Alumna will edit your paper, for a price

China Okasi, a Penn Graduate School of Education alumna, was always the one friends and family turned to for help with an essay, whether by knocking on her dorm-room door or meeting for a tutoring session at the Weingarten Learning Resources Center in Stouffer Commons.

She still gives advice today, but it's not free anymore. An essay of 10 to 20 pages runs around $30 to $40.

Her editing business, called Penn & Paper, specifically caters to non-native English speakers and allows clients to submit anything from theses to simple essays and applications.

So far, Penn & Paper has received about 75 to 100 papers, and Okasi can already recognize the writing styles of some repeat customers, she said.

During an edit, Okasi provides notes on specific errors in the text, as well as an overall analysis.

"I'm no Einstein, but in terms of the services I provide at pennandpaper.com, I'm definitely a master," Okasi said.

Though she began the service last January, things started to kick off after her graduation last May.

It was a chance meeting at the Penn Bookstore that sparked the business - Okasi ran into someone who said she might have been accepted into a biotechnology program solely because of Okasi's help.

Okasi said that although she had long been interested in business concepts and had attended Wharton School conferences, Penn & Paper was her first practical business plan.

Okasi said that a majority of her clients are Penn students, especially GSE and international students, adding that she has notified heads of Penn international student groups about the business.

In the coming months, Okasi said she will try to expand her marketing to other universities such as Temple and Drexel, and she has already helped a client from California. Though the business is named for Penn, anyone can make a submission.

She said that services such as Weingarten and the Penn Writing Center can only do so much.

Penn & Paper edits for grammar, concept and organization and processes the entire paper more thoroughly than Penn resources do, Okasi said.

However, Critical Writing Program Director Valerie Ross noted that face-to-face conversation is an essential part of the Penn Writing Center's approach, and can be especially helpful for non-native English speakers.

The center aims "to have the student really process and make whatever changes rather than our tutors doing that for them," she said. "Our hope is not to make them dependent on a service or a tutor. . We want Penn students to be the ones to know how to correct other people's work."

Okasi countered that online editing is more efficient and reduces the potential anxiety of an in-person editing session.

Monica Wu has sought Okasi's writing help both on campus and online.

Though she said that in-person consultations are better, Wu has used Penn & Paper for a couple of papers because, as an international student, she found the Writing Center and Weingarten lacking.

"They don't correct anything, they don't add anything, they just tell you what they think," said Wu, a GSE student from Taiwan who will graduate this December. "I need somebody to tell you exactly the mistake I made and why it's not right."

With this in mind, Okasi said she formed her business considering the needs of international students like those she tutored at Weingarten.

Okasi edits the majority of the papers, but subcontracts some to other experienced editors. She says she might take on additional Penn & Paper employees in the future.

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