Bright student at university beginning to correct papers (5)
I believe the answer is:
lucid
'bright' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'student at university beginning to correct papers' is the wordplay.
'student' becomes 'L' (as in L-plates for learner drivers).
'at' says to put letters next to each other.
'university' becomes 'U' (abbreviation as in UMass).
'beginning to' says to take the initial letters.
'papers' becomes 'ID' (identifying documents are one's 'papers').
The first letter of 'correct' is 'c'.
'l'+'u'+'c'+'id'='LUCID'
(Other definitions for lucid that I've seen before include "completely clear" , "between raves?" , "Clearly presented and easily understood" , "Readily understood" , "Thinking clearly" .)