Start by what you're doing

Writing Studio does a lot, and you rarely need all of it at once. Find the task closest to what you’re doing now. Each one says what you get, gives you three steps to start, and points to a longer guide for the whole job.

If you’re brand new, read What is Writing Studio? and Find your way around first. If a word is unfamiliar, Writing Studio terminology explains it.

Write an essay from an assignment brief

What you get. A paper that begins with research instead of a blank page: findings from real sources, a few angles to choose from, a working title, and the word goal, citation style and due date taken from your brief.

Start here.

1. Paste your whole brief into the box on the home screen and send it: Start your first paper.
2. Check what Writing Studio read from the brief, and correct anything it got wrong: Read your assignment brief.
3. Choose an angle, then cite sources as you write by typing @: Cite a source with @.

Read next: Write an essay from an assignment brief.

Write a dissertation or long paper

What you get. A way to keep a big project in order: a course that holds everything, a list of headings that shows the words in each section, a brief for each chapter, and a library you can sort into collections.

Start here.

1. Create a course for the project and file your paper in it, or one paper for each chapter: Organize papers into courses. Keep chapters in one paper if you want a single reference list. Use a paper per chapter if they’re marked, shared or handed in separately.
2. Set the citation style, word goal and due date in Paper settings, then write a short brief for each chapter so the AI knows what it must cover: Guide the AI with briefs.
3. Group your sources into collections as you read, and use the list of headings to move around and watch each section’s length: Organize sources with collections and filters and Use headings to organize your paper.

Read next: Use headings to organize your paper.

Write a literature review

What you get. A review of your topic written from real papers. The literature review tool searches the databases, reads what it finds, writes the review as a new paper, and lists the papers it read and the gaps it noticed. It needs Plus or Pro, or your own AI key. On the Free plan you can build a review by hand with the Citation finder and the chat.

Start here.

1. Save the papers you already know to your library, so the review can use them: Add sources to your library.
2. Choose Literature review in the sidebar, type your topic, choose the years, and include your library: Write a literature review.
3. Treat the result as a first draft. Read the papers it quotes, check the references, and rewrite it in your own voice: Check your references.

Read next: Plan and write a literature review.

Check references you’ve already written elsewhere

What you get. Every reference in a list, or in a whole paper, compared with its published record. Writing Studio flags the ones that don’t match, can’t be found or have been retracted, offers a fix, and shows in-text citations that point to nothing. Checks are free to run, with a daily limit on the Free plan.

Start here.

1. Choose Citation checker in the sidebar and paste your reference list or paper, or upload a PDF or Word file: Check a reference list with the Citation checker.
2. Let it detect the style, or pick it, and run the check. Work through the results one by one: Check your references.
3. Copy the corrected list back into your document. If the paper is in Word, you can also bring it into Writing Studio and make its citations live: Import a Word document and Turn typed citations into live ones.

Read next: Get your paper ready to submit.

Improve a draft you already have

What you get. Your draft in Writing Studio with real citations, a list of what’s still missing, and suggestions you can accept or dismiss one at a time.

Start here.

1. Choose Import from Word on the home screen and pick your .docx file: Import a Word document.
2. Turn the citations you typed in Word into live ones, so they can be checked and restyled: Turn typed citations into live ones.
3. Open the Check tab to see what’s missing, then run a proofread and step through its suggestions: Check your paper before you submit and Proofread and review your paper.

Read next: Get your paper ready to submit.

Write with a group or get feedback

What you get. Classmates, a supervisor or a friend can read, comment on or edit your paper, with the access you choose for each person. It isn’t live co-editing: other people’s edits reach your screen within about 30 seconds.

Start here.

1. Click Share, enter an email address and choose a role, Editor, Commenter or Viewer. Your account needs a verified email address to share: Share a paper.
2. Ask for feedback as comments: select a passage and press ⌘⇧M (Ctrl+Shift+M), and mention people with @ so they get an email: Add and reply to comments.
3. Know what each role can do, and what to do if you’re the one who was invited: Understand roles and access and Work on a paper shared with you.

Read next: Write a paper with other people.

Stay within your course’s AI rules

What you get. AI help that matches your syllabus. Features your course doesn’t allow are switched off for that paper, and a private record of where your text came from lets you describe exactly what you did if anyone asks.

Start here.

1. Set the AI rules for the assignment as soon as you start, from the AI rules chip beside the title, or let Writing Studio read them from your brief: Set AI rules for an assignment.
2. Write as you normally would. Anything the rules don’t allow is greyed out, and your writing history keeps count of what you typed, pasted or accepted from the AI: See your writing history.
3. If your course asks for an AI use statement, have Writing Studio write one from your history, then check and edit it before you copy it: Write your AI use statement.

The rules are guidance you set from your syllabus, not a lock, so check what your course actually allows.

Read next: Use AI within your course rules.

Frequently asked questions

Which of these tasks need a paid plan?

Only the literature review tool and AI peer reviews need Plus or Pro, or your own AI key. Everything else works on the Free plan, although AI features such as chat messages and autocomplete have daily allowances. See Plans and pricing.

Can I do any of this without using AI?

Mostly yes. Citing, the Library, reference checks, importing, exporting and sharing don't use AI, and the No AI rule switches every AI feature off for a paper. The features built on AI, like starting from the chat and the literature review, are the exceptions.

Can I combine tasks?

Yes. They're starting points, not separate modes. A dissertation chapter can start from a brief, use a literature review, be shared for feedback and follow AI rules, all in the same paper.

Where to go next

What is Writing Studio?Writing Studio is an academic writing app that finds real sources, cites them for you, and helps you write and check your paper.Find your way aroundHow the Writing Studio screen is laid out, so you know where to look for places, for actions on your paper, and for the chat and checks.Writing Studio terminologyShort definitions of the words Writing Studio uses, from paper and course to brief, AI rules and writing history, each with a link to the page that explains it.Plans and pricingCompare Free, Plus and Pro, see what each costs and includes, and pick the plan that fits how much AI help you really use.

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