AI tools IB students use to review coursework before submission (2026)
Before the coursework deadline, most IB students want the same thing: an honest read on where a draft stands against the actual assessment criteria. For the Extended Essay, check with your supervisor first: its guide says students are not allowed to receive assistance with any aspect of the research, writing or proofreading of the essay beyond that which is permitted through their supervisor. A handful of tools now do this with AI. Here is how they compare, including where we fit, stated as plainly as we describe everyone else. Details below were checked in August 2026, and the RevisionDojo row again on 13 September 2026; features and prices change, so verify on each site.
The comparison
| Tool | What it reviews | Pricing model | New May 2027 EE rubric |
|---|---|---|---|
| IBLens | coursework in 14 subjects, EE, TOK essay, TOK exhibition | Free preview; full report $9.99, no subscription | Yes: marks against both the 34-mark and the new 30-mark criteria |
| RevisionDojo | Coursework grader for EE, IA and TOK alongside a large IB resource library | See site | Yes: a grader page for the Extended Essay first assessed in 2027 (revisiondojo.com/grader/rubric/extended-essay-2027, checked 13 September 2026) |
| MyRevisionAgent | TOK essay (/10), EE, IA across 27 subject-levels | 2 free grading tokens on sign-up; token packs from £4.99 | No: EE graded /34 on the current criteria as of August 2026 |
| Clastify | AI grader plus paid human review by IB examiners; large library of examiner-verified exemplars | See site | Check the site |
| Generic chatbots (ChatGPT and others) | Anything you paste | Free tiers and subscriptions | Only if you paste the criteria in yourself |
What actually matters when you pick one
- Does it apply the real criteria for your subject and session? An EE drafted for May 2027 is marked out of 30 against new criteria; a tool grading it out of 34 is checking your work against a rubric you will never be marked with. The same applies to the IAs in Psychology, Computer Science, Design Technology and Visual Arts, which all change for first assessment in May 2027.
- Criterion-level output, not a general impression. "This is a solid essay" does not tell you what to fix first. Look for a per-criterion breakdown and an identified weakest criterion.
- A free look before you pay. Look for a free entry point, such as a preview, free tokens or sample feedback, and use it on your own draft before paying.
- Feedback, not editing. Whatever tool you use, IB academic integrity rules draw the line at work that is no longer yours. A tool that rewrites your draft is over it, and even feedback on your own writing can be non-permitted assistance under the IB academic integrity policy, so check with your teacher first. Our academic integrity guide covers where that line sits.
Where generic chatbots fall short
ChatGPT and its peers write fluently about IB work, but they do not apply the official assessment instrument unless you supply it, and even then the grading language drifts. Rubric-specific tools exist precisely because the IB marks against published criteria with fixed mark allocations: a review that does not name your weakest criterion against those allocations is a writing critique, not a mark estimate.
How IBLens works
Paste your draft, pick the work type, subject and exam session, and IBLens marks it against the criteria for that combination, including both Extended Essay rubrics and the 2027 formats for Psychology and Computer Science. It also counts the words against the limit for the task. The preview (a range of totals and, for most drafts, the weakest criterion and top risks; for the TOK essay and exhibition, the band, the start of the explanation and the top risks) is free with no account; the full report (criterion by criterion, or for the TOK essay and exhibition one holistic mark, explained) is $9.99 per piece of work, with no subscription to cancel.
Frequently asked questions
Are these tools allowed under IB rules?
Using AI to get feedback on work you wrote is a different activity from having AI produce the work, but the IB academic integrity policy still asks students to abstain from receiving non-permitted assistance in the completion or editing of work, such as from friends, relatives, other students, private tutors, essay writing or copy-editing services, pre-written essay banks or file sharing websites, so check with your teacher and your school's AI policy before you use one. Submitting AI-written text without crediting it is academic misconduct. Keep drafts and use feedback to revise your own writing. The Extended Essay is stricter: the Extended Essay guide says students are not allowed to receive assistance with any aspect of the research, writing or proofreading of the essay beyond that which is permitted through their supervisor. Ask your supervisor before you use any outside feedback on your EE, IBLens included.
Which tool supports the new May 2027 Extended Essay criteria?
IBLens grades against the new 30-mark criteria, with a session switch for the 34-mark rubric. RevisionDojo has a grader page for the Extended Essay first assessed in 2027 (checked 13 September 2026). MyRevisionAgent's EE grader used the 34-mark rubric when we checked in August 2026. For Clastify, check its site.
Can an AI tool predict my exact mark?
No tool can promise your exact final mark: moderation and examiner judgement are real. What a tool built on the criteria can do is place a draft in a range of marks and show which criterion is costing you most, early enough to act on it.