When modifying a rubric, you can choose to enable free-form comments instead of using a ratings scale for each criterion. This allows the assessor to write and leave comments related to the specific criterion.

To use free-form comments, make sure you have selected the free-form comments checkbox when adding a rubric to an assignment. Make sure this checkbox is selected before you begin grading submissions.

You can use free-form comments with the option to use the rubric for grading. If you do not select the rubric specifically for grading, you can still use the rubric to evaluate an assignment but the score will not update automatically.