If you're a teacher considering recommending EssayHero to your students, this post is for you. I'll explain what the tool does, how it fits into classroom teaching, and what you should tell students about its limitations.

What EssayHero Does

EssayHero analyses student essays against HKEAA Level Descriptors (for DSE) or IELTS band descriptors. It provides:

• An estimated level/band for each criterion — Content, Language & Style, Organisation (DSE) or Task Achievement/Response, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range & Accuracy (IELTS)
• Paragraph-by-paragraph feedback — explaining what worked and what didn't
• Specific suggestions tied to the marking criteria — not generic advice
• Grammar and language corrections — with explanations

Instant Turnaround

The feedback is instant. Students paste their essay, click analyse, and get results in under a minute.

They can submit as many essays as they want. No queuing, no waiting, no limit.

How It Fits Into Teaching

I built EssayHero to supplement classroom teaching, not replace it. Here are two use cases that work well:

Student Self-Practice

Students can use EssayHero to get extra feedback on practice essays outside class time. This is especially useful for revision periods when they're writing more essays than you can realistically mark in detail.

The instant feedback enables a revision cycle that's hard to achieve with teacher marking. Students can submit, read feedback, revise, and resubmit, all in one sitting.

That iteration is where improvement happens.

Discussion Starter

Some teachers use EssayHero feedback as a starting point for class discussion. Show a sample essay and its AI feedback.

Ask: do we agree? Where is the AI right? Where is it wrong? What would you score this?

This teaches students to think critically about feedback, to understand marking criteria, and to recognise that assessment involves judgement.

What to Tell Students

When you introduce EssayHero to students, I'd suggest covering these points:

It's a Learning Tool, Not a Crystal Ball

The estimated level is based on criteria analysis. It is not a prediction of their actual DSE score.

Real marking involves human judgement that AI can't replicate.

Trust the Teacher Over the AI

If EssayHero says something and you say something different, the student should trust you.

You know their work, their improvement trajectory, what they're capable of. The AI sees one essay in isolation.

Iteration Matters More Than Scores

The point isn't to get a high score from the AI. The point is to use the feedback to improve.

Submit, read, revise, submit again. That cycle is where learning happens.

Don't Include Personal Information

The essays are processed by an AI provider. Students shouldn't include real names, school names, or other identifying information.

Sensible practice for any online tool.

Where AI Feedback Falls Short

You might want to discuss AI limitations explicitly:

Knowledge Cutoff

The AI doesn't know about very recent events. If students write about current news, the AI might not recognise the context.

Creative Blindspot

Unconventional structures might be flagged as disorganised, even when they're effective. The AI sees deviation from pattern and assumes error.

No Context

The AI doesn't know the student's previous work or improvement trajectory. It grades what's on the page, nothing more.

Common Questions from Teachers

Can I use this for formative assessment?

Yes. The instant feedback makes it ideal for low-stakes practice. Students can experiment, fail safely, and iterate without fear of permanent records.

However, the AI's tendency to underscore (especially at Levels 4-5) means you should not rely on it for summative grading. Use your own judgement for anything that goes into a gradebook.

What if students just submit AI-generated essays?

EssayHero doesn't detect AI-written text. If you're concerned about authenticity, use it for in-class supervised writing or pair it with oral defence tasks where students explain their choices.

Does it work for all text types?

Yes. The AI recognises different text type conventions (formal letter, blog post, article, speech, etc.) and adjusts feedback accordingly. A blog post won't be penalised for informal tone.

Can I see what the AI is telling my students?

Yes. Create a free account, submit a sample essay, and read the feedback yourself. That way you'll know exactly what students are seeing.

Feedback Welcome

If you use EssayHero with students, I'd love to hear how it goes. What works? What doesn't? What would make it more useful for classroom teaching?

Email hello@essayhero.app with anything at all. This project improves through feedback from teachers who actually use it.

EssayHero is free, has no commercial aims, and is built by a Hong Kong teacher for Hong Kong students.