College Essay Coaching
Suck the tension and family angst out of college essay writing by hiring me to work with your teen.
My college essay coaching package includes four Zoom meetings, close readings of two drafts with detailed feedback, and professional proofreading of the final product. I have decades of experience both as a writer and a teacher of writing and have helped a few hundred students gain skill and confidence.
1. Brainstorm. On a Zoom call with your teen, we will make sure the essay topic has legs. This means the student loves the topic and feels good about it (ownership), the subject is likely to catch the attention of an admissions officer (relatable/non-generic), and there is enough supporting material (stories and insights) for it to take off. (This meeting is important even when students think they have a topic selected. We can give each and every essay topic a stress test to make sure it holds up. If it doesn’t, we’ll find something great to replace it.)
2. Outline. Outlines are empowering for writers on a mission—and isn’t that the definition of a college-bound essay-writer? In our second meeting, the student and I will create a clear path to follow. We will also ensure that the supporting material/data/stories/information is all there in a bullet list to draw from during writing. If there’s time, your student can write the opening paragraph in this session. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. When the first draft is complete, it gets emailed to me to read closely before step 3.
3. First draft review. We meet to workshop the draft. I will point out where word choices can be stronger, chronology might be clearer, anecdotes more compelling, and conclusions more powerful (logical or pointed or moving or whatever the goal is). I will also alert the writer of grammar and punctuation errors, giving brief mini-lessons as needed.
4. Final draft review. In our last meeting, we will go over the final draft your student produced based on the revisions we discussed in our last meeting. I’ll ensure technical accuracy too.
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Package: $450.00
Additional drafts or meetings will be billed separately.
