Creating Tasks

You can create a new writing task in just a few clicks. Penmate offers two modes: Cambridge (AI-generated) and Freestyle (custom).

Cambridge Mode

Cambridge mode generates exam-style writing assignments automatically:

1. Go to Tasks and click New Task
2. Select Cambridge mode
3. Choose a CEFR level — B1, B2, C1, or C2
4. Choose a task type — essay, article, email, letter, story, report, review, or proposal
5. Penmate generates the assignment with:
   • A clear task prompt appropriate for the selected level
   • The correct word range for that level and type
   • Instructions that match Cambridge English exam format expectations
6. Review the generated task — you can edit the title, instructions, or word limit before saving

Penmate avoids repeating topics. If you’ve recently created similar tasks, the AI will generate fresh topics to keep assignments varied for your students.

Freestyle Mode

Freestyle mode lets you write your own instructions:

1. Go to Tasks and click New Task
2. Select Freestyle mode
3. Enter your own title and instructions
4. Optionally set a word limit
5. Choose a CEFR level for assessment — this tells Penmate what standard to evaluate against
6. Choose a task type — this helps Penmate apply the right assessment criteria

AI Detection

When creating a task, you can enable AI detection. When enabled, every submission for that task will be automatically checked for AI-generated content. This feature is available for school accounts.

Editing Tasks

You can edit a task after creating it — update the title, instructions, word limit, or AI detection setting. Changes apply to future assignments; already submitted work is not re-evaluated.