<p>I'm really stressed out about essays, and I've finished two so far (though final edits aren't done yet). My parents are simultaneously on my back, demanding that I let them see my essays so they can give me suggestions for improvement. Teachers and older friends all provided wonderful advice and liked my ideas, and I'm happy with their input. I will definitely show my essays to my parents later, but I'm not quite comfortable with the idea of getting TOO MUCH input (too many cooks in the kitchen?) I don't want my essay to sound like it was written by a committee, and I know that if my parents had suggestions, they would pressure me to follow them. What do I do?</p>
<p>If you agree with their comments, take them. If you don’t agree, tell them that you don’t think it’s a good idea to disregard the advice of your teachers.</p>
<p>As a parent, here is my suggestion. First, you need to show them the essays. They’re your parents and need to know that you are on the right track for this most important application process. Let them know that you have already shown them to teachers for review BTW. They won’t care if friends have seen the essays, but they will respect teacher input.
Second, listen to their suggestions, and thank them for their comments - whether or not you agree. Pretend that you care and respect their opinions. At a later point when you are calm, think about what they said. Take what you agree with, throw away the rest. They may have some decent input. But mostly they just want to be helpful, so try and appreciate that aspect of their comments.
If they think that you have really listened and considered their input, they won’t really notice if you take their opinions or not in the end. Just don’t reject if off hand. Wait a bit.
Good luck!</p>
<p>He who pays the piper calls the tune. As long as they are paying the bills, you have to live by their rules.</p>
<p>I want to see my D’s essays in order to prove that they are done, or on track to being done. I have limited my review to: 1) Does it say something; 2) Is the topic ok; 3) Does each sentence/paragraph make sense; and 3) nits (spelling/grammar). If it is bad, I might suggest a different topic, but I am not about to rewrite the essay. It is her essay.</p>
<p>You have to let them read it. In response to suggestions, you can assert yourself and say that it is your essay. Even though they are calling the tune (right to read it), the college’s rules are: It is suppose to be your essay - remind them of that.</p>
<p>As parents, what we expected from our children was that they told us about their progress and the overall topics of their essays. When they felt they were done, we asked to give a last look and made comments only about grammar/syntax/punctuation etc. In all fairness, though, they both had a fabulous GC working with them. It is so important, in my opinion, that they own the process as much as possible, but we also felt it was appropriate that we had a sense they were being realistic in their timeline and were getting things done.</p>