A new online service started by UA students offers students a chance to improve their writing skills and earn higher grades on essays.
Proof Genie, the online editing service, was founded by Josh Banayan, a business junior who co-founded the Web site with Noah Gereboff, also a business junior.
These brothers in the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity worked on building the Web site over the summer and began promoting and gaining clientele six months ago, they said.
“”We were both interested in and had the same passion to start this Web site, and we made it happen,”” Gereboff said.
To use the service, a person writes an essay and submits a draft to the Web site, where one of five editors working for the company log in, edit the paper and then send it back to the user through the Web site, Banayan said.
These editors, three of whom have Ph.D.s, mark up the essays in such a way that the user must accept any changes or omissions the editors make.
“”We want people to really learn from their mistakes, and not just get a revised paper back,”” Banayan said.
The service has a 24-hour guarantee, Banayan said. To ensure this, the editors are all located in different countries, operating in different time zones, including Kenya, India and Canada.
This way, Banayan said, if someone submits a paper from the U.S. at night, someone in a different time zone will be able to edit the paper while the submitter is sleeping and it will be ready for him in the morning.
There are 120 members currently signed up with Proof Genie, with an estimated two to three members signing up each day, he said, and up to 10 pages edited daily.
Proof Genie charges based on a credit system, where one page is equal to one credit.
When members first sign up, they will automatically receive three free credits, or three pages.
Different packages are offered to help students save money, Banayan said, such as a semester-long package for $80.
Credits are purchased through the Web-based pay system Paypal using a credit card. On an average week the business will make $200, according to Banayan’s records.
Editors are paid per page, receiving half of the proceeds, Banayan said.
Banayan said he devised the idea for the company after a long-term relationship with a girl who always edited his papers for him. After they broke up, he needed assistance and placed himself in the shoes of other students who might need that same help, he said.
The pair was able to start the business by taking capital from credit cards and combining that with money from their own pockets, Gereboff said.
Aparajita Basuroy, leading editor for the company working from Kolkata, India, said in an e-mail that she noticed that Gereboff and Banayan had posted a job description seeking qualified English editors.
“”This fell directly in my area of expertise and before I knew it, we had developed a successful business relationship,”” she said.
Basuroy said she was drawn to the passion that Gereboff and Banayan expressed for their service.
“”This is a real comfortable working environment for me. I get to earn some extra cash by working at home and doing what I love,”” she said.
She added that the Web site is unique from any other editing services, since it targets college students, its prices are low and it has editors across the globe to ensure a “”speedy”” delivery time.
She receives anywhere from three to eight pages of editing daily and the numbers have been increasing, she said.
Students struggle with a variety of issues, she said.
“”I have noticed that many students often try to extend their papers by adding unnecessary words instead of getting to the point and finding the right words. … Also, many students struggle with past and present tense congruence and often switch from one tense to the other.””
Adam Weiner, a political science junior and member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, said he has used Proof Genie’s services and was satisfied with the results on every occasion.
“”It’s only beneficial to you and your success as a writer, it will definitely improve your grade in any class,”” Weiner said.
