The course manual outlines the assignments in step-by-step detail. After you complete the first assignment and send it to your instructor, you start on the next one. Each assignment builds on the skills you acquired in the previous assignments; you begin at a level well within your reach and gradually progress to professional-level assignments.

Your instructor makes editorial comments directly on your manuscript; you see exactly what needs to be revised, strengthened, or rewritten—and why. In addition to these specific comments, your instructor’s margin notes address, constructively, your style, choice of words, setting, and other basic aspects of your work.

When you receive your first edited  manuscript and personal letter of instruction, you’ll experience and understand the real meaning of a “one-on-one” relationship: a working professional teamed with you in pursuit of your personal writing goals. He or she sticks with you, through thick and thin, until you complete the course and have at least one manuscript suitable to submit to an editor or publisher.

When you enroll, your instructor welcomes you with a personal autobiographical letter, your first two textbooks, and materials for the first three assignments. You’ve already provided some personal background information in your Writing Aptitude Test, so your instructor already knows quite a bit about you.

Your instructor reads your assignment and reviews your personal folder containing your Writing Aptitude Test and copies of all previous assignments and correspondence. These regular reviews enable him or her to focus on your background, personal interests, and goals, in relation to your progress at each stage of the course.

Each edited assignment is returned  to you with a personal, detailed letter from your instructor explaining the edits, and recommending steps you can take to build your skills and strengthen any aspects of your writing that need attention. Included will be tips and ideas to get you started on your next assignment.