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wRITING
The leader in on-demand student support
[email protected] | www.smarthinking.com
P R e Pa R e S T u d e N T S f o R S u cc e S S I N T h e c l a
S S R o o m a N d B e yo N d w I T h co m P R e h e N S I v e o N l
I N e T u To R I N G f o R w R I T I N G
According to a survey of employers conducted by the Partnership
for 21st Century Skills, 25 percent of college-
educated workers entering the workforce lack a basic knowledge
of writing and written communications.
To improve their writing skills in the classroom and prepare
them to meet the needs of employers, students
require convenient and continuous access to personalized
instruction. Smarthinking’s Online Tutoring for Writing
is designed to make secondary, post-secondary, and
graduate students better and more confident writers.
With access to expert writing educators, students can
utilize live, on-demand tutoring sessions or
asynchronous question submissions for specific targeted
support. Through Smarthinking’s comprehensive
Writing Center, students receive a detailed, personalized
critique of any written assignment, such as an essay,
research paper, paragraph, résumé, or creative work.
With experienced tutors who have reviewed millions of
essays for students of all ages and skill levels,
Smarthinking’s writing support can play a central role in
strengthening student writing, supporting instructors
who have challenging workloads, and improving overall
student success rates.
writing is fundamental
live, one-to-one Tutoring SessionsWriting tutors are also
available for live, on-demand sessions or to address
asynchronous
question submissions. Live tutors are available for extensive
hours of the day and night to
assist students with specific writing questions, such as
pre-writing techniques, research
strategies, documentation, and grammar and mechanics. Students
can also submit an offline
question at any time, and responses are generally received
within 24 hours.
h e R e ’ S a N e x a m P l e o f a l I v e , d R o P - I N T u
To R I a l S e S S I o N
Using Smarthinking’s proprietary virtual whiteboard, our writing
tutor (in red) helps a student
(in black) develop the thesis for a writing assignment. Note how
the tutor guides the student
through the process.
writing
reading
mathematics
science
business
english for speakers of other languages (eSol)
spanish
nursing & allied health
computers & technology
available subjects
[email protected] | www.smarthinking.com
h e l P f u l w R I T I N G R e S o u R c e S
In addition to live writing assistance and the Writing Center
options, Smarthinking provides
students with access to the Smarthinking Writer’s Handbook, the
ESL Writer’s Handbook,
and a Study Guide Handbook. These tools can be helpful to
students as they complete their
coursework, and tutors often direct students to sections of the
handbook for additional
information and support.
R e S e a R c h B a S e d , R e S e a R c h P R ov e N
Independent research proves that Smarthinking’s online
tutoring services increase student achievement and help
improve student retention. With Smarthinking, students
get higher grades, pass their classes, and stay enrolled.
I N f o R m aT I v e daTa o N S T u d e N T P R o G R e S S
With Smarthinking, administrators are only a click away
from accessing data on student use of the Smarthinking
service, including the records of actual student sessions,
writing submissions, and guidance provided. This data can
be valuable in assessing student progress and success. An
archive of live sessions, offline questions, and paper
reviews is also available to students. Source: Broward College,
Enterprise Business Intelligence, Research Brief.
w R I T I N G P R ac T I c e
Smarthinking also
offers an automated
solution for immediate
writing feedback in
four genres. Powered
by Pearson’s
Knowledge Analysis
TechnologiesTM (KAT)
engine, Smarthinking’s
Writing Practice
provides immediate
feedback and helps
motivate students to
invest more time
reviewing, reworking,
and rewriting their
assignments. Inquire
with your
Smarthinking Sales
Director to learn more.
6 / 1 3
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S P e c I a l I z e d S u P P o R T, P e R S o N a l I z e d f e
e d B ac k
Every aspect of Smarthinking’s Online Tutoring Services for
Writing is designed to provide
individual instruction to students. Our service assists students
with a wide variety of applications,
including report and essay review, remediation, graduate-level
thesis critique, English for Speakers
of Other Languages (ESOL), developmental education, résumé and
cover letters, and GED®
programs.
Smarthinking’s live tutoring sessions are conducted one-to-one
within our proprietary virtual
whiteboard environment, which provides real-time collaboration.
Students can brainstorm with a
tutor about their assignment, get help with grammar or
documentation, or discuss feedback
provided by a tutor or instructor. In the Writing Center,
students can submit essays and other
written work for personalized, detailed critique and feedback,
with a response usually within 24
hours.
e x P e R I e N c e d T u To R S
Over 90 percent of Smarthinking’s writing tutors have an M.A. or
Ph.D. degree in their writing-
intensive discipline. Most are current or former instructors and
all are experienced, screened tutors
and teachers who receive ongoing professional development. With
the aid of trained, experienced
writing tutors available around the clock, instructors can
utilize Smarthinking as they might a
teaching assistant, saving them valuable time.
