Overview
Group Leaders can review, grade, and manage LearnDash essay submissions directly on the front end — no WordPress admin access required. This keeps instructors in their learner-facing environment and simplifies delegation to non-admin Group Leaders.
Prerequisites
- Uncanny Groups for LearnDash installed and activated
- At least one LearnDash quiz with essay questions configured
- A WordPress page where you can place the shortcode
- We recommend a full-width page layout — the essay table is wide and sidebars will crowd the interface
Adding the Essay Management Page
Add the Essay Report block to any WordPress page (search Uncanny Groups in the block inserter), or place the [uo_groups_essays] shortcode there. That page instantly becomes an essay management dashboard for Group Leaders assigned to that site.
[uo_groups_essays]Block Settings / Shortcode Attributes
Both attributes below are optional. When omitted, the defaults shown apply. All values added must be comma separated.
| Setting / Attribute | Description | Accepted Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
columns | Columns visible on first load | Title, Student, Status, Points, Question, Content, Course, Lesson, Quiz, Comments, Date (comma-separated) | All columns |
status | Which submissions load by default | all, graded, ungraded | ungraded |
Example — show only the most relevant columns and default to ungraded submissions:
[uo_groups_essays status="ungraded" columns="Title, Student, Status, Points, Course, Quiz, Date"]Hidden columns remain accessible — Group Leaders can toggle them on or off at any time using the column visibility controls in the table header.
What Group Leaders Can Do
Once on the essay management page, Group Leaders can:
- Filter submissions by group, course, lesson, quiz, and status
- Search across any visible column
- Sort by any column (click the column header)
- Toggle column visibility and reorder columns via drag-and-drop
- Resize columns to fit their screen
- Click an essay title to open the grading panel, assign a point value, and mark the submission as graded
- Hover over a title to reveal a delete option for removing a submission
Group Leaders only see submissions from learners in their assigned groups. They cannot access submissions outside their groups.
Exporting Submissions
Add the excel_export_button and/or csv_export_button attributes to display export controls above the table:
[uo_groups_essays excel_export_button="show" csv_export_button="show"]Exports respect the current filter state — if a Group Leader has filtered to a specific course or status, only those results are exported.
Related Articles
- Uncanny Groups for LearnDash — Plugin Overview — start here if you’re new to the plugin
- Using the Group Management Page — how Group Leaders manage learners and groups
- Front End LearnDash Assignment Management — similar front-end interface for file assignments
- Group Leader Reports — progress and completion reporting for Group Leaders
- Shortcode Quick Reference — all Uncanny Groups shortcodes in one place