Write & Improve, a tool to improve writing in English
Autonomous learning
Description: Write & Improve is a free online tool developed by the University of Cambridge to help English language learners improve their writing skills. Students choose their level and then receive a selection of appropriate writing tasks. Once the assignment has been submitted, Write & Improve assigns it a grade and provides feedback. Students can later incorporate this feedback into the original text. They can also create their own writing assignments. Write & Improve is free and does not require having an account, although this provides access to more functionalities.
Evaluation: Write & Improve is a useful tool since it allows English learners to practice grammar, vocabulary, and general writing skills independently, anywhere and at any time, and without teacher presence. It provides students with hundreds of different writing tasks at different CEFR levels, together with feedback on their writing. Students can then modify their original work and re-submit it to see how the recommended changes have improved the quality of their writing, allowing for autonomous learning.
Cost: Free for students. Free trial period of 2 months for teachers and institutions, allowing a maximum of 200 students to try the tool before purchasing a licence.
Usability and tech notes ▼
Time efficiency 
Time needed to learn how to use a tool and its time-saving potential: High.
Interface language(s) The number of languages in which the tool is currently available/adaptable to: English and Spanish
Respect for privacy What data does the tool collect and why? What security measures are there? GDPR compliant? : Medium. English Language iTutoring Limited, which operates Write & Improve, collects sign up data such as email address, password, level of study, mother tongue, and optionally additional personal information, together with website information like IP addresses, login information, browser details, and user interactions on the site. It shares user data with third parties for different purposes, among which advertising. Also, it employs cookies to enhance the user experience, distinguish users, and improve site functionality. English Language iTutoring Limited stores user data on secure servers and encrypts payment transactions using SSL technology. It acknowledges users rights’ over their personal information, which include requesting information, corrections, deletion, limiting data use, data transfer, and opting out of data processing for marketing. English Language iTutoring Limited does not explicitly state compliance with the GDPR. See more here.
Saving work for future use Can work be saved for future use?: Yes, but only for users with an account.