Do essay editing sites work?

College Essays
1

<p>I know that an editing service won't save a terrible essay, but I imagine it wouldn't hurt anything either.</p>

<p>from Peterson's editing service:</p>

<p>
[quote]
82% are admitted to their top-choice schools

[/quote]
</p>

<p>does anybody know if these services actually work?</p>

2

<p>They work. I had my essay done by inWrite. They sure saved me from having a terrible essay. Visit them at [inWrite</a> - proofreading, copyediting and copywriting services - inwrite](<a href=“http://www.inwrite.com%5DinWrite”>http://www.inwrite.com) for more info. Very affordable, too!</p>

3

<p>When dealing with these sort of services, always remember the fallacy: <i>“post hoc, ergo propter hoc”</i> which translates to “after this, therefore because of this”. Just because a student has used this service, does not mean that the service is responsible for their admission.</p>

<p>There are a few things you must consider before you can take this self-reported statistic:

  1. Most students’ “top-choice” is usually more than one school, and they might even claim that the school they are going to was their top-choice even though it really wasn’t.
  2. The kinds of students that get these services are usually those capable of entering these schools themselves.
  3. The essay only makes up only a portion of the application. SAT tutoring services make similar claims, and a student who would buy into an editing service is very likely to have taken an SAT class as well. So which was responsible for admission? The tutoring or the editing? Probably a little of both.
  4. You can easily acquire the same help from your teacher, college counselor, friends, and the helpful folks here at college confidential.</p>
4

<p>Honestly, why bother? I looked at some of the samples, and I wasn’t all that impressed with the “edited” versions. I think you would be better off by PMing your essay to someone on CC for advice.</p>

5

<p>I think asking for advice from English teachers is a better idea.</p>

6

<p>Actually, I think it’s worth the money… Think about the $ you will spend on your education and how it will affect your future.</p>

<p>Even if $100 to get your essay edited only improves your chances marginally, it’s a good investment imo… </p>

<p>Some of the sites I would recommend: *********, Gurufi, College-admission-essay… Feel free to find others on Google…</p>

7

<p>Hey here is a good rule of thumb for these forums… </p>

<p>If members with only a few posts (or have been a member for a short time) ask a question they are most often legit, but sometimes a set-up or ■■■■■.</p>

<p>If members with only a few posts (less than 250 ish or a short term member) answer questions they are often uninformed of just an ad for a product or an overrated school that is marketing to students…</p>

<p>Most Senior Members (but admittedly not all) know exactly what they are talking about and their opinions often contain real wisdom… </p>

<p>So I would say — a member with 2 posts and direct links to a $ service should not be relied on, and a long term member who says “asking for advice from English teachers is a better idea” is pointing you in a great direction…</p>

8

<p>Haha, good advice ncmentor. </p>

<p>As someone that is affiliated with one such company ([url=&lt;a href=“http://■■■■■■■■■■%5DGurufi%5B/url”&gt;http://■■■■■■■■■■]Gurufi[/url</a>], which someone was apparently recommending), I can give my perspective. </p>

<p>The short answer is yes, having an experience essay editor look at an essay will likely make it better. </p>

<p>Is the editing going to be better than the advice you receive on CC? Again, probably yes, many people who do it professionally work full time as lawyers or academics, and are generally much more experienced writers than people on CC. They also have much more incentive to give thorough detailed replies than do people on CC.</p>

<p>So, if you want the best chances at getting great editing, i would actually hire someone. </p>

<p>That said, many people can find good enough editing through their high school English teachers, or even through older friends that now attend schools that make people learn how to write. This explains why most people don’t need to hire someone else for help with their application.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, its my opinion that most high school kids would get something out of getting professional feedback on an essay that they legitimately tried to write well. The sort of feedback that I give when working is very different from the sort of writing instruction I received in high school, and I like to think that it is more useful as well.</p>

9

<p>I have used one before, as well as asking my English teachers to edit. The service did make some valid points, but I felt some of my “humor” was edited out. Overall, I the revisions made were for the better. You just want to be careful that your personality isn’t edited out as well.</p>