Style Guides and Examples

What Are Style Guides?

A style guide controls how ReportRocket writes your school's comments. It covers:

• Length: the character range comments aim for
• Language: the English variant, and the words and phrases your school prefers or avoids
• Tone and structure: how comments sound, and how they open, flow and close

Accessing Style Guides

Go to School Admin > Style Guides. Only school administrators can change the school's style guide.

Set It Once for the Whole School

The style guide is set once for the whole school. A year level only needs its own version of a section where it genuinely differs, for example a longer character range for Year 6.

At the top of the page, School-wide sits on its own row, with the year levels from Foundation/Prep to Year 6 underneath. As the caption says, year levels follow school-wide unless you customise one.

• Start with School-wide. Every year level uses it unless you say otherwise.
• Choose a year level only to change what that year needs differently.

A mark on a year level button shows it has settings of its own. A filled dot means it keeps its own version of at least one section. A hollow ring means it only adjusts the word and phrase preferences, so school-wide changes still reach it. The line under the buttons sums up which year levels differ, and everything else follows the school-wide guide.

The Three Sections

Each section shows where its settings come from. Following the template or Following school-wide means it uses the layer below. A label such as School-wide version or Year 6 version means it holds its own.

Length and Language

Generation aims for the middle of the character band, which keeps comment length consistent across your school.

Word and Phrase Preferences

Word-level rules have their own section, so they no longer belong in the free-text guidance. They steer how comments are written, and they show up as suggestions when teachers run Check comment. They guide the writing rather than force it, so an occasional word can still slip through.

At a year level, this section keeps only the changes you make to the school-wide lists. Words you add there are marked with a +, and words you take away are listed under Removed here, each with a button to restore it. Because only the difference is stored, a word added school-wide later still reaches that year level.

Tone and Structure

A free-text box for voice, structure and judgment: how formal comments should be, how they open and close, and anything that needs a human eye. Word-level preferences belong in the section above.

Changing a Section

1. Choose School-wide or a year level at the top of the page
2. Click Customise for... on the section you want to change (for example Customise for Year 6)
3. Make your changes, then click Save in the bar at the bottom of the page

The save bar tells you who a change reaches before you save it. A school-wide save applies to every year level except where a year keeps its own version of that section. A year level save applies to that year only.

Save before you switch to another year level or leave the page. While a section has unsaved changes, its Cancel button puts it back the way it was.

Going Back to the Template or School-Wide

There is no single page-wide revert. Each section that holds its own version has its own button instead:

• Use the template returns the section to the ReportRocket template
• Use school-wide (at a year level) returns the section to the school-wide guide

You will be asked to confirm, because the section's own version is removed and this cannot be undone. The other sections are left exactly as they are.

How Teachers Use the School's Guide

By default, teachers write with the school's style guide exactly as it is and cannot change it. This is the School-Managed Style Guide setting in School Admin > Overview > School Settings. Turn it off if you would like teachers to be able to keep their own version of a section. The school's guide still applies to everything they leave alone.

Writing Effective Tone and Structure Guidance

Be Specific

❌ "Write nicely"

✅ "Use encouraging language. Avoid negative phrasing. Start each comment with the student's name."

Keep Word Rules in Their Own Section

❌ Typing "Avoid 'needs to work on'" into the free text

✅ Adding "needs to work on" to Phrases to avoid, and using the free text for structure, such as "Open with a strength, then one area to grow, then a goal for next semester."

Set Boundaries

• Maximum/minimum sentence length
• Paragraph structure preferences
• Required elements (e.g., always mention next steps)

Example Comments

The Examples section lets you provide sample comments the system learns from.

Adding Examples

1. Go to School Admin > Examples
2. Click "Add Example"
3. Paste a high-quality report comment
4. Select the year level
5. Save

What Makes a Good Example?

• Written by an experienced teacher
• Follows your school's style
• Demonstrates the tone you want
• Includes curriculum-appropriate language

How Many Examples?

3-5 quality examples per year level is ideal. More examples give ReportRocket more patterns to learn from.

How Style Guides Affect Generation

When you generate a comment:

1. ReportRocket reads the style guide for that year level, including any year-level differences
2. It references your examples
3. It writes a comment matching your preferences
4. Check comment then flags any words to avoid, preferred vocabulary and repeated watch-words in the result

The result feels consistent with your school's voice.

Tips for Best Results

1. Review generated comments: refine the style guide based on what you see
2. Update seasonally: adjust language for different reporting periods
3. Start school-wide: give a year level its own version only where it really differs
4. Test changes: generate sample comments after updating

Next Steps

• Managing school examples
• Customising curriculum settings
• Generating your first report