draft once for feedback. Make sure it’s complete before moving to the next step!
4. Getting feedback
The writing Coach analyzes the essay and provides feedback on the right-hand side.
- Feedback is grouped into categories (e.g., structure, clarity, grammar).
- Clicking on a category displays detailed feedback.
- Highlighted text in the editor matches the feedback.
- Students can chat with Khanmigo for explanations or examples.
5. Revising and editing
- Students make corrections directly in the editor.
- They can check with Khanmigo to confirm improvements.
- Clicking “Mark resolved” helps track completed edits.
- A counter at the top shows how many feedback items have been resolved.
6. Submitting and exporting
Once students are satisfied with their final essay, they click “Mark as complete.”
They can then export their work in these formats:
- Microsoft Word (.docx)
- Save to Google Drive (Google account required)
That’s it!
Whenever students return to Writing Coach, they’ll pick up where they left off.
Happy writing! If you have questions or need help, contact our support team here.