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Online Essay Grader

Paste it in or drop a file, and see your score in seconds. Graded against the rubric your class actually uses. AP English, state writing tests, or your school assignment.

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AP & state rubrics
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How it works

How to use CoGrader's online essay grader

  1. 1

    Add your essay

    Paste your draft or upload a DOC, DOCX, PDF, or TXT file. The grader accepts up to 3,000 words and prepares your text for a clear review.

  2. 2

    Pick the rubric your class uses

    Default is the AP English Language Synthesis rubric (essays that argue a position using multiple sources). You can also pick STAAR, FAST, Regents, CAASPP, a generic argumentative or informative rubric, or paste the one your teacher gave you.

  3. 3

    Read the score and the one thing to fix first

    You get a 0 to 100 score, a breakdown by rubric criterion, and one specific change to make next. Revise the essay, click Re-grade, and watch the number move.

Get started
Sample output

What your scored essay looks like

A real graded result. Score, criterion breakdown, and the next thing to fix.

GRADED BY COGRADER

AP Lang Synthesis Draft

Graded as: AP English Language: Synthesis
13 to go to a perfect score
  • Thesis and Claim 1/1
  • Evidence and Commentary 3/4
  • Sophistication 1/1
THE NEXT LEVEL
  • After each quote, write two sentences that link the evidence directly to your claim.
  • Name one counter-argument and explain why your position still holds against it.
  • Read the essay aloud once before submitting. Cut one sentence that does not earn its place.
+13 XP to A-range Polish
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State-aligned and AP rubrics

State-specific rubrics in this online essay grader

The grader scores against the same official rubrics teachers use on test day. Pick your class or paste your own.

AP / College Board

AP

AP Lang, AP Lit, AP History DBQs and LEQs. Official College Board scoring rubrics, used by graders on test day.

See AP rubrics

STAAR / Texas

TX

Argumentative, Informative and Narrative rubrics for grades 6 to 12. Aligned with TEKS.

See STAAR rubrics

CAASPP / California

CA

Smarter Balanced ELA performance task rubrics. Argumentative, Informative and Narrative.

See CAASPP rubrics

B.E.S.T. / Florida

FL

Florida Assessment of Student Thinking ELA writing rubrics for grades 4 to 10.

See B.E.S.T. rubrics

New York State ELA

NY

Prose Constructed Response rubrics. Narrative, Literary Analysis and Research Simulation.

See New York State ELA rubrics

+30 Rubrics Available

You can also build your own rubric or criteria from scratch.

Build your rubric
How it compares

How CoGrader compares to other online essay graders

Last reviewed May 2026

FeatureCoGraderPaperRaterGrammarlyQuillBotEssayPro
Works in the browser, no install yes yes yes yes yes
Grade without making an account yes yes no partial yes
Returns a 0 to 100 score yes yes yes no yes
Scores against AP, state, or classroom rubrics yes no no no no
You can paste your teacher's actual rubric yes no no no no
Revise then re-grade in the same window yes partial yes yes partial
Built and used by real teachers yes no no no no
Trusted by educators and built for compliance

Trusted by 7,000+ teachers and educators

Used at 1000+ schools
Backed by UC Berkeley
  • SOC 2 Type II certified
  • FERPA Compliant
  • COPPA Compliant
“I am absolutely blown away by CoGrader so far. It has been excellent for pre-scoring essays and providing students with comprehensive, usable feedback. It has helped mitigate my subjectivity in scoring as well.”
Megan P. Teacher, Kentucky
Sourced from the official authority

CoGrader's online essay grader uses official rubrics

Most online essay graders score every essay against the same five generic categories: content, coherence, organization, clarity, and grammar. That is fine for a quick grammar check, but it is not the rubric a teacher will use to mark your draft. CoGrader uses the official rubric your class is graded against, sourced directly from the assessment authority.

