Teaching history the way Loewen recommends means assigning more writing. Source comparisons, argument essays, and textbook critiques all take real time to read. If you teach five sections, the stack can become the reason you stop assigning them.

A better workflow keeps the assignments and shrinks the grading burden. It relies on a strong rubric, a first-pass system, and a clear plan for your own time. None of it involves cutting corners on feedback quality.

The workflow below has three phases: set up, first pass, and human review. Each phase has a clear purpose. Together they can reduce total grading time significantly.

Teachers who have tried this often describe the biggest change as consistency rather than speed.

Phase One: Set Up the Rubric

Everything depends on the rubric. Write four to five criteria with clear level descriptors and test them on three sample essays. A rubric that produces surprises during grading is not finished.

• Define four or five criteria tied to the skills you taught
• Write level descriptors in observable language
• Score three sample essays and adjust unclear descriptors
• Build a short comment bank for common issues
• Share the rubric with students along with the prompt

Phase Two: The First Pass

Run the essays through a rubric-based AI grading tool such as GraideMind to get draft scores and criterion-level comments. This handles the repetitive part of grading, like noting a missing thesis or an unexplained quote. The result is a starting point, not a final grade.

Sort the results by score or by flagged issue. Essays at the extremes are often quick to confirm. The middle of the range is where your attention will be most useful.

Phase Three: Human Review

Read every essay at least briefly, adjust scores where the draft missed something, and add a personal comment. Focus extra time on borderline essays, students who need support, and papers with unusual arguments. This is where your judgment adds value that software cannot.

Keep a note of where your scores differed from the draft. Patterns show where the rubric needs refinement. Over a semester, those adjustments make the workflow noticeably better.

Protecting Feedback Quality

Faster grading should not mean thinner feedback. Aim for the same two or three high-value comments per essay, chosen with care. Return work quickly so students can still connect the feedback to their thinking.

Tell students how the process works and who reviews the results. Transparency builds trust and helps students focus on the criteria. With the time you save, consider adding a revision round, since that is where writing improves most.