College Essay Editing
Similar to strategy sessions, most of our college essay editing will take place over the phone while we review drafts together. As we examine your writing as partners in the process, you will be in control of making improvements. I will show you how to root out clichès and inconsistencies. I will help you hear where your prose breaks down and a reader stumbles, but you will never lose your voice, authority, or agency. You are the writer and the editor, and the integrity of this approach will assure you and your admissions readers that every essay you submit is authentically yours.
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Throughout the college essay editing process, I will also read your drafts independently. I will practice reading them quickly like the busy admissions committee will, and my solo experiences with your drafts will lead you to cut excess and quicken your prose. I will explain which details are relevant and which are extraneous, and as our process unfolds, you will discover that you are acquiring these same skills. Soon you will be striking nonessentials and spotlighting salient details — skills you will carry to college and beyond.
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The editing process also includes the essential task of organizing (and reorganizing) your essays. You may have a strong background in academic writing, but that does not mean your personal statements should rely on your typical methods. Like academic writing, personal narratives require strong organization, but there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to outlining your unique vignettes. We will discuss ways for you to best structure your personal statements and supplemental essays. After our editing sessions, you will have the tools you need to build organized responses to every prompt you tackle. My superpower is helping clients employ traditional techniques, especially with sentence and paragraph structure, while allowing room for creative approaches to structure so their writing engages and delights readers.
My experiences as a college professor have prepared me for the important work of guiding college essay writers. My questions prompt writers to delve more deeply into their experiences, and my comments provide clear direction on how to explore their most captivating themes. In addition, my work as a grammarian helps writers pinpoint and correct their own errors in sentence structure, word choice, and usage. Students writing their college essays often bemoan how they have not been properly instructed in standard English grammar. During our college essay editing sessions, I fill in these gaps, and clients appreciate getting the keys to this kingdom.
Finally, before every essay is marked complete, together we will make sure it is error-free and you are satisfied with your excellent work.