  • AP English Language and Literature
    The AP English Language Synthesis rubric scores essays 0 to 6 across three criteria: Thesis (a position someone could disagree with, 0 to 1), Evidence and Commentary (0 to 4), and Sophistication (0 to 1). It is the default rubric in this online essay grader because it is the strictest and most widely used argumentative rubric in US high schools. The criteria come straight from the College Board's official AP English Language exam page, used by the readers who score AP exams every May.
  • STAAR (Texas)
    STAAR is the Texas state writing assessment for grades 6 to 12, aligned with the TEKS standards. It scores on Composition (clear central idea, organized progression, specific evidence) and Conventions (grammar, mechanics, sentence boundaries). The rubric this online essay grader applies for the STAAR option mirrors the criteria published by the Texas Education Agency, so a STAAR score here predicts the score a Texas teacher would give the same essay.
  • Regents (New York)
    The New York State ELA Regents exam scores on four criteria: Content and Analysis, Command of Evidence, Coherence and Organization and Style, and Control of Conventions. Each is a 0 to 6 scale, which is part of the reason year-long Regents prep is a thing in New York schools. The criteria here come from the official NYSED Regents Examinations rating guides.
  • FAST (Florida)
    Florida's FAST writing assessment scores essays in grades 4 through 10 against four criteria: Purpose and Focus, Organization and Structure, Evidence and Elaboration, and Language. The rubric used here matches what the Florida Department of Education publishes for FAST, so a FAST score from this online essay grader maps directly to the criteria the state actually uses.
  • CAASPP (California)
    California's CAASPP ELA performance task is scored using the Smarter Balanced rubric: Purpose and Focus and Organization, Evidence and Elaboration, and Conventions. Middle and high school students take it every spring. The criteria this online essay grader applies for the CAASPP option are sourced from the California Department of Education testing page, so a score here lines up with the state rubric.

Frequently Asked Questions

CoGrader: the AI Teaching Assistant.

Can my teacher tell I used an online essay grader?

No. There is no signal on a finished essay that says it was graded by AI. What a teacher can spot is writing that changes voice or sophistication mid-essay, which is what happens with AI essay writers. This grader does not rewrite anything for you. It only scores what you already wrote.

What does the score from an online essay grader actually mean?

You get a 0 to 100 number plus a breakdown by rubric criterion. 85 and above is A-range, 75 to 84 is B-range, 60 to 74 is C-range. The breakdown is more useful than the total. It tells you which criterion is dragging the score down so you know what to revise first.

Can I upload a Word document or a PDF?

Yes. Drop a .docx, .pdf, or .txt into the upload area, or paste the essay text directly. Either path returns the same score. The grader extracts the text on the page and scores it against your chosen rubric, ignoring formatting, headers, and footnotes.

How long can my essay be?

Anywhere from 200 to 3,000 words. Shorter than 200 and the rubric does not have enough text to score. Longer than 3,000 still works, but you will get a more useful result by grading the strongest section on its own, then grading the next, instead of running one giant pass.

Is the online essay grader actually free?

Yes. The first three grades are free with no sign-up. You can unlock three more by telling the form a bit about yourself. After that there is a short cooldown. The limit exists to keep the grader open and usable, not to push you toward a paywall.

What rubric will it grade me against?

Default is the AP English Language Synthesis rubric. It is strict and it is the closest match to what most US high-school argumentative essays are graded against. You can switch to STAAR, FAST, Regents, CAASPP, generic argumentative, informative, or narrative, or paste the rubric your teacher gave you.

Will my essay be stored or used to train AI?

No. The essay text is sent to the model for scoring and is dropped after the response comes back. It is not stored, shared, or used to train anything. The grader does not run it through plagiarism services, does not keep a copy, and does not pass it to advertisers.

How does the online essay grader actually score an essay?

The model receives your essay and the rubric you picked, then scores each criterion separately with a stated reason. Those criterion scores roll into a 0 to 100 total. The feedback you read is the model's reasoning for each score, not a generic comment, so you can see exactly where to push back.

How accurate is an online essay grader compared to a human teacher?

The grader scores using the same rubrics teachers use, so the criteria are the same. The variation is similar to the variation between two human teachers grading the same essay. The score is most useful as a revision signal, not as the final number, and the criterion-level breakdown is more reliable than the total. The same model powers the teacher product 7,000+ educators use to grade real assignments.

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