To build a comment bank in JeddAI, create a bank, group it by criterion or skill, and add the comments you write most often so they are ready to reuse. JeddAI can then draw on your saved comments when it drafts feedback, keeping your wording consistent while you stay in control.
What is a comment bank and why keep one?
A comment bank is a saved, reusable set of feedback comments you write once and apply again whenever the same strength or issue appears in student work. Instead of retyping your thesis needs a clearer line of argument across thirty scripts, you save it once and reuse it. In JeddAI, your comment bank sits alongside your rubric and success criteria, so the feedback you give stays anchored to what you actually assess.
The value grows with your marking load. A well-built bank keeps your wording consistent across a class and across a cohort, which matters when several students make the same mistake or when you return to a standard months later. It also shortens the gap between reading a piece of work and returning something specific the student can act on, which is where feedback does its real work.
How do you set up your first comment bank in JeddAI?
Start by creating a bank for one class, subject, or assessment rather than trying to capture everything at once. Give it a clear name so you can find it later, then add the handful of comments you already repeat most. You do not need a finished set on day one — a bank is meant to grow as you mark, and a small, honest first version is more useful than an exhaustive one you never revisit.
Keep each comment in the wording you would actually use with a student. The point is to save your voice, not to write a policy document, so short and specific beats long and formal.
- Create a new comment bank and name it for the class, subject, or standard it serves.
- Add the comments you find yourself writing most often, in your own wording.
- Group each comment under the criterion or skill it speaks to.
- Save it, then reuse and refine the comments as you mark real work.
How should you organise comments so they are easy to reuse?
Organise comments around the criteria you mark against, not around individual students. Grouping by skill — structure, evidence, analysis, mechanics — or by the criteria of an NCEA achievement standard means the right comment is easy to reach the moment you spot the matching strength or gap. A tidy structure is what turns a bank from a long list into something you can actually work from at speed.
It also helps to keep a spread of comments for each area: one that names a strength, one that flags a common issue, and one that gives a next step. That way you can acknowledge what a student did well and still point to a concrete improvement, rather than only cataloguing problems. Balanced, criteria-referenced comments are easier for students to act on than a list of corrections.
If you assess across levels — say, the same standard from a not-achieved to an excellence response — keep comments that speak to each band. A student sitting just below a grade boundary needs a different next step from one who already has the basics in place, and a bank that reflects those bands lets you meet each student where they are without starting from a blank box each time.
How does JeddAI use your comment bank when drafting feedback?
When JeddAI drafts feedback on a piece of work, it can draw on the comments you have saved, matching them to what it finds against your rubric and success criteria. The suggestions come back in your wording rather than generic phrasing, which is what keeps the feedback recognisably yours and consistent from one script to the next.
You stay in control at every step. JeddAI proposes; you review, edit, remove, or add before anything reaches a student. Think of the comment bank as your voice on tap — it speeds the first draft without handing over the professional judgement that only you can make.
In practice this saves the most time on the comments you would otherwise write dozens of times, while leaving you free to spend attention where a bespoke note is genuinely needed. The routine feedback is drafted quickly; the judgement calls stay with you.
How do you keep comments actionable rather than generic?
Write each comment so a student knows what to do next, not just what went wrong. Weak conclusion tells them little; your conclusion restates the introduction — try answering the question you posed and naming your strongest piece of evidence gives them a move to make. Actionable comments are the ones students return to, which is worth remembering as you build the bank.
Leave room to personalise. Many teachers keep the reusable core of a comment in the bank and add a sentence unique to each student when they apply it, so the feedback still feels individual even though the backbone is saved.
- Name the specific feature, not a vague quality.
- Point to a next step the student can act on.
- Keep the tone you would use with the student in person.
- Avoid comments so narrow they only ever fit one script.
How do you maintain a comment bank as your marking evolves?
Treat the bank as a living resource. After each assessment, add comments you found yourself writing by hand, retire ones you no longer use, and tidy wording that felt clumsy. A short review after marking keeps the bank matched to how you teach now, not how you taught last year, and stops it filling with comments that no longer fit your criteria.
This is where a tool like JeddAI earns its place: it applies your saved comments and criteria consistently across a whole class and drafts the first pass quickly, while you keep final say over every comment. If you want to try it on your own marking, you can Get started with JeddAI and build a bank from the feedback you already give.
Frequently asked questions
How many comments should a comment bank start with?
There is no minimum. Many teachers begin with five to ten comments they already repeat and let the bank grow with each assessment.
Will JeddAI ever send a saved comment to a student without me seeing it?
No. JeddAI only drafts suggestions; you review and edit before anything is published, so a comment reaches a student only after you approve it.
Can one comment bank cover several classes?
Yes, though many teachers keep separate banks per subject or standard so the comments stay relevant. You can still reuse strong general comments across banks.
Do comment banks replace my rubric or success criteria?
No. Comment banks work alongside your rubric and success criteria — the criteria define the standard, and the comments explain, in your voice, how a student is meeting or missing it.
How is a comment bank different from copy-pasting from a document?
A comment bank is organised by criterion and connected to your marking, so the right comment is easy to reach and JeddAI can draw on it when drafting — unlike a loose document you search by hand.
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