I’ve been wondering why so many people on here ask for others to review their essay through PM. How do you know if they’re genuine or liers? I know that this many sound naive, but the fact that so many people are asking for reviews…
It’s obviously AYOR. Personally, I think students should limit the amount of feedback on their essays. Every reviewer is going to have an opinion, and too many opinions may dilute the effectiveness of the essay(s). Colleges want to hear your voice, not someone else’s.
Having said that, personally, I would avoid users that have not been here for a while and/or who have a low post count.
I would agree with the above. I say that as someone who volunteers to read essays and has only recently joined CC. If you feel comfortable with the person, then it’s at your own risk. I’m not offended if you are protective of your essay, nor should anyone be if they are genuinely there to help. My .02.
I am finding it especially interesting the lack of self-confidence some applicants have in their own writing ability.
CC has an active set of international users for whom English may not be a first language. The internet would probably be one of the best places to ask for help in that case.
Plus, people here are often knowledgable about admissions. Your guidance counselor might not be good at grammar, and your English teacher might not know what colleges are looking for, and your parents might be one or both of those – making them less than ideal editors.
I do question why users send their essays to people who reply with something like “i will read it for u lol”
You can also read if someone has been upvoted as helpful in other forums by clicking on their name. This might give you a better idea of their background. Again, it’s at your own risk.
A lot of the essays I have read come from international applicants. They often have interesting themes, but use words that are not quite what they mean and miss out on idioms, etc. Others just need reassurance – or sometimes a kick in the pants. I was rather tough on one the other day (I refused to make any comments beyond the first paragraph), and he came back with a much improved essay that read as if a smart high school student – rather than a thesaurus program – had written it.
I’ve had similar experiences. The nuances of a language (idioms, etc) are hard to nail down if you’re not a native speaker. And there is always this trend towards using long “SAT vocab” words when simpler words would suffice. It takes finesse to master that aspect of writing.
I always feel bad when I read an essay by someone who is shooting for an Ivy and it’s apparent that the essay alone might sink their chances. How do you go about constructively criticizing something like that?
Do you guys have a list or know any reputable CC users that review essays?
I don’t think there is a centralized list. It’s sort of the wild west when it comes to reviewers. It would be interesting to add in some sort of functionality to CC that verifies people’s credentials (what school they went to, etc) and tagged them as reviewers.
@jeremyj : The one thing I try to do is to NOT rewrite the darn thing, although that is often my approach with new law clerks. I expect them to see what I wrote versus what they wrote and figure out how to do a better job the next time. With essays, the students need to do the work. D had a prof at Dartmouth who was SUPERB at noting defects and NOT fixing them. I try to channel him. So, yes, one of the hardest things about reviewing essays is to point out WHERE the problems are and make the writer fix them.
One problem with a centralized list is that folks might get overwhelmed. I only have so much time to devote to this. I’m more inclined to work with applicants to my college (Reed) or daughter’s school (Dartmouth) or someone who for one reason or another makes me think I can help him or her – and that he or she deserves my help.
There’s a tip: I’m obviously not going to identify the people I’ve worked with this year. Many of them I expect to do great things, because they are demonstrating heart and soul and a desire to make the world a better place. Those are the people I like to work with. End of sermon.
@AboutTheSame : All good tips. The ones I have reviewed thus far have either relied too heavily on the dramatic or been so dull that I would not have bothered finishing them if I had a choice. Neither are defects readily fixed with a line-by-line critique. I’m always inclined to say “in my day”, but I don’t want to be that old grump (yet).
I hadn’t thought about being overwhelmed. It makes sense, and I know how (for lack of a better word) needy some of the applicants can be. I, too, more readily critique essays for schools I attended.
It also helps if the draft that you are sent is in a somewhat complete state. I can’t really give much advice on a rough rough draft.