Some more info I originally put together in July 2015 about how the writing work gets edited; their system has changed a bit since then, with writing that fails editing getting a chance at being reworked for a half-credit towards maintaining one's writer level.
For those who do the CS writing work, consolidating insight about how their evaluation system works, from experienced workers' posts on the CS forum within the last month:
glitter:
"
https://work.crowdsource.com/profile/index This link goes to your main CS profile. It has the statistics for every type of task you do. You can see if you have any rejections because it will show up in your approvals and approval rate. If your approval rate is not 100%, then something was rejected at some point.
https://work.crowdsource.com/career/writing/digest/ This link goes to your tracker for the 100- and 200-word answers. It only shows the status of your last 30 submitted Q&A tasks. If you scroll down, you can see which tasks failed (if any) and get the attached feedback. Also, ignore the 'Pending: 0' in the chart because it says 0 for everyone.
You receive passes or fails based on the number of radio buttons clicked on the Edit checklist.
You receive rejections if your answer falls into any category on the Flag checklist.
Pass: Editor marks two or fewer radio buttons on the Edit checklist. You get paid and your tracker rating (second link) stays the same.
Fail: Editor marks three or more radio buttons on Edit checklist. You get paid, but your tracker rating drops. If your rating drops, you end up getting paid less for the same work. Drop too much and you lose access to the tasks.
Rejection: Editor marked one or more radio buttons on the Flag checklist and a CS admin approved the flag (all flags need admin approval). Your work was rejected, you were not paid, your tracker rating drops, and your approvals (first link) are affected.
When you first start working at CS, there is a short grace period when rejected tasks still pay. However, if you have too many rejections, you won't get paid for them and you may have your work access restricted. "
Leonard_Telford:
" Fail: Affects rating percentage; gets paid.
Rejection: Affects rating percentage; may not get paid.
You'll notice that sometimes, rejections get paid, particularly if the admin believes the article was done in good faith. However, as you complete more, that benefit of the doubt diminishes. "
Dessie:
" I might add that the "fail" feature applies only to the 100/200-word writing tasks. Rejections can happen for almost any assignment. "
glitter:
" To give you some perspective from the editing side...
We see anonymous blocks of text. There's no names, dates, identification, anything attached to the answer. We have no way of knowing if the answer is the writer's first-ever submission or if the person has been submitting tasks for years. However, every writer is expected to follow all of the rules, so every answer is held to the same standards.
Editors have an edit checklist and a flag checklist. Editors either edit or flag, not both. Editors are told by CrowdSource to mark the corresponding box for each error present in the answer. This comes out as automated feedback to the writer, such as "Content contained punctuation errors" or "Content contained style guide errors not already covered by other items on the editing checklist." Editors then have to add feedback to clarify why they checked the box. ...
If an editor marks even one item on the flag checklist, it's grounds for a rejection. This means the editor doesn't have to make any corrections to the answer because it's not usable. A bad source is one of the quickest ways to get a flag on the Q&A tasks, though failing to follow the question type guidelines is also up there.
There is no way to revise your article after submission unless an editor/admin sends the work back to you for revision. Because of this, it's really, really important to read all of the instructions before submitting work. IMO memorizing the task-specific instructions is more important than learning the style guide. Style-guide errors may get you a few dings and fails, but messing up the task-specific instructions often leads to a rejection.
When you first start out, you are given a grace period when you're still paid for rejected tasks, so you have some room to improve without losing access to the writing tasks.
You can see the status of your 30 past writing tasks here:
https://work.crowdsource.com/career/writing/digest/
You can also look at all your past work here:
https://work.crowdsource.com/history
... "
glitter:
" The three-ding fail system is definitely broken, but it's on CS to fix that. Since the editing qualification tests are up constantly now, there are always new editors coming into the queues and they may not know that three dings equals a fail.
Besides that, the editing instructions specifically say to mark the radio button for each type of error present in the answer, and CS has said that editors can lose their quals if they fail to mark for the errors.
The system is problematic by design, but the editors aren't the ones who designed it and we're not the ones with the power to fix it. People have had the same complaints since the tier system came out, but CS hasn't given any indications that anything will change. "
Insolentius:
" If you get paid for a submission that received "We are unable to use this HIT" feedback, that means that it was flagged, but a moderator thought the article was fine. Due to a glitch, the original feedback (the reason why the editor flagged the submission) remains. That's how one of the mods explained the situation to me a while back when I had a similar problem. "
wtogashi:
" A fail is not the same as a rejection. A fail means you get paid for the work, but it is unusable due to certain errors in your writing. This affects your writing level and your pass percentage, but does not count as a rejection. You do not get paid if your article is rejected. "
calmehi:
" Your rating is based on your last 30 so if you push all the fails and rejections out you'll be back at level IV. It's harder to move up but slightly easier to stay there. You need 97% to get to level IV but only 92% approval rate to stay there. "
glitter:
" A CS admin is the only one who can reject work. An editor can't reject something outright. Instead, the editor flags and a CS admin reviews the flag.
If the flag is valid, the editor gets paid, the answer is rejected, and the writer doesn't get paid. If the flag is not valid, the editor does not get paid, the answer is accepted, and the writer gets paid. "
Dessie:
[how a writer can leave a note for an editor:] " Be sure you have the minimum word count before you leave the note at the bottom. Messages left in the feedback box go to the Crowdsource admins, not the editor, so write your message to the editor directly in the task box. "
janns:
" Editors have a checklist consisting of 12 radio buttons to check off on every task. These range from subject-verb agreement errors and use of the inverted pyramid structure to punctuation and capitalization errors. The final radio button is for CrowdSource style guide errors, which is a catch-all for everything else.
If the editor checks three of those buttons (or, as people say here on the forum, "dings" you three times), your article receives a fail. You still get paid for it, but it affects your writing level *for the Q&A tasks only* -- If you receive three or more fails within 30 tasks, you drop down a level and your pay rate is decreased. If you receive three or more fails within 30 tasks while you're at Level I, you're off the project.
The editors also have a 7-point checklist for flagging an article. Articles are flagged for things like failing to answer the question, providing inaccurate information, inserting personal opinion, plagiarism, and, especially, using unapproved resources. Sadly, many well-written articles get flagged for violating resource rules. Editors can also flag for "multiple instruction violations and/or poor quality writing" -- this encompasses anything from 400-word articles to articles that contain so much fluff and filler that they can't meet the required word count after editing to articles written by people who haven't mastered the fundamental rules of the English language.
If your article is flagged, it goes to CrowdSource for review. CrowdSource decides whether to uphold the flag or overturn it. If they uphold it, it also shows up as a fail and counts toward dropping you down a level, and you don't get paid for it. If they overturn it, I think the editor may not get paid (not sure, since my flags don't tend to get overturned). In any event, the editor doesn't get paid for her work until the article is reviewed. If you think an article was flagged in error, you can appeal the flag by writing directly to CrowdSource. "