Frequently Asked Questions

WriteAway is a service in BC that gives students at participating institutions the opportunity to receive online writing assistance. Qualified tutors from each of the participating institutions staff the service and provide feedback on students' draft writing assignments.

WriteAway can only be used by registered students from participating public post-secondary institutions.

WriteAway tutors are able to review and offer feedback on almost all undergraduate, course-based writing assignments. At this time, group-written assignments, graduate-level writing, applications, resumes, and cover letters are outside the scope of what tutors are able to reply to, Students may submit their individual part of a group assignment.

When the service is open for the semester, you can send in a paper for feedback at any time of the day, any day of the week.

WriteAway tutors will not edit your paper (i.e. fix grammar issues). Tutors act as 'informed readers' who will point out areas you should consider revising. Tutors will embed their comments in the body of your paper, but they will not correct or change your words. It is up to you to revise your paper after receiving the tutor's comments.

Each draft document can be submitted up to three times for review by a tutor.

You will receive an email with your feedback attached. To send a second or third draft, reply to the email with your feedback.  

eQuestions are brief, quick-to-answer questions about writing and grammar. Students can submit an eQuestion by selecting the question option on the submission page. A tutor will try to respond within 24-48 hours.

If you are dissatisfied with the assistance you received through WriteAway, please send a message to the WriteAway Administrative Centre. Someone will follow up with you on your concern.

Unfortunately you are not able to contact the tutor directly to ask questions. Do your best to incorporate the feedback that you understand, and send a second draft to WriteAway clearly indicating the remaining questions that you have.

If you do not understand any of the tutor's comments, re-submit your paper and tell what you found unclear, and why it was unclear to you. If you didn't find the previous comments useful, explain why and what you were looking for that you didn't get.

If you are looking for additional resources to help you write your paper, you could also send an eQuestion. eQuestions are writing-related questions that tutors will answer. 

All the tutors are students and professionals working at the participating institutions. When you submit a paper for tutoring assistance, a tutor from any of the participating institutions may assist you.

Tutors must complete training before staffing WriteAway and are continually evaluated to make sure they are providing the best possible assistance.

At this time it is not possible to speak to a live tutor. We encourage you to visit the Writing Services at your institution or speak to a writing instructor if you need face-to-face help.

WriteAway tutors do not work on an appointment system. When you submit an assignment or a question it enters a queue. When a tutor logs in to WriteAway platform, he or she will select assignments and questions from the queue on a first-come first-served basis.

Visit the Institutional Learning Support page and select your institution to find out more about services available to you.

We do our best to schedule more tutoring hours during anticipated peak times during the semester, but sometimes we receive more submissions than expected. We try to post information about rising turnaround times as soon as we can to keep students informed. It’s always a good idea to submit your assignment to WriteAway well in advance of your course deadlines.

Please note that responding to the confirmation email prior to receiving feedback from a tutor can delay a tutor's response as the software tracks submissions according to the last interaction. Submissions are responded to on a first come, first served basis.

Any information collected is under the authority of the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act ('FOIPP Act'). If you have any questions about the collection and use of this information please contact Sunni Nishimura, BC ELN Manager. 

All submissions to WriteAway are archived for a period of one year for your reference and reporting needs, and for use by online tutoring staff and your institution for quality assurance purposes. 

Any information you provide to use WriteAway, including but not limited to the personal information provided, the content of writing or other assignments submitted for tutoring services, is done so voluntarily and may be accessed by tutors of other participating public post-secondary institutions for the purpose of providing the online tutoring service.

Any information you provide to use WriteAway, including but not limited to the personal information provided, may be used to evaluate the service.

 

Yes, your paper is confidential.

Tutors will not share personal information about any student, including their use or non-use of the WriteAway service, without express permission from the student.

WriteAway tutors focus on helping individual students develop their own writing skills. Tutors can review individually-authored sections of group work, but cannot comment on assignments where more than on student has contributed writing. Group members are welcome to submit their own portions of the assignment. Your group might also consider visiting your in-person institutional writing centre as a team.

Unfortunately WriteAway tutors cannot help you with your take-home exam.

If you need technical help, please contact the WriteAway Administrative Centre.