What is Marking Time and How Does It Work?
In this guide, you'll learn how to book Marking Time, how it works, and why it benefits both you and your students.
Marking Time is a paid feature that allows you to support students outside of scheduled lessons and is a game-changer during exam season. It lets you mark work and give detailed feedback outside of lessons, so you can focus on teaching instead when you're in the lesson. It ensures you’re paid for tasks like:
Marking past papers
Giving feedback on essays
Creating personalised assessments
All without using your lesson hours.
How to Share and Return Work During Marking Time
Since the lesson space isn’t used for Marking Time, students should send their work to you via messages. Once reviewed, you can return the marked work through the same message thread.
If a file is too large to send:
Use a free file compression tool (like Adobe’s online PDF compressor)
Or send via email to support on support@mytutor.co.uk, who can help forward the file on your behalf
How do I book Marking Time?
Booking marking time follows the same process as a standard lesson booking:
1. Discuss with Parents
Explain how Marking Time can support their child’s progress, from detailed feedback to tailored assessments. Agree on what the service will cover and how often it will be used.
2. Set a Deadline
The booked Marking Time session acts as the deadline for returning the completed work. Make sure everyone is clear on this date.
3. Book the Session
Marking Time can be booked by either you or the parent by going to the "Bookings" tab and clicking on the "Marking Time" button in the top-right corner. Payments are processed based on the booking timing: bookings made 24 hours in advance are paid upon confirmation, while those made within 24 hours are paid after tutor accepts the booking.
4. Confirm the Booking
Double-check that the session is confirmed. This ensures you’ll be paid for your time.
5. Assess and Return the Work
Once payment is confirmed, the student should send their work via messages. Review, mark, and return the completed work by the agreed deadline.
Additional Guidelines for Marking Time
Maintain Academic Integrity
Always follow the platform’s ethical tutoring policies. If a request seems inappropriate, such as completing work on a student’s behalf, refer to the academic integrity guidelines and report the issue if needed.
Follow Up on Late Submissions
If a student hasn’t uploaded their work in time, you can send a polite reminder via messages to keep things on track.
University-Level Students
For university students, it’s best to communicate directly with them, rather than involving parents, unless otherwise agreed.
Why Use Marking Time?
Marking time offers significant benefits for both you and your students:
More lesson time for active learning – You can focus on teaching instead of using valuable lesson time for marking.
Additional earnings – You can generate extra income without additional lesson preparation.
Faster student progress – Receiving timely feedback helps students improve more efficiently.
Flexible and customisable – Parents can book marking time as often as needed, allowing you to provide personalised support.
What is the pricing for Marking Time?
Marking time comes with a lower platform fee since the lesson space is not used. If you wish to discuss feedback in more detail, you can suggest an additional lesson, along with the marking time.Payments for marking time are processed upon confirmation of a booking made 24 hours before the start time or after tutor acceptance for bookings made within 24 hours.
💡 Pro Tip: Some tutors offer marking time at a lower rate using a price band exception. Here’s how:
Set up a recurring booking of lessons at your usual rate.
Go to the price exceptions section and adjust the band to a lower rate.
Any marking time sessions booked under this exception will be charged at the adjusted rate.
Remember, the lower rate remains in place unless manually changed, so you’ll need to change it back before booking in any other lessons with that parent.
Offering a reduced rate is entirely optional; only offer this if you are happy to accept a lower rate!