Write On with Cambi: The development of an argumentative writing feedback tool

The Problem

Every year, millions of middle-school students write argumentative essays that are evaluated against a scoring rubric. However, the scores they receive don’t necessarily offer clear guidance on how to improve their essay or what they’ve done well.

Our Solution

With advancements in natural language processing technology, we now have the capability to provide more detailed feedback. At this juncture, we’ve developed an artificial intelligence-supported editing tool to assist students in revising their essays. In this paper, we introduce this tool. We then delve into its underlying components, covering how the feedback aligns with the rubric and standards, the techniques employed in modeling, and the process of crafting feedback. The paper concludes by summarizing the results obtained from interviews with teachers who have used the tool.