Mark Word documents with their numbering and formatting intact
evaleasy grades Word documents by reading the .docx file itself, so students' typed words come straight from the file, and are read once. It works out automatic question numbers and option letters from the file's own rules, and keeps bold, underline, highlight and ticked boxes, because that's how students often show an answer. Pictures and equations inside a Word file aren't read, and the report says so.
Updated
Why do automatic numbers matter when you grade Word documents?
Word stores "1." and "A)" as numbering rules, not as text, so a plain text copy of the file loses them. Left alone, every question in an exam could come out as "1." and the options would have no letters, and answers couldn't be lined up with your key.
evaleasy works out each label from the file's own rules and writes it into the text the reader sees. Question 2 stays question 2 even with question 1's options sitting between them, and lists that continue or restart follow the file's rules. Letters, Roman numerals, zero-padded numbers and multi-level labels such as 2.1 all come through.
How can students show an answer in a Word file?
Students can use bold, underline, highlight or a ticked box, as long as it sets one option apart from the others. The reader sees the formatting as simple markers in the text, and it's an AI model told to treat them like this.
| In the Word file | What the reader sees | Counts as the answer? |
|---|---|---|
| B) Paris in bold, the rest plain | **B) Paris** | Yes, B |
| C) Oslo highlighted | ==C) Oslo== | Yes, C |
| A ticked box beside D | [x] D) Lima | Yes, D |
| All four options in bold | **A)** **B)** **C)** **D)** | No: nothing sets one apart |
| A heading in bold | **Section A** | No: a heading isn't a selection |
| Struck-through text | ~~A) Rome~~ | Treated as crossed out |
| A picture | [picture] | Not read, and the report says so |
Can my answer key be a Word document?
Yes, and you can show the right answers by formatting them. On your own copy of the paper, highlight or bold the right option in each question. The model reading your key is told to record it as correct, provided the other options aren't formatted the same way. Automatic numbers are worked out in the key too, so question 2 in your key lines up with question 2 on each student's file. A plain list such as "1. B" works as well.
Keys aren't charged, up to 40 pages. Pictures and equations in a key aren't read and, unlike in a student's file, the report doesn't mention them, so upload a PDF of any key whose answers are in pictures or equations.
Why does the report mention pictures in Word files?
A picture might hold an answer, and evaleasy doesn't read pictures inside Word files. If a student pastes in a photo of handwritten working, the reader sees only a [picture] note. The report then says "The Word file has a picture that couldn't be read. Check it if answers might be there, or upload the file as a PDF." A PDF works because its pages are looked at as pictures. A Word file holding nothing but pictures is refused at upload, with the same advice.
Equations made with Word's equation tool aren't read either. The report mentions them the same way, and the reader sees only that an equation was there, not what it says. For maths and science papers, export to PDF before you upload, so equations are read from the page.
What about old .doc files?
evaleasy doesn't accept them, so save the file as .docx or PDF first. The same refusal applies to password-protected Word files, so remove the password too. Renaming a .doc file to .docx won't help, because evaleasy goes by what's inside a file and not its name. The refusal comes at upload, before any credit is charged.
Common questions
- How much does it cost to mark a Word file?
- evaleasy counts Word files at one page per 3,000 characters, however they're laid out in Word. A 1,200-character answer uses 1 credit, and a 7,500-character one uses 3. The limit is 30 of those pages, so about 90,000 characters, and 20 MB per file.
- What happens to tracked changes?
- Inserted text is read as part of the document and deleted text is left out, as if the changes had been accepted. If that isn't what you want marked, have students accept or reject their changes before they send the file.
- Is a Word file read twice, like a photo?
- No. evaleasy reads typed text once, because there's no handwriting to misread. Marking then works as usual: with a key, multiple choice and blanks are compared in code, and written answers go to the model.
- Can I mark Google Docs?
- There's no Google Docs connection in evaleasy. Download the document as .docx or PDF and upload that file.
- Can I mark a whole class's Word files at once?
- Yes. Under Many papers, each .docx is one student's paper, up to 1,000 papers per batch. evaleasy takes the student's name from the document when it finds one, and from the file name when it doesn't.
Your next stack of papers doesn't have to be your problem.
Signing up is free. Marking uses credits, at 1 credit per page.