How To Grade Writers and Editors

Grading writers and editors objectively in Dante helps us collect and maintain accurate information about our Community. Follow this guide to better grade writers and editors and see what goes into your own grade.

What Does It Mean To Grade a Writer or Editor?

As an editor or QA, you’re typically required to rate the person who comes before you in the workflow. If you’re an editor, that would be the writer; if you’re QA, that would be the editor. Once you complete your review of an article and hit “Approve” at the top right corner of the content window, you may get a pop-up box prompting you to grade the work.

After you submit your rating for that category, you’ll get another box with a different question/category to rate.

Once you’ve rated each category, you’ll see a final box that allows you to leave a comment. 

While you can leave a comment, the recipient won't see it unless they check their inbox in Dante. It’s best to leave all comments in the main comment section because they are sent to the writer or editor via email in their daily summary of comments from Dante. They can also access and review the comments anytime.

Why Do We Grade Writers and Editors?

These ratings help us collect information about the quality of work from writers and editors. We ask that you answer these questions as objectively as possible.

There may be different surveys for various assignments, so read the questions carefully. In addition to the editors reviewing the writers they work with, QA members will review the editors based on how well they edited the content. 

These performance ratings are visible to everyone working on the assignment inside the Comments widget. No other Community members can see these ratings or overall ratings. 

How Can I Grade as Objectively as Possible?

Ratings can sometimes be subjective. Here are a few factors to consider to make the grading process more straightforward:

• If you have to send an edit request due to missed requirements or other kinds of errors, try to make that show in the final grade. In other words, if the article is error-free only after an edit request, the final grade should not be an L1.
• If you make any corrections that cause you to remove any points from a writer’s rating, you MUST leave a comment to explain so the writer knows what you think needs improvement.
• If you see a recurring error throughout an article, correct all instances, but you don’t need to comment about it every time. If it’s an egregious error, like misspelling the client’s name repeatedly, that’s more severe than using the incorrect phone number format, so weigh it appropriately.
• It's OK to make subjective edits, like changing wording according to your preference, but don't count it against the writer or editor.

General Guidelines for All Questions

Each question is different, but here's the basic guide for all questions based on a 1,000-word assignment:

• Unacceptable/L1: Substantial (~8+) editing done for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and/or client's preferred style (AP, Chicago, etc.). Multiple instances of inaccurate information. Multiple missed style guide requirements.

  Needs improvement/L2: Medium to substantial (~6-8) editing done for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and/or client's preferred style (AP, Chicago, etc.). More than one instance of inaccurate information (had to deep fact check). More than one missed style guide requirement.

  Developing/L3: Minimal to medium (~4-6) editing done for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and/or client's preferred style (AP, Chicago, etc.). One instance of inaccurate information. One missed style guide requirement.

  Proficient/L4: Zero to very minimal (~0-3) editing done for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and/or client's preferred style (AP, Chicago, etc.). No inaccurate information or missed style guide requirements.

  Mastery/L5: Zero editing needed.