Writing Advising Center goes hi-tech with 'round-the-clock e-mail help

Students can e-mail essays to advisors and are guaranteed to receive helpful criticism within a 24-hour period. As of this fall, University professors will turn a deaf ear to student pleas concerning faulty documentation and ambiguous thesis statements. Even the worst procrastinator should be able to resolve such problems before deadline with the Writing Advising Center's new round-the-clock e-mail advising program, a program designed to provide easy access and speedy answers to some of the most common problems plaguing student papers. As part of the program, students e-mail specific, straight-forward writing questions to advisors at writeme@english.upenn.edu, and are guaranteed a response within 24 hours. "In order to build a society that doesn't sleep, we must help each other around the clock," Writing Across the University Director Peshe Kuriloff said. Advisors are willing to read entire essays -- if they are under four pages -- and help with word choice, idioms, transitions, tone and clarity. Students seeking grammar and spelling help should consult their computer, dictionary or high school style book. The Writing Advising Center in Bennett Hall launched this experimental program -- piloted by 1997 College graduate Steven Morgan Friedman last spring -- mid-way through last year, advertising the service to a small group of English classes. Because of this year's heightened publicity, the center has consistently received two to three inquiries a day -- a dramatic increase from last semester's one question per week average. Students using the service span all schools and majors, with the majority of subscribers concentrated in the humanities. Although its organizers consider the electronic advising program an early success, College senior Meredith Peters, a student writing advisor coordinator, warned against using the electronic service as a replacement for normal walk-in advising appointments. "While this after-hours service represents an attempt to accommodate students during the times they are realistically writing their papers, it cannot substitute for a live session," she said. Writing Program Faculty Director Al Filreis said comparing live and e-mail advising is like comparing "apples and oranges," adding that "the latter is not intended to displace, replace or compete with face-to-face advising." He recommended that students follow-up on their e-mail advising session with an actual advising meeting at one of the center's three offices during its normal hours -- from 7 to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. The e-mail advising program constitutes the most recent addition to the Residential Faculty Council's "Wheel Project," an initiative designed to provide academic support programs in residences, including library, computing, math and writing advising. The Writing Advising Center consists of approximately 35 walk-in advisors and five e-mail advisors, all of whom have undergone one semester of training. Many students using the service -- in its various forms -- said they found it worthwhile. College freshman Sharon Yeshaya solicited both walk-in and e-mail assistance and said she found it helpful in organizing her thoughts. Electronic Writing Advisor Supervisor and College junior Myra Lotto said she hopes the popularity of the new program will change the face of writing advising in the future. "We have PennEscort until 3 a.m. for our safety," she noted. "Someday we'll have writing conferences until 3 a.m. for our education."

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