Revisions on a Dime
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 by Anna Kendall

Valentine’s Day is around the corner and you have to buy your significant other a present. On top of that, the holidays put a major dent in your wallet and you’re trying to save up money for a Spring Break trip. Since you might be a little short on cash, getting quality help for revising your papers is pretty much out of the question then, right?

No way! There are a ton of great writing resources—that are free—to help you revise your papers. Quality writing help doesn’t necessarily equal an expensive tutor. Below are a few ideas for finding help with paper revisions. These suggestions might help you earn more points on your papers—and even save money!

Friends & Roommates: After you finish writing a paper, you can ask a friend or roommate to review it and proofread it. You can seek out an English or Writing major who might be a good writer and editor, and you can also ask someone who is familiar with the subject you’re writing about. To thank him or her, you can offer to review the next paper that they write. Reading other papers is a good way to learn about language and different writing styles.

Parents: Your parents and caregivers are usually your biggest allies in college as they want you to succeed. Ask a parent or other parental figure to review your paper and provide feedback. Perhaps he or she received more education on grammar and can help you with those tricky comma splices? Or, perhaps he or she has a professional background on the subject you’re writing about? Either way, an outside perspective might provide some interesting advice and help.

Writing Center Tutors: Most colleges have writing centers that are filled with students who are eager to help other students with their writing. These students have been accepted to work in the writing centers because they’re strong writers and editors. If your school has a writing center, then it would definitely be beneficial to take advantage of it. In addition to being a strong writer, the tutor might have written a similar paper and can offer you paper-specific suggestions.

Classmates: One of the best sources for finding help with paper revisions is classmates. Ask a fellow student in your class if he or she would like to switch papers so that you can each proofread and review the other’s paper. This is a unique situation in which the classmate can offer help not only with the writing but also with the content as he or she is in the same class. Working with a classmate might also give you more insight into the subject and class materials.

 
 
 
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