Policies, Terms & Conditions

General Information

This agreement, not any verbal or implied statement, constitutes the entire understanding between parties regarding services.

Platform

All educational services are delivered online through various providers. You must have reliable access to the Internet with an appropriate bandwidth to maintain connectivity and a device with a working camera, microphone, and other features that support needed functions. We recommend using a laptop, not an iPad or Chrome browser. Though you are not held accountable for Internet crashes or power outages, proper operation of your device and the reliability of your Internet service is your responsibility.

Registration

To receive any of Inkwell’s services, you must register.

Contact Information & Communication

For effective communication, it is imperative that you keep your contact information updated. Notify inkwelledu@gmail.com immediately if your phone number, email, or home address changes.

Payment

All fees for services are rendered in advance. Payment is made through Venmo.

Website

Inkwell English Education maintains a website, which is updated periodically. To obtain the most current information, visit https://inkwelledu.com/.

Privacy

Inkwell has a separate Privacy Policy.

Modification of Policies

Policies may be modified without prior notice. Such modifications will supersede the terms of this statement. By requesting services, you verify that you have read and understand these policies and that you agree to receive services in accordance with them.

Services

Skip to the section that applies to you.

Tutoring

Attendance

Consistent attendance promotes academic success. Please make sure your student allows enough time to complete a system check and arrive in the virtual classroom promptly. If your student arrives late, you will not be credited for any time missed, and the session will still end on time. If your student fails to arrive after fifteen (15) minutes and my attempt to contact you, the classroom will close, and the lesson will be recorded as missed. Missed sessions will not be made up.

Sessions & Session Notes

To be respectful of everyone’s time, sessions begin and end promptly as scheduled. A tutoring “hour” includes a 50-minute videoconference. The additional 10 minutes is dedicated to teacher preparation. I review homework prior to the session and email you notes after the session. These notes provide important feedback on student performance, detail what was covered in the lesson, and list any homework due for the next session. You may reply directly to these notes to communicate with me.

You may monitor a tutoring session to ensure that technology is working well, especially for younger children. You may not, however, participate in sessions.

Homework

Inkwell may assign practice exercises, which are needed for mastery learning. They should be completed and submitted 24 hours before the scheduled session that they are due so that they can be reviewed.

Package Plan

Lessons are offered by quarterly packages. Fall, winter, spring, and summer quarters are each three months long.

You may request any number of sessions per quarter, but no fewer than six (6), and you must submit advance payment for the total tuition and any curriculum materials, which vary in price. You may request sessions be added to the original package at the same rate.

Students who share sessions must enroll with the same learning goals and attend all scheduled sessions together, working at the same pace.

Class Requests

Reschedule or cancel a tutoring session 24 hours in advance. If you do not notify me within the required 24-hour window, the session will be marked as missed, and you will forfeit payment for the session. The only exception is illness. In that event, notify as soon as possible before the session.

Both students in a shared session are charged if only one student attends a session. If one student needs to reschedule or cancel, both need to reschedule or cancel. You will NOT be credited for a missed session that the other student sharing the session attends. Work out any changes together.

Document Help

Inkwell provides document services for typical school assignments about non-technical subjects and for college admissions essays. Mainly, these services are delivered asynchronously through Google Docs. If you prefer totally synchronous service, register instead for private tutoring.

Submission of Documents

Since the details of your request are specific to a particular document, complete a new Doc Help Request for each document you would like serviced. In the request form, specify what type of service you require. Go to the Services tab on Inkwell’s website and select Doc Help. The request form is linked on that page. In the online form, upload a draft of the student’s document as a Word file along with the writing prompt, written directions, and any applicable grading rubric.

Timetable

Scheduled due dates are strictly observed. Let me know in advance if you need to make alternative arrangements. I cannot accommodate your last-minute emergency. Plan ahead to allow sufficient time to meet your deadlines. Expedited service is not guaranteed.

Inkwell makes reasonable attempts to stay on schedule with projects; however, if a student submits documents late, I cannot guarantee on-time completion. Neither will I refund any portion of a payment for a project that is late or uncompleted through no fault of my own. I will do my utmost to honor deadlines and shall be held blameless for a student’s nonperformance or for situations beyond our control.

Limitation of Services

Inkwell is not an essay writing service and does not condone plagiarism. I will not write, revise, or re-write your paper for you.

Upon submission of a document, students represent that it is entirely their own work. I shall be held harmless for any plagiarism, whether deliberate or unintentional. Inkwell respects that all submitted documents should reflect and remain your students’ work. I provide feedback and make specific suggestions only. It is students’ responsibility to consider suggestions carefully and implement them in a manner consistent with their vision and stylistic preferences.

Furthermore, I do not guarantee the quality of a paper or a certain final “grade.” I exert my best effort to guide students to produce their best work. Rather than perfection, Inkwell’s goal is students’ understanding, progress, and satisfaction with their own work.

Cost

Services are billed in 250-word units that are based on the final maximum length of your document. See Inkwell’s website for current fee schedules. Doc service will not begin until payment in full is received.

Service Plans

Three service tiers allow students to choose the level of attention they wish for their document to receive.

1. Coaching

If students are inexperienced with managing long-term projects, confused about what a writing assignment is asking for, unable to generate meaningful ideas on their own, or just more comfortable with being fully supported so that they can ask and receive answers to questions, coaching is a good option. It is the most comprehensive service.

As project manager, a coach supports the entire writing process from planning to the final presentation.

Purchase of a coaching unit includes the following . . .

an initial reading and review of the preliminary documents uploaded
a half-hour video consultation to discuss and set the timetable for the project
an asynchronous edit of the content and structure of a rough draft
an asynchronous edit of a revised draft for style
an asynchronous proofreading of the final copy
email support

If further service is required for a project, additional editing or proofreading fees will apply. Expedited service is not available for coaching.

2. Editing

If students have strong organizational, grammatical, and mechanical skills but they want an unbiased perspective on the merits of a draft, a good option is our mid-level editing service.

As a reviewer, an editor judges the strengths and weaknesses of a paper and posts comments in Google for students’ consideration.

Purchase of an editing unit includes the following . . .

analysis of a paper’s focus, content, organization, and tone
no email, phone, or videoconferencing support
possible expedited service for an additional fee

3. Proofreading

If students are strong writers, confident in the merits of their document’s content, organization, style, and length, but they want another pair of eyes to catch any minor mistakes they might have missed, proofreading is a good option. Expedited service may be available for an additional fee.

As checkers, proofreaders inspect a document to be sure it is ready for submission, focusing only on the mechanics of presentation, making sure that everything is complete and correct. There is no email, phone, or videoconferencing support. If warranted, other services will be recommended.

Purchase of an editing unit includes feedback on the following . . .

grammar, diction, and usage
spelling and capitalization
punctuation
formatting

Last updated: 12/01/2024