"There is no such thing as good writing. There is only good rewriting." Harry Shaw, Errors in English and Ways to Correct Them.
Whether you just want to check on how a paper is flowing or really feel unsure on how to organize your thoughts, consider using the free Smarthinking service, a professional assistance group with which Capella has a business arrangement.
Smarthinking offers two ways of getting help: online chats and feedback. The chats, available Sundays through Thursdays 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET, are for short questions. The feedback is for papers, which will get a thorough analysis within 24 to 48 hours. (Smarthinking also provides subject-matter tutoring.)
Leslie Olsen, Capella’s writing center coordinator, says it’s a great service for all learners, as long as they know what to expect. “They’re not editors, they’re not going to fix it all for you,” she says. But they will check on all the areas that you’ve identified as ones you’d like assistance on, as well as others you might not have realized needed help.
Capella learners are somewhat ahead of their peers in acknowledging their need for writing assistance: 21 percent used Smarthinking last year, compared to a national average of 10 percent. But Olsen thinks the university could safely bump up that percentage—more of us need to rewrite than we like to admit.
Make Smarthinking work for you
- Use the chat line early in the process to get feedback on an outline. If you’re not sure about your organization for an upcoming paper, run it by Smartthinking’s staff and get it straight before you get in too deep.
- Don’t be afraid to submit your work. “What you’re getting is a neutral reader who’s not grading or evaluating you, but telling you what they understand from what you have written,” Olsen says.
- Build in time to revise your work after receiving feedback. Don’t submit a massive paper for review a few days before it’s due. Plan on spending some time reworking your paper based on what Smarthinking tells you.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Alumni, Learners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
