Writing is a critical skill for success. However, less than a third of high school seniors are proficient writers, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Unfortunately, low-income, Black, and Hispanic students fare even worse, with less than 15 percent demonstrating writing proficiency. One way to help students improve their writing is via automated feedback tools, which evaluate student writing and provide personalized feedback.

There are currently numerous  automated writing feedback tools, but they all have limitations. Many often fail to identify writing structures, such as thesis statements and support for claims, in essays or do not do so thoroughly. Additionally, the majority of the available tools are proprietary, with algorithms and feature claims that cannot be independently backed up. More importantly, many of these writing tools are inaccessible to educators because of their cost. This problem is compounded for  under-serviced schools which serve a disproportionate number of students of color and from low-income backgrounds. In short, the field of automated writing feedback is ripe for innovation that could help democratize education.

Georgia State University (GSU) is an undergraduate and graduate urban public research institution in Atlanta. U.S. News & World Report ranked GSU as one of the most innovative universities in the nation. GSU awards more bachelor’s degrees to African-Americans than any other non-profit college or university in the country. GSU and [The Learning Agency Lab](https://the-learning-agency-lab.com/), an independent nonprofit based in Arizona, are focused on developing science of learning-based tools and programs for social good.

In this competition, you’ll identify elements in student writing. More specifically, you will automatically segment texts and classify argumentative and rhetorical elements in essays written by 6th-12th grade students. You'll have access to the largest dataset of student writing ever released in order to test your skills in natural language processing, a fast-growing area of data science.

![Description Image](https://storage.googleapis.com/kaggle-media/competitions/The%20Learning%20Agency/Kaggle%20Description%20Image.png)

If successful, you'll make it easier for students to receive feedback on their writing and increase opportunities to improve writing outcomes. Virtual writing tutors  and automated writing systems can leverage these algorithms while teachers may use them to reduce grading time. The open-sourced algorithms you come up with will allow any educational organization to better help young writers develop.

###Acknowledgements    

Georgia State University and the Learning Agency Lab would like to thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Schmidt Futures and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative for their support in making this work possible.
[](https://www.gatesfoundation.org/)
[](https://schmidtfutures.com/)
[](https://chanzuckerberg.com/)
> **This is a Code Competition. Refer to [Code Requirements](https://www.kaggle.com/c/feedback-prize-2021/overview/code-requirements) for details.**