Testimonials
Smarthinking: On-demand study support
Impact on student success
Smarthinking is an excellent support. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed receiving the feedback in order to better my academic writing. I will certainly be using it again.
What it means to have 24/7 access to feedback
Thanks so much... I received some really useful feedback and suggestions on my work – all within two hours of submitting it. I will definitely recommend this to my peers and use this service again myself.
The impact of Smarthinking on students' confidence, skills and learning
Click on each infographic to download and read:
Valued support
Hear from students at higher education institutions across the UK who are already using Smarthinking about the value our tutors are adding to their experience and the confidence and skills being built as a result.
I feel this has built some of my confidence in my academic writing as it has taught me correction in my grammar that I was getting wrong through my essay, and it also encouraged me to elaborate more in my writing.
It's brilliant! To have someone to turn to for some guidance and feedback has been such a great experience, which I am very grateful for. I look forward to using it again.

I am so surprised at how quickly i received feedback. The feedback is really useful and it is helpful to hear from a different persons perspective and what they think about my essay so far.
- Student, University of Salford
Thanks so much for the helpful feedback. You gave me some excellent points to improve on! Much appreciated and I've recommended the service to my fellow students.
- Student, University of Salford
I really apprecieted the advice. It was all clear and easy to follow. The turn around time was also really quick. I got my feedback back after an hour or so. Would definitely use the service again!
- Student, University of Salford
Smarthinking impact study
A study* carried out between September 2019 and May 2020 on the impact of the service on student experience, confidence and progression across six institutions using Smarthinking at various times found that, on average:
“9/10 students would recommend it”
and
“93% rate the user experience as good or excellent”.
*based on usage data, in-service and institutional surveys, and focus groups.
Why educators are choosing Smarthinking
Universities across the UK are using Smarthinking to extend their existing provision to support some or all of their students – helping them to become better writers.
Whether access is provided to support a specific discipline, demographic, cohort or the entire student population, educators are finding that Smarthinking tutors are helping support a range of academic writing needs (as and when it is most needed) that can otherwise be difficult to meet.

I think it is a useful service. Smarthinking gives students an additional layer of support; we have a lot of international students and it is really helpful for them. The work they submit has to be of a good standard scholarly and this is a good resource to signpost students to. When students contact us for feedback, we ask if they have used Smarthinking.
- Dr Marie Griffiths, University of Salford
We encourage students from the start of the module to use Smarthinking for their formative exam submissions, as well as their summative submissions. We also encourage students to make a 1:1 appointment with a Smarthinking tutor during the exam period. The appointments are available at the time that suits the students (24/7) and with a fast response time. I would continue to use Smarthinking with my students.
- Nicole Blythe, Univeristy of Salford
We currently use Smarthinking for our English Study Skills but would also like to roll it out for Economics and Mathematics too. The service is incorporated into our IT sessions and we encourage its use for writing projects towards the end of Semester 1. From using Smarthinking, we have found that it promotes independence for our students and offers them valuable feedback. I am very happy with the process and would like to continue using Smarthinking.
- Elaine Hollins, University of Salford
Helping you cater to all students' needs
Recent studies show that around a 1/3 of students aren’t confident in asking for help with their academic writing or even realise where there is a potential problem:
“I believe there can be a detrimental effect in asking for too much help.”
“Extremely fast feedback, and really helped as some of my feedback [flagged] things I didn’t even notice I had done wrong/poorly.
For students who won’t make use of academic writing support that requires interaction with a member of staff, Smarthinking can help bridge that gap and remove barriers to effective academic writing:
“...very helpful for those with anxiety.”
“Thank you so much for the feedback! It’s given me some ideas to work and on and highlighted areas I need to correct!”