Ashford Learning Resources
Review the Learning Resources section on the navigation panel in your course. Explore the resources
available, view demos/tutorials and read the guides. In a 250-300 word response, discuss how these
resources will be of value to you in your program at Ashford. Use at least one resource to support
your key points. Respond to at least two of our fellow students’ posts and offer suggestions on how
they could increase the value of the resources they identified.
The learning resources available to students at Ashford University are comprehensive
and easily accessible. Anxiety levels can be profound for students returning to school after many
years (Cleary, (2012). It is calming to know the school has services to help students refocus on
their education. Writing a paper in the proper format and grammatically correct can feel
overwhelming. The Writing Center, Writing Reviser, and Turnitin services address the issues
that could be barriers to a student’s success.
The Writing Center offers several topics that I find especially valuable. As I reviewed
the material, I was quick to note that I have a tendency to write in passive voice. The examples
on writing in active voice were helpful. The reviews on grammar and punctuation help greatly
when proofreading your work. I find the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines
to be a challenge. I found the Writing Center’s summarized APA guidelines more user friendly.
The Writing Reviser is a new concept for me. The tutorial describes how your paper is
evaluated for paragraph and sentence structure, grammar, and overall organization. I was
surprised this tool was available to students. It almost seems like cheating; Your paper is graded
before it is graded. There is an advisory stating that the student is ultimately responsible for the
final draft of their paper. This causes me to question what kind of discrepancy issues may arise.
The Turnitin program helps students feel confident that they have correctly sited the
works of other authors. This feature will help prevent plagiarism. It is sometimes difficult for
students to recognize when the words and ideas they choose are their own or a paraphrase from
their reading material.
Cleary Navarre, Michelle. (2012). Anxiety and the newly returned adult student. Teaching
English in the Two Year College (TETYC), 39.4 (May 2012): 364-376. Retrieved from
http://works.bepress.com/navarrecleary/6