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Use Quick Takes to try the Comm Lab from the comfort of your home or office!

What it is

Want some quick, high-level feedback on your writing or presentation?

Use our Quick Takes service to get a taste of the feedback that you’d get in a sit-down session. This doesn’t replace in-person sessions — we’re offering this simply as a way for you to preview what we offer. Quick Takes is a chance for you to see if the Comm Lab might be helpful to you, without taking the extra step of making an appointment.

Note that this is NOT a copy-editing service. The Comm Lab is a peer-coaching resource that focuses on giving high-level communication feedback. We’re here to help out in rich and innovative ways.

How it works

  1. You share a document you’re working on (e.g., a presentation, a paper, an abstract — any technical communication piece) by uploading it to the online form and answering a few brief questions.
  2. You hear back from us within two business days with some high-level feedback.

Since the goal is brief feedback, if you submit a long document, we’ll only be able to take a look at the first page or two. Feel free to set up an appointment to discuss the rest of a longer project.

What you can expect

We’ll read your document and provide 2-3 big picture points that we think could be improved. We recommend an in-person appointment for further discussion about how to address these points.

Here’s an example:

Thanks for seeking out coaching! I looked over your document briefly, and here’s what I see we could work on: 

  • Taking more time to explain your logic: I was confused by your claim on page two. I didn’t know if your theorem also holds for directed graphs or only undirected ones.
  • Starting out your paragraphs with clear takeaways (topic sentences). Example: paragraph three.
  • Emphasizing how your work stands out from what’s been done in the past.

Let me know if you’d like to discuss this further in an appointment (http://mitcommlab.mit.edu/eecs/make-an-appointment/). It would be a pleasure to continue the conversation.

Interested?

Here’s the link to submit your document for a “quick take”: https://form.jotform.com/90305682723153