A Guide to Critiq
User Process, Tips, Resources, + More
The Pitch
Essays are capable of telling legendary stories, teaching fascinating concepts, and inspiring us to grow — that’s why they’re so important, and why so many essays desperately need another set of eyes. When you think you’ve perfected your essay, chances are someone else will find something to improve. After several rounds of eyes pass through your essay, your essay will be more insightful, powerful, and thoughtful. Critiq does just that — connect your writing to others, so that both can benefit from each’s unique insights and perspectives.
User Process
1. Go to our website, https://www.critiq.tech.
2. Sign up for an account if you haven’t created one yet or log in if you already have one.
3. On the dashboard, you will see your account statistics, including your ratings over time and the number of essays you’ve completed.
4. On the side tab, click on ‘Essays’. This will take you to the master tables, which have three components/functions: submit an essay, edit/rate an essay (live task), and view previous essays. There is also a search function.
5. To submit an essay, click on ‘Submit Essay’. This will redirect you to a submission page, where you can draft your essay (or copy-paste it from somewhere else).
Be sure to mark your essay under one of the many supported tabs:
- ACT / SAT essays
- College application essays
- High School/College STEM Essays
- High School/College Humanities Essays
6. Once you submit your essay, it will be sent to Critiq’s servers. Your essay will be matched with another person’s essays momentarily.
7. When your essay is matched to another person’s essays, you will see your task appear in the ‘Live Task’ master table section.
8. When your match’s essay comes through, you will be able to edit it by clicking on the ‘Live Row’ row. Be sure to provide meaningful edits and suggestions. When you are finished, you can either submit it, or you can save it if you would like to continue working on it later. Note that faster edits yield higher ratings.
9. Once you submit your edits, it will go through into the system. You will only be able to see the edits your match left on your essay once you submit your edits. Your status will change accordingly, and you can track your match’s status.
10. When the edits your match gave arrive, the stage will become “Rate Essay”. Clicking on the row will then lead to a rating page, where you can rate the edits that your match left on your essay.
11. On the rating page, you can give feedback on your match’s edits, which will help match you to better partners in the future.
10. After both you and your match have submitted ratings, your task will disappear and you will be able to submit another task. The edits on your previous essays can be viewed in the Essays section.
Quality Work is Incentivized
- Your partner rates you based on a couple of factors, including quality and punctuality. Your final rating for that task is a combination of your match’s feedback in these areas.
- The matching algorithm seeks to optimize not only preferences but also those with similar rating. Therefore, if your rating is high, you will be matched to partners with high ratings, meaning they give high-quality edits and return them punctually. If your rating is low, you have a higher chance of being matched to others with lower ratings as well. This incentivized high-quality editing and prevents trolling.
- The algorithm especially prioritizes punctuality. Get your edits submitted quickly and your rating will correspondingly increase.
Give suggestions, report bugs, and meet the community.
Critiq is, first and foremost, a community. Report bugs, give suggestions, and discuss with other members of the community on our Reddit.
Meet Our Team
Critiq is made for students, by students.
Reach out to us: critiq.purchasing@gmail.com.
Andre Ye </> Data Science, Backend, & Business Logistics.
I’m a student who enjoys competitive swimming, mathematics, and a good book. Since I began studying data science years ago, I have become fluent in using Python to build and train machine learning and deep learning models, using an arsenal of data mining methods such as clustering and dimensionality reduction to extract insights, and creating visualizations to reveal fundamental patterns in data. At Critiq, I work on perfecting our ML-based matching algorithm (which finds the best two users for each other) as well as other applications of machine learning, such as in trolling user detection or the rating algorithm (which is an objective measure of how good a user’s editing is), monitoring and analyzing data collection instruments on the site, and running A/B tests to optimize marketing campaigns, features, and other site content. I also work to continue building and updating the backend, working with SQL and PHP to build new features and address bugs.| Reach out — LinkedIn. Medium blog.
Carter Chan-Nui </> Algorithmic Development, Frontend Framework Construction, & Business Logistics
I am a student who actively enjoys literature, long distance running, and computer science. I am deeply interested in machine learning and data structures and their business applications and I strive to find new routes to utilize my skills to help others. At Critiq I work on the construction of the frontend framework of our products creating a seamless user interaction experience. Additionally, I provide oversight on our internal algorithms as well as work on the development of new algorithms to allow our system to function at its maximum efficiency. | Reach out — LinkedIn.
Om Shah </> Backend, Cloud/Server Operations, & Business Logistics.
Hey there! I lead the backend development and manage cloud resources here at Critiq. I am fluent in a broad number of languages such as Python, PHP, and SQL. I have collected coding skills and used them in Critiq for common tasks like querying databases, optimizing security, and integrating frontend UI with backend processes. With the extensive experience I have gained by creating Critiq, I have learned to work with interlanguage systems. With this, I have the ability to create expansive applications ranging over multiple coding dimensions and familiarize myself with the world of commercial development and production ready software. Outside of Critiq, I like to run, hike, volunteer, and spend time with my family. | Reach out — LinkedIn. Medium blog.
