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The options for how Students submit an assignment can affect one another. Here are some specific points and scenarios. See Assignment for steps to set up an assignment and the associated options.

The Student clicks on the Assignment on the main course page to open the Assignment page. If the Allow submissions from date has passed and the Cut-off date has not, the Student clicks the Add submission button, enters text and/or uploads files, then clicks Save changes. What happens next depends on this setting:

Assignment settings > Submission settings > Require students to click the submit button

• No. The Submit assignment button is not shown: only the Edit submission button is shown for the Student.
  • Any text entered or files uploaded are considered Submitted for grading when the Student clicks Save changes. 
  • The Teacher can review and provide feedback on the submission without grading.
  • When the submission is edited, previous versions of the Student's assignment are not available; in other words, only the current revision can be seen.
  • The submission can be edited even after the Due date has passed, but it will be marked Assignment submitted late. Be sure Students are aware of this if you penalize for late assignments.
  • The Student's attempt is closed when the Cut-off date is passed (if enabled) or when the assignment is graded. 

• Yes. The Submit assignment button and the Edit submission button are shown for the Student.
  • Any text entered or files uploaded by the Student are considered a Draft, which can be edited before it is submitted.
  • The Teacher can review and provide feedback on the draft, but the draft is not retained when the assignment is submitted.
  • When the Student clicks the Submit assignment button, the text and/or files are, in effect, turned in, and can no longer be edited: the attempt is closed. 
  • When it is submitted after the Due date, it is marked Assignment submitted late.
  • The Student's unsubmitted attempt is closed when the Cut-off date is passed (if enabled).
  • If the assignment is not submitted by the Due date or the Cut-off date, it is marked Draft (not submitted) and Assignment is overdue.

To Keep Students' Drafts

The Teacher can see whatever Students have written or uploaded for an Assignment even before it is submitted and can provide feedback. The versions of these drafts are not retained, and so the feedback is not linked to the drafts unless you use one of these models.

Option 1: Create an Assignment for each stage, for example, White Paper Outline, White Paper Draft 1, White Paper Draft 2, White Paper Final. For each Assignment set Attempts reopened to Never or Manually (if you want to be able to give a Student another shot at a draft), Require students to click the submit button to Yes, and set a Due date. Each draft turned in will be retained as the assignment. The drafts can have no grade or grades configured to be part of the whole White Paper project grade. The Feedback at each stage will be kept with each assignment.

Option 2: Create an Assignment and set Attempts reopened to Manually and set Require student to click the submit button to Yes. Set the number of Maximum attempts to be how many drafts you'd like to see plus 1 more for the final, 4 attempts would be for 3 drafts and the final. Students will see their submissions as Attempt 1 (4 attempts allowed). After reviewing a Student's submission, at the bottom of the grading screen set Allow another attempt to Yes. The Student will see buttons Add a new attempt based on the previous submission (the text and/or uploaded files from the previous attempt will be copied into the new attempt) and Add a new attempt (the text entry field will be blank and no files copied). By requiring the submit button, Students' submissions will be deliberate and the Teacher won't waste time reviewing an earlier draft when the Student has not made any changes. Set the Due date for the final assignment (the last attempt) and make it clear to Students there are not system due dates for each attempt (like there are for Option 1). Students will have their submissions and feedback for each of the Previous attempts on the Assignment page. The Teacher can review all the attempts for a Student at the bottom of the grading screen: click the link View a different attempt, select the attempt, then click View (see image). 

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