# Score work against a rubric: prompt chain Score a piece of work against a written rubric, one criterion at a time, quote the evidence for each mark, and say what would reach the top level, using only the rubric you give. **Made for:** Anyone who marks or reviews written work against a rubric, such as a committee member, a manager, a teacher or a program lead. ## Before you start Have these ready: - **The rubric** (required): Paste the rubric as written, with what each level looks like for each criterion. The marks used here are met, partly met and not met. - **The work to mark** (required): Paste the full text of the work as it stands. Remove names you do not want an AI tool to see first. **How to use this chain** 1. Open a new chat in any AI assistant. 2. Copy the Step 1 prompt, replace every [PASTE HERE: ...] slot with your material, and send it. 3. Keep each answer: later steps ask you to paste it in. Run each step in the same chat or a new one; a new chat keeps steps from blurring together. 4. After a step that has a check, run the check before you move on. ## Step 1: List each criterion and what met looks like Split the rubric into separate criteria, quoted word for word, with the rubric's own words for the top level. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a careful reader who turns a rubric into items that can be marked one by one. Your task is to list every criterion in the rubric and what it says met looks like. The rubric: [PASTE HERE: The rubric] Rules: - One row for each criterion, in the order the rubric gives them. Do not merge two criteria and do not add one the rubric does not have. - Quote the criterion's name from the rubric word for word. In the last column, quote the rubric's own words for what met looks like, as short as you can while keeping its numbers and conditions. Do not reword either one. - Use only the rubric. Do not add your own idea of what good work looks like. - Do not read the work yet. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Criterion (quote) | Met looks like (quote) | ```` **You get back:** A numbered table of the criteria, each with the rubric's own words for met. **Check after Step 1: Every description of met is quoted word for word from the rubric** Check by eye: Every quote in the Met looks like (quote) column appears word for word in the rubric. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 2: Find the passage for each criterion For each criterion, quote the words in the work that bear on it, or say that none do. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a research assistant who finds the exact words in a piece of work that bear on a criterion. Your task is to find, for each criterion below, the passage in the work that bears on it. The criteria: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List each criterion and what met looks like)] The work: [PASTE HERE: The work to mark] Rules: - Quote the passage from the work word for word, as short as you can while keeping its numbers, names and dates. If the evidence is in two places, quote both pieces and put ... between them. Do not reword anything. - Quote a passage even when it falls short of the criterion. If nothing in the work bears on the criterion, write exactly None found. - Use only the work above. Do not use anything you know from outside it, and do not guess what the writer meant. - Do not mark anything yet. Do not give credit for length or style. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Criterion (quote) | Passage in the work (quote) | ```` **You get back:** A table that puts a quoted passage from the work beside each criterion, or None found. **Check after Step 2: Every passage is quoted word for word from the work** Check by eye: Every quote in the Passage in the work (quote) column appears word for word in the work to mark. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 3: Mark each criterion Compare each passage with the rubric's wording and give one of three marks, with the reason in one sentence. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a strict marker who applies a rubric exactly as it is written. Your task is to mark each criterion below as met, partly met or not met. The rubric: [PASTE HERE: The rubric] The criteria and the passages found for them: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Find the passage for each criterion)] Rules: - Use exactly these marks: met, partly met, not met. - Mark each criterion by the rubric's own wording for the levels. Choose the level whose wording the passage matches. If the rubric has no wording for a level, use the met wording, and give partly met only when part of it is shown. - In "Why", write one sentence that names the words in the passage that decided it and the rubric wording they were compared with. - Judge only from the passages above and the rubric. Do not give credit for length, polish or effort, and do not take credit away for style. - Do not add the marks up and do not turn them into numbers. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Criterion (quote) | Mark | Why | The Mark column must say exactly met, partly met or not met. ```` **You get back:** A table that gives each criterion one of three marks and the reason. **Check after Step 3: Each mark is one of the three allowed words** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "met", "partly met" or "not met" in the Mark column. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 4: Write the marking report Turn the marks into a count, a list of what to improve with wording taken from the rubric, and a list of what is met. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an editor who turns a marking sheet into feedback the writer can act on. Your task is to write the marking report from the marks and passages below. The rubric: [PASTE HERE: The rubric] The marks: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Mark each criterion)] The passages: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Find the passage for each criterion)] Rules: - Start with one line that begins "Result:", gives the number of criteria marked and says how many were met, partly met and not met. - Under "To improve", write one row for each criterion that is not met, in the same order as the marks. If every criterion is met, write one row with None found in every cell. - In "Evidence", give the passage from the work, shortened. If the passages table says None found, write: No passage in the work. - In "To reach met", say in one sentence what the work would need to show, using only the rubric's wording for met and the facts already in the work. Do not write new content for the writer, and do not add a fact, number or name that is not in the work. - Under "Met", list each criterion marked met as the quoted criterion, one line each, with nothing else. Return markdown in this form and nothing else: Result: (the counts) ## To improve | # | Criterion (quote) | Mark | Evidence | To reach met | ## Met (one quoted criterion per line) ```` **You get back:** A report with a count line, a table of what to improve and a list of the criteria that are met. **Check after Step 4: Every row to improve is filled in** Check by eye: Every row of the table has something written in "Criterion (quote)", "Mark", "Evidence" and "To reach met" (a blank or a dash does not count). If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Final checks Run these on the finished result. **Final check 1: Every criterion in the report is in the rubric word for word** Check by eye: Every quote in the Criterion (quote) column appears word for word in the rubric. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 2: The counts add up to the marks** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: The counts add up to the marks Count the marks in the table below. Do the numbers on the Result line of the report match those counts, and does the number of rows under "To improve" equal the number of criteria not marked met? Answer FAIL and say which count is wrong. The marks: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Mark each criterion)] The work to check (the answer from Step 4 (Write the marking report)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Write the marking report)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 3: Each mark and each fix follows the rubric's own words** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Each mark and each fix follows the rubric's own words Compare each row of the report with the rubric and the work below. Does each mark match the rubric's wording for that level given the evidence, and does each "To reach met" use only the rubric's wording and facts that are already in the work? Answer FAIL and quote any row that gives credit the rubric does not allow, or suggests content that the rubric and the work do not contain. The rubric: [PASTE HERE: The rubric] The work: [PASTE HERE: The work to mark] The work to check (the answer from Step 4 (Write the marking report)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Write the marking report)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 4: You decide whether you agree with each mark** Ask yourself: Read the evidence beside each mark. For any criterion that asks you to judge, such as whether something suits the audience, decide whether you agree. The marks are a first read for you to confirm, not a final grade. If it does not pass: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it. ## What you end up with - A count of the criteria marked, with how many were met, partly met and not met. - A list of the criteria to improve, with the evidence from the work and what would reach met. - A list of the criteria that are met. ## Changing this chain - This template marks by the rubric's own words and nothing else, so a vague rubric gives vague marks. If a criterion says only "good" or "clear", add what each level looks like before you run it. - If your rubric uses other level names, such as strong, adequate and weak, change the three words in the marks step and in its check, both. - If your rubric gives points, keep them out of the AI's job. Let it mark in words, then add the points yourself from the marks. - To check a list of must-haves rather than quality at several levels, use Check every requirement is covered instead. - For a long piece of work, run it on one section at a time, with only the criteria that apply to that section. --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.