The writing center Smarthinking’s tutors review various types of
written pieces, and provide constructive criticism
and feedback students need to improve the way they write.
Students may choose to receive this
critique from a tutor with expertise in creative writing,
business/technical writing, or English for
Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), depending on the assignment
and the student. Writing
review services include the following options:
S Ta N da R d e S S ay R e v I e w - Smarthinking’s standard
essay critique prioritizes higher-
order concerns, including main idea/thesis, content development,
organization, and introduction/
conclusion. This critique includes a tutor’s embedded comments
and a response form with
commentary on essay strengths, areas in need of improvement, and
a summary of next steps.
lo N G e S S ay R e v I e w - The long essay review provides the
same individualized feedback as
the standard review, but applied to written pieces of greater
length.
Pa R aG R a P h R e v I e w - The paragraph review provides the
same individualized feedback as
the standard essay review, but applied to a writing piece of 300
words or less.
G R a m m a R & d o c u m e N TaT I o N R e v I e w - The
Lower-Order Concerns-only essay
addresses exclusively lower-order issues of grammar and
mechanics, sentence structure, word
choice, and documentation. Revision advice is provided without
editing or proofing student work.
R É S u m É & cov e R l e T T e R R e v I e w - Smarthinking
critiques résumés and cover letters,
which gives job applicants and students detailed feedback that
can be critical as they seek
employment. Key areas of focus include purpose/focus, content
development, organization,
grammar & mechanics, sentence structure, and word
choice.
T u T o R R e S P o N S e f o R m
S T R e N G T h S o f T h e e S S ay:Hello, Kate. Welcome back
to Smarthinking. This is Tom, and I’m glad to work with you on
another draft of this essay. You’re making some great improvements
here, particularly in the development of your third paragraph and
in the elimination of some of the comma splices that were a problem
in your first draft. I encourage you to keep up the good work! I’ve
included my comments here and in your essay. Be sure to look there,
too.
co N T e N T d e v e lo P m e N T:Kate, I think your main goal
during revision will be to decide just exactly what critical point
you want to make about Butler’s writing. I see that you want to
focus on the death rituals of Vietnam and Butler’s character Dao;
however, I don’t see what point you want to make about these
topics. Try to rework your thesis statement so that it answers the
following questions: What do I want to prove or show to my readers
about the death ritual in Butler’s story? What opinion do I have
about Butler’s use of the death ritual in the story? Then, make
sure your body paragraphs address and develop these questions,
using both examples from the text and your discussion and analysis
of these examples. You will find more specific content development
suggestions embedded in your essay.
o R G a N I z aT I o N :Currently, some of your paragraphs
summarize the story, while other paragraphs give us information
about Vietnamese tradition. We can’t be sure what the relationship
is between these two topics. By rewriting your thesis statement,
you will give your essay a more clear-cut organizational structure.
The first portion of your essay’s body may examine the use of the
death ritual in Vietnamese tradition; the next part of your essay’s
body may look at Butler’s use of the ritual in his story; and the
final portion of your essay’s body may include information about
your opinion of Butler’s use of the death ritual in the story.
G R a m m a R a N d m e c h a N I c S :Kate, as I mentioned
above, you’ve done a good job of eliminating comma splices, but I
see you’re still having some trouble with commas. I wanted to
remind you to check for comma errors by reading your writing aloud.
Commas sound like pauses, as you can tell from reading this
sentence aloud. If you read the following sentence aloud, can you
hear which comma might be unnecessary?
In “A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain,” Robert Olen Butler,
tells the story of an old Vietnamese gentleman as he is departing
this life and entering the next.
As you probably can hear, the comma after Butler sounds
unnatural. Note: sometimes it is difficult to “hear” all of these
pauses, so it is important to know the rules.
For more information about comma usage, take a look at the
section on commas in our online handbook.
S u m m a Ry o f N e x T S T e P S : As you work on your next
draft, • Determine a clear thesis statement that tells us exactly
what point you want to make about these topics. Make sure
that each body paragraph is working to support your thesis. •
Use your thesis as a “road map” for the organization of your essay.
• Read aloud to listen for missing or extra commas. • Feel free to
submit your next draft to us if you’d like more help!
For more information about writing, grammar, and usage, visit
the Smarthinking Writer’s Handbook or the Smarthinking ESOL
(English for Speakers of Other Languages) Writer’s Handbook. Thank
you for visiting Smarthinking. I enjoyed working with you again
today, Kate. Please stop back again soon!
