<p>My d has occasionally had to peer-edit her classmates’ essays. She shared two of them with me earlier this year, written as response papers to a summer reading assignment. The first was a complete joke - the kid had obviously not even read the book. It was written on maybe a 6th-grade level, with the expected grammatical errors, repetitious reasoning, and mundane vocabulary.</p>
<p>The second was a stunner. There was wit, intellectual curiosity, a unique voice - wow! This kid has won writing awards throughout hs - and anyone who heard him speak would have no doubt the work was his own. He’s just got a gift for writing. Now, an adcom would probably not doubt this writer’s essay, because the context of his application should make clear that this is a kid who can write (no idea of his verbal score, but he’s a NMF, so I imagine it was up there). </p>
<p>My point is that there are some hs kids whose writing is not only their own, but really that good. They can spell ebullient, and use it correctly. (Anne Frank was what, 15? Hers was occasionally an adolescent voice, often more, expressed with a true gift.) I agree with those who suggest that the problem is the need for the media to create a new Crisis of the Month in the college admissions circus.</p>