News and Notes from WriteAway

Summer 2022

News and Updates

Quick response times, updates from the Admin Centre, highlights of student feedback, and more!

Quick Response Times Motivate Students to Revise & Resubmit

While this summer seemed to be a time for everyone to take a break, WriteAway service providers continued to work hard to provide students with quality writing support.

Over half of our student survey respondents reported that they were first time WriteAway users and they were suitably impressed. Not only did students learn tips and strategies for improving their current assignment, but many recognized these strategies as tools they could apply to future writing assignments.

During the summer term, the average time between a student submitting an assignment and receiving their feedback response was 1 day, 1 hour, and 40 minutes. This quick turnaround time enabled many students to take advantage of the opportunity to review the response, revise their draft, and resubmit for further feedback. As a result, WriteAway saw an increase in second and third draft submissions.

Behind the Scenes at the Admin Centre

Over the past several months, the WriteAway Admin Centre has made updates to the WriteAway website and overall presentation of service resources for coordinators and service providers.

Self-Serve Model for Statistics

With the self-serve model for retrieval of usage statistics, institutional coordinators are able to retrieve the data that will best fit their timelines and needs. Student usage rates and tutor response data are accessible with customized filters for monthly, semesterly, and annual statistics by individual institution.

Refreshed Training Resources

Guided by feedback from service providers, scripts for troubleshooting common issues have been updated and new video resources have been added in preparation for the fall training session.

Photo by fauxels on Pexels

New Writing Tutor Position

This spring, BC ELN announced that AskAway and WriteAway received funding from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training to support service participants in meeting increased student need. One of the ways that this funding will provide support is by enabling the WriteAway Admin Centre to hire a part-time writing tutor to help bridge gaps in staffing hours over the weekend and reduce the demand for auxiliary hours during peak submission periods. This position will support WriteAway for a 13-week period from September 12 to December 10, 2022.

WriteAway Coordinator Update

The revised job description for the position of WriteAway Coordinator has received approval from SFU Human Resources and the service can now move forward with posting the part-time continuing position.

As a reminder, the search committee includes Donna McGee-Thompson, Head of the SFU Student Learning Commons, Sunni Nishimura, BC ELN Operations Manager, and Anita Cocchia, BC ELN Executive Director. The position will be posted at the end of August, with the plan to have a new coordinator in the position by November.

Highlights of the WriteAway Experience

Students share how quick turnaround times enabled them to incorporate WriteAway's responsive feedback in their revisions to improve their assignments...

“Response was quick. Comments were helpful. I was pointed in the direction to AskAway to get immediate assistance on my questionable citations. I am shocked a service like this exists for free. Very thankful!”

Selkirk College Student

“[They] reviewed my assignment very thoroughly and fast so I have enough time to improve my assignment. English is my second language so this help is precious! The feedback I received gave me good and clear ideas that I will consider. Thank You so much!”

Langara College Student

“This is my first time using WriteAway, and I am satisfied with the feedback given to me by my tutor. I was able to understand what went wrong with my essay, and no harsh critics were involved. [They] helped me point out what needs to be improved on my writing without directly pointing them out. Feedback was also given very quickly and professionally. Thank you!”

British Columbia Institute of Technology Student

“Response time was fast. I appreciated that. Tips and suggestions have improved the quality of my assignment.”

Northern Lights College Student

“It was very helpful and the response time was so quick! I will definitely use WriteAway again for other assignments. The links and suggestions provided helped me learn how I can improve my writing for future assignments.”

Simon Fraser University Student

Spread the Word

Free, Fast, and Friendly Feedback

Get the word out to students about how WriteAway provides support in developing academic writing skills! WriteAway has an array of promotional materials for institutions to use, such as our bookmarks, posters, and social media content!

Brand new materials have been added in preparation for Fall 2022.

Check it out Here!

WriteAway is a service of the BC Electronic Library Network (BC ELN).

Questions? Contact the WriteAway Administrative Centre.

Visit the WriteAway Website