Tom
d e Ta I l e d f e e d B ac k h e l P S S T u d e N T S S T R e
N G T h e N w R I T I N G S k I l l S
The Writing Center sample below presents a tutor’s global
feedback in response to a student’s submission. This feedback
provides suggestions for how to revise the three highest
priority areas of assistance in the student’s writing. Tutors
also
embed comments in the student’s submission to pinpoint areas
that need attention and revision.
“ I have been very
impressed with
the quality of
the tutoring my
students are
getting. In almost
every case, the
tutor has pointed
out exactly the
kinds of errors
or logic gaps that
I would have …
My students are
also pleased with
the help they have
received. I am
certainly going
to recommend
that San Jacinto
continue with
this program.”
Vickie J. Hodges
Professor of English
San Jacinto College South, Texas
“The essay center
is fantastic. I have
received succinct
and valuable
feedback. No
matter what a
student’s level of
writing is, the essay
center will
improve it.”
Dina M.
Student
Tennessee Regents Online Degree Program
-
wRITING
The leader in on-demand student support
[email protected] | www.smarthinking.com
P R e Pa R e S T u d e N T S f o R S u cc e S S I N T h e c l a
S S R o o m a N d B e yo N d w I T h co m P R e h e N S I v e o N l
I N e T u To R I N G f o R w R I T I N G
According to a survey of employers conducted by the Partnership
for 21st Century Skills, 25 percent of college-
educated workers entering the workforce lack a basic knowledge
of writing and written communications.
To improve their writing skills in the classroom and prepare
them to meet the needs of employers, students
require convenient and continuous access to personalized
instruction. Smarthinking’s Online Tutoring for Writing
is designed to make secondary, post-secondary, and
graduate students better and more confident writers.
With access to expert writing educators, students can
utilize live, on-demand tutoring sessions or
asynchronous question submissions for specific targeted
support. Through Smarthinking’s comprehensive
Writing Center, students receive a detailed, personalized
critique of any written assignment, such as an essay,
research paper, paragraph, résumé, or creative work.
With experienced tutors who have reviewed millions of
essays for students of all ages and skill levels,
Smarthinking’s writing support can play a central role in
strengthening student writing, supporting instructors
who have challenging workloads, and improving overall
student success rates.
writing is fundamental
live, one-to-one Tutoring SessionsWriting tutors are also
available for live, on-demand sessions or to address
asynchronous
question submissions. Live tutors are available for extensive
hours of the day and night to
assist students with specific writing questions, such as
pre-writing techniques, research
strategies, documentation, and grammar and mechanics. Students
can also submit an offline
question at any time, and responses are generally received
within 24 hours.
h e R e ’ S a N e x a m P l e o f a l I v e , d R o P - I N T u
To R I a l S e S S I o N
Using Smarthinking’s proprietary virtual whiteboard, our writing
tutor (in red) helps a student
(in black) develop the thesis for a writing assignment. Note how
the tutor guides the student
through the process.
writing
reading
mathematics
science
business
english for speakers of other languages (eSol)
spanish
nursing & allied health
computers & technology
available subjects
[email protected] | www.smarthinking.com
h e l P f u l w R I T I N G R e S o u R c e S
In addition to live writing assistance and the Writing Center
options, Smarthinking provides
students with access to the Smarthinking Writer’s Handbook, the
ESL Writer’s Handbook,
and a Study Guide Handbook. These tools can be helpful to
students as they complete their
coursework, and tutors often direct students to sections of the
handbook for additional
information and support.
R e S e a R c h B a S e d , R e S e a R c h P R ov e N
Independent research proves that Smarthinking’s online
tutoring services increase student achievement and help
improve student retention. With Smarthinking, students
get higher grades, pass their classes, and stay enrolled.
I N f o R m aT I v e daTa o N S T u d e N T P R o G R e S S
With Smarthinking, administrators are only a click away
from accessing data on student use of the Smarthinking
service, including the records of actual student sessions,
writing submissions, and guidance provided. This data can
be valuable in assessing student progress and success. An
archive of live sessions, offline questions, and paper
reviews is also available to students. Source: Broward College,
Enterprise Business Intelligence, Research Brief.
w R I T I N G P R ac T I c e
Smarthinking also
offers an automated
solution for immediate
writing feedback in
four genres. Powered
by Pearson’s
Knowledge Analysis
TechnologiesTM (KAT)
engine, Smarthinking’s
Writing Practice
provides immediate
feedback and helps
motivate students to
invest more time
reviewing, reworking,
and rewriting their
assignments. Inquire
with your
Smarthinking Sales
Director to learn more.
6 / 1 3