I actually got a big surprise at the end. They totally screwed the thing up, the first version was in about 7th grade (if that advanced) English. It was obvious to me that the writer was NOT a native English speaker, although I was pretty sure he was a fairly well educated fellow. I had to pay their "urgency fee" for a revision because their screw up with my phone number resulted in my not finding out that they needed some info from me until it was less than 24 hours from the deadline. Then, when I saw how bad that was, I had no choice but to go with a "revision", again with another "urgency fee" because it was barely 12 hours from deadline. The revision was actually in decent English for the most part, I could actually understand what he was trying to say in every case, and I could have rewritten the whole thing in half an hour or less. But the main problem, the references, was still there. I had carefully specified, in the written instructions and on the phone, that I absolutely had to have actual copies of anything that was referenced. If page 127 of a publication was referenced, I needed a copy of page 127. The representative I talked to when I'd ordered it promised me they would provide them. They did not.

The rep I talked to for the revision promised they'd provide me with links to them so I could access and print them myself. They did not. At that point, I had about 2 hours until I had to turn the thing in, and, for this particular assignment, the copies of the referenced materials were crucial. Without them, the paper wouldn't even be graded. I had also specified that the references had to be in MLA format, which they were not. Fixing that problem would have taken longer than the rewriting itself would have. So it was by then a lost cause. Just out of curiosity, I asked for another revision. Since I was already obviously screwed, there wasn't any urgency on another revision, so I didn't have to pay any more fees. I was careful to explain that I'd been promised copies of the references, then promised links to them, and had gotten neither, and that I absolutely had to have at least the links., I also emphasized, again, that they had t be in MLA format. When I got the new revision, there were no links to the referenced materials. Nor were the references in MLA format. What's truly ironic is that the ONLY reason I hired these guys was that I just couldn't do the research part myself (long story, and not really relevant here). I have no need whatsoever for someone to do my writing for me. If they'd only given me access to the references, I could have easily rewritten the thing myself, even the first version where I couldn't even make any sense out of about one of every 5 or 6 sentences. Three times in a row they completely ignored my instructions, even though I'd been careful to make sure they understood what I needed and they had promised compliance.

Now here's the surprise I got. The original fee and the first urgency fee were done through Paypal. I called them and tried to do a dispute. The original cost transaction was still not completed, but the first urgency fee was. I remembered that for the original fee, I'd used my Paypal debit card like a credit card, and that for the urgency fee they'd given me a link directly to Paypal so it went directly through online. Pay pal said I was out of luck on the fee because it was for a "service" (getting the thing done quicker than their stated norm), but I could dispute the base fee once the transaction was completed. My second urgency fe was done using a credit card, so I figured the bank probably had a similar policy about a "service" and AWH could always argue it was for the service of doing the revision quickly, not for the paper itself, and they did do it in the time frame I paid extra for. So I was out both urgency fees. Since I had to wait for the original fee for the paper to complete through Paypal before I could do anything through them, I decided to go ahead and call AWH and give them Hell. And I got a big surprise. They agreed to a refund. And the original fee was credited back to my Paypal account the next day. I'm still out two urgency fees, but at least I got the basic fee back. And I'll probably have to take the course again. There are 3 writing assignments, each worth 75 points, and daily assignments that are worth from 5 to 20 points, probably about 80 points together. I lost about 25 points on the latter, because I wasn't even registered for the course the day it started, missed that day's assignment, then didn't do the next one because it turned out I had the wrong editing of the text and couldn't find what I had to in the one I had.

Now I've lost the whole 75 points for the 2nd writing assignment. Plus I lost 10 of the 75 on the 1st writing assignment because of a formatting problem (bottom margins weren't quite a full inch, and some other stupid thing that I don't exactly recall - I think that maybe I used Calibri instead of Times New Roman). I'm not at all certain that it's even mathematically possible now for me to get a C even if everything from now on is perfect. What's really ludicrous about this whole thing is that it's a writing class that I have asbsolutely no practical need for but which is mandatory for ANY degree, the assumption being that no student has what I had thought were about 9th grade writing skills. Which they in fact were about 35 years ago, but apparently not today. A course I have to take simply because everything I've done before is too old and the system assumes that in Math and English nobody knows anything of what they did more than 2 years in the past. And now I may well flunk a writing course, in which I've gotten max scores for my actual writing in both the small daily assignments and on the first actual paper; the ONLY points I've ever lost have been for formatting issues. Thank you, AWH, for maybe helping me flunk a course that doesn't teach even a single thing that I don't already know.

Academic Writing Help (AWH) is a complete scam. I ordered a 5 page paper. I specified that it had to be in the form of a Rogerian argument; state both sides, point out valid arguments on both sides, find whatever common ground they have, suggest a solution that gives both sides something. I specified MLA format references. I specified I needed actual copies of the referenced material.

For example if pages 54 - 56 of some particular article was referenced I needed actual copies of those pages. I also specified that the references had to be scholarly references, and they had to be things that I would have direct access to over the internet, I even mentioned things like Google Scholar and Academic Search Premier and that they should specifically use scholarly articles for the references. I intentionally talked on the phone in addition to doing the written instructions to make sure they understood what I needed. I was assured that they understood and would comply with my requirements. I also specified on the phone that if anyone needed to contact me they should not use the home phone I registered because they would get a fax, that they should use my cell phone. This was Monday night, the paper was due at 10AM Wednesday. I was told "no problem" on the deadline, and paid over $140. I checked Tuesday afternoon only to find the paper was "on hold" pending information from me. I called them and found the rep had NOT annotated the cell phone number, they had called the home phone, and of course not gotten me. I also found that, by this time, it could not be done on time unless I paid a further fee, an "urgency fee". I paid.

Early Wednesday morning, I got the paper. The writer was obviously not a native English speaker. The grammar was horrible, things that were wrong but could easily be fixed, like "Genetically modified foods have long been a controversial topic to say." and things that could not be rewritten because I could not even figure out what he was trying to say, like "there are points in favor of genetically modified foods, but many more who speak in the moment." The paper was FULL of these things. The references were not in the specified MLA format. he paper was NOT an even-handed Rogerian argument, but a simple discussion of the dangers of genetically modified food ended with a conclusion that it was too dangerous. There were no copies of reference material, and most of the references were things that I could not even access. With the few that I could access, all I could get were abstracts with an opportunity to pay from $30 to $50 for a copy of the actual article. I called them and was told to submit a revision request. Again I was specifically told that they understood all the problems and would fix them except that they could not provide copies of the references but would provide me with links to them. I was also told that because I now needed it within 7 hours, I had to pay another "urgency fee", which I did. I got the revision this morning. It was much better written than the first one, but still had some grammar errors. No problem, I could fix them. But the references were still not in MLA format, which would require a lot of time to fix. Although they did this time address both sides of the argument, there was no finding of common ground and no compromise solution.

There were no links to the reference materials, and, again, the references were things that I could not myself get access to. I paid an initial fee. I paid two "urgency fees" because of their errors. I got a paper which I cannot even turn in. The instructor absolutely does not accept ANY late work, and this assignment is such a large part of the grade that there is no way, mathematically, that I can pass the course with a score of zero on this paper. I called again. The only thing they are willing to offer is another "revision". I cannot believe they would get it right the third time and even if they did it would be too late. They will not honor their advertised money back guarantee. They do not even provide the plagarism report which they promise and which they claim is the most wonderful thing about their 'service'.