Q. Why doesn't the Research & Writing Studio edit papers?

The number one reason why we don’t edit papers is because it takes control of your own writing away from you. Editing papers is at best an ineffective way of helping someone learn and at worst a form of oppression. We’ve seen evidence to support that comments made on student papers have little impact on short-term outcomes and almost no impact on long-term skill acquisition. We are also conscious of how insisting that writing be “correct” according to socially-constructed rules is part of how dominant academic culture discriminates against other world Englishes and other value systems.

Another reason we don’t edit papers has to do with academic integrity. If we change your work, it no longer belongs to you. And even if we did edit your writing, we are just as capable of making a mistake as you are! Instead, we help you learn strategies to make it easier to edit your own writing. A lot of people are surprised when we tell them this is a good idea, but we promise, you can learn to edit effectively on your own!

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