If you need help with your writing r3ciprocity.com is the place to go. Great writing makes an impact – in school and in the world – and having someone else look through your work and suggest ways you could improve it could make all the difference. So how does it all work?

You get feedback on your writing on r3ciprocity.com by logging in to the platform and uploading the document you want to be edited. Another r3ciprocity member will then proofread/edit your work and return it along with some comments to help you improve your writing. Payment for this service is in R3ciprocity credits and price depends on the length of your document. Credits can be purchased through the platform or earned by proofreading/ editing the writing of others.

Getting some credits

R3ciprocity credits are the way you pay for proofreading through the r3ciprocity.com platform and there are multiple ways to get credits. You can purchase them by clicking on the profile icon and scrolling down to the Buy Credits section. Credits can be purchased in a range of different amounts using any credit or debit card. As soon as your purchase is confirmed your credits will be added to your total in the top right-hand corner of your screen and you can upload your work and use the credits to get it proofread.

Go to How Do You Purchase Credits on R3ciprocity.com? for a comprehensive step-by-step guide on purchasing credits and the answers to frequently asked questions about r3ciprocity.com credits.

You can also get credits for free! The uniqueness of r3ciprocity.com is the reciprocity: you get free proofreading when you proofread for others. To learn more about this and get started on your journey of being a r3ciprocity.com proofreader and earning credits go to How Do You Perform A Test Review On R3ciprocity.com?

Free credits can also be earned by telling your friends about the r3ciprocity.com project or sharing us on social media. This can be done through your r3ciprocity.com profile.

Uploading your work

Once you have some R3ciprocity credits to spend it is time to upload your work to the platform. Make sure you are logged in and go to the My Documents page. You can drag documents to the box on this page or Click to upload. The platform accepts documents from a range of word processing software such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs or Open Office.

Before you send your document

Once you have uploaded your document you will be given some information about it. This includes the number of words in the document and the systems calculation of its current readability (based on the Flesch reading ease score). But the most important information to look at is the number of credits it will cost you to send this document to be proofread and how many days it is estimated you will be waiting for feedback.

The number of credits each document will cost you to send is based on the number of words and length of the document. As a general rule around 200 credits will allow you to send for review around 800 words. However the final price for proofreading of a document is the number of credits given when you upload it.

The wait time given when you upload a document is based on several factors including the number of documents waiting for a proofreader and the activity of proofreaders on the platform. Our aim is always to keep your wait time as short as possible.

You can click on the trash can Delete icon to delete the document from the platform or on the eye Send to review document to send it to be proofread. By clicking on Send to review you are agreeing to pay the number of credits stated for your document to be proofread. Once you click Send to review your document will be sent to a r3ciprocity proofreader and the number of credits deducted from the total on your account.

How long will it take?

The best estimate on how long it will take you to receive the review of your document is the wait time given on the My Documents page. The number of people using the platform is growing all the time. This means that there are more and more proofreaders to review documents but also more people uploading documents. You can keep track of what is happening with your uploaded document through the My Documents page on r3ciprocity.com.

If you cancel the review while your document is waiting for a reviewer then your r3ciprocity credits will be refunded to your account. However, once your document has been assigned to a reviewer you will be unable to cancel it.

Can I get my writing edited any faster?

We know that many users of r3ciprocity.com are working to deadlines. If you need your document edited/ proofread faster than the estimated wait time then the Boost in queue function is for you. Go to your My Documents page to see how many credits it will cost you to boost your document in the queue of documents waiting for a proofreader. Clicking on the Boost in queue icon and paying the specified number of credits will decrease the wait time on your document. It will reach a proofreader and be back to you with edits and feedback much faster.

How can I track the progress of my document?

You can track the progress of your document at any time by logging into your r3ciprocity.com account and checking on your My Documents page. This page shows where all your documents are in the reviewing process.

R3ciprocity.com will also send you email updates when something significant happens in the reviewing process. You will be sent an email when your document has been sent to an editor and another when it has been reviewed.

Once your document has been sent to an editor they have 48 hours to review it and upload it to the platform with their comments. If they fail to do this it will be first in the queue to be assigned to another editor. This ensures shorter wait times and standardizes the R3ciprocity process.

Who will be editing my writing?

Your writing will be proofread / edited by a user of the R3ciprocity platform. Before a R3ciprocity user is approved as a proofreader and given access to the documents of others they have to pass the test review process. This process involves them editing two test documents that are each verified by r3ciprocity.com admin. Only users who prove through these test documents that they have the proofreading skills to provide high quality support to their peers are approved.

We are always looking for more r3ciprocity.com proofreaders. For more information on the test review process go to How Do You Perform A Test Review on R3ciprocity.com?

What about confidentiality?

At r3ciprocity.com we take confidentiality very seriously. We will never share your information with third parties and will keep your document confidential.

When you upload a document to the platform and send it for review you are agreeing to the platform allowing a verified R3ciprocity proofreader access to that document. It is necessary for the proofreader to have access to your document in order for them to edit it and provide comments to help you improve the quality of your writing. However, no one else on the platform or anywhere else will ever have access to your document.  

After sending a document for review you need to tick to confirm you have read the confidentiality agreement. You are confirming that you have read and understand the agreement that places restrictions on what your editor can and cannot do with your document. Click on the box within your document information to turn it to a green tick.

The confidentiality agreement ensures that your R3ciprocity.com editor – who is given access to your work to proofread it and provide helpful comments on your writing – agrees to maintain confidentiality. They also agree to store your document securely while they are editing it, not to make copies of your work and to delete your files from their computer and back-up devices once the editing process is finished. This agreement also holds them legally responsible for any breach of confidentiality concerning the information in your document or files.

What feedback will I get on my writing?

When you get the email to say your document has been reviewed you can view all the edits and feedback from your proofreader by clicking on the document on the My Documents page.

The screen will then show your original document side by side with the edited version of your document. This allows you to see exactly what changes your reviewer recommends to improve the quality of your writing. Their comment on the right hand side of the screen is additional feedback on your writing. It may refer to your writing as a whole or explain particular changes that the reviewer has made. The reviewer’s edits and comment are their own opinion about possible improvements to your piece of writing and you may not agree with all of their changes or edits.

Give your reviewer feedback

The box under the reviewer’s comments is for you to write feedback for your reviewer. This is your opportunity to send a message back to the person who has proofread/ reviewed your work. It is the perfect place to say thank you for any feedback that has specifically helped you. You can also suggest ways they could improve the way they do edits/ comments in the future.

For example: Thank you for your edits in the conclusion. The sentence you rearranged sounds much better now. However, I would have appreciated a longer comment on how to make my writing better.

Also do not forget to give your reviewer a star rating. If they have helped you and done a good job do not hesitate to give them four or five stars. R3ciprocity.com proofreaders need to maintain a high average star rating in order to convert their earned credits to real money and benefit financially from their work on the platform.

If you have any comments, feedback or concerns about a reviewer or anything on the r3ciprocity.com platform do not hesitate to contact us. Send us a message via your profile or email contact@r3ciprocity.com.

For more information about the exciting and innovative r3ciprocity project check out these posts:

Why r3ciprocity.com is a great place to find an online proofreader
Why are we building this proofreading software?
How do you get feedback on your writing in grad school?