Absolutely! It is not okay to have someone write your essay for you or tell you what words to use to make it sound better. It has to be written in your own words and in your own voice.
Not only is it ok to have someone proofread your essay, it should be part of your planning! If you have a high school counselor who is willing to help, use him/her. If that person is too busy, try an English teacher. But those teachers are typically overloaded with reading essays, so perhaps a family member, or even a good friend. If you have a friend proofread your work, choose one who knows grammar and knows good writing conventions. Your proofreader should be able to caution you about gramatical errors, but also should be able to tell you if the essay reads clearly and logically, if it gives a true impression of you as a person and as a student, and if it is interesting.
Yes! Have someone read over your essay for errors. Don’t allow them to make corrections directly, but have them provide input. You don’t want to change the voice of your essay, but you can always use a second set of eyes to find mistakes in grammar, punctuation and spelling.
You better, and make sure they’re an expert in grammar or someone with vast experience like one of us!
Here is my video response to the question.
It is recommended to have someone such as your English teacher, college counselor or parent proofread your final draft. Allow each of these individuals time to do a good job which means you complete the essay by the end of October. They may make valuable comments which should be incorporated in your essay. Proofreading and commenting is ok, rewriting by anyone other than the student is not.
Of course! Not only is it okay — you would be foolish not to. Great writers around the world and throughout time have solicited the input of others regarding the proofreading process. Writing the college essay is no different. Remember, however, that there is a great difference between someone else writing your essay, or writing most of it, and someone proofreading yours. Remember, the idea must be your own and the way that you express that idea through language must be your own. But having someone check your work for grammar and flow is perfectly acceptable and commonly done.
It is most certainly okay to have someone proofread your essay before you submit it. It is NOT okay to have someone write your entire essay for you or edit it in such a way that it takes away from your voice. However, as with writing anything, proofreading is an integral part of the writing process. You should first proofread it yourself to catch any major grammar or spelling errors, but sometimes a second set of eyes is necessary to catch minor things that you may not have noticed as the writer.
You should absolutely, positively have someone you trust proofread your essays – in fact, your whole application should be proofread. Details are important: mistype your address and your neighbor will get your admission letter instead of you!
It’s always helpful to have someone proofread your essay, because another set of eyes can catch typos, grammatical errors, and other small problems in your essay. As the author of your essay, you can sometimes become blind to obvious errors because you have read it through so many times (and are probably sick of it by now)!
There are so many errors that are just not picked up by spell-check or grammar-check. The mistake that I found particularly amusing is the student who accidentally wrote whales when she meant to say Wales. So having someone that you trust can be key. But be careful that in their desire to assist you, that your “voice” does not get lost. You essay should sound like it was written by you- a 17 or 18 year old and not by a 40-something. And while English teachers know all the grammar rules, college essays should not sound like a book report. Boring. Personal essays showcase a more casual and creative style of writing. Don’t show your essay to more then one or two individuals because if you follow everyone’s advise- it could end up being weaker.
I would say that you must have someone proofread your essay. People don’t tend to see their own spelling mistakes, typographical errors, etc. Although the content of your essay is definitely your own, and you should take responsibility for proofreading your work as you do it, it’s a good idea to let several other people look at it to see if you’re making yourself understood and don’t have any glaring errors. Remember that the way you express yourself should and will reveal something about you to the college admissions officers.
I’ve heard it said that a camel is a horse created by committee; each part seems reasonable on its own, but taken as a whole it seems impractical. The same situation occurs when students get too much advice on their college essays. Getting one or two trusted people to proofread is worthwhile as long as they understand their role is to point out errors and make suggestions, not rewrite your essays into their own voice. You run the risk of receiving contradictory advice when you have more people proofread. Make sure the final essay sounds like you and is representative of your best work.
Yes, every student needs to have someone proofread their college application essays. The best choices are teachers, counselors or a college consultant. Parents and friends can also help, but be ware that they may not catch every mistake or even know what the colleges are looking for.
Yes, in fact I suggest that you have someone proofread it. Proofreading means to search your writing for errors–typographical, grammatical and spelling mistakes.
Especially in this age of spell check, proofreading is critical. There is a BIG difference between someone pointing out a grammatical error and someone rewriting your paper. I’ll never forget reading the essay about the girl who volunteered as a candy stripper (I do believe she meant striper)! While it made me laugh, I was not going to remember her for the right reasons. It is sooo easy to miss errors because you know what you want to say/meant to say and your eyes just make the correction automatically. Having a fresh perspective is critical if you are trying to avoid the careless mistake.
It’s crucial that your essay be free of spelling and grammar mistakes. Since you will spend hours with it, your own eyes can easily skip over errors without seeing them, even if they are obvious and something you would normally catch.
For example, you can have a grammar expert pick apart your essay to before you submit it in order to avoid spelling and grammatical mistakes.
students should consider to use outside help for essay no matter what. it should go beyong the proofread.
YES. YOU should proofread your essay at least twice. A trusted friend should proofread your essay. Perhaps a teacher should proofread your essay. It is absolutely fine to have those you trust give you advice, as long as YOU are doing the writing!
It is not only ok, it is critical! Essays can be proofread by a teacher, parent, guidance counselor, etc. Often times we overlook errors in our own work, so the more eyes that proofread your essay, the better! In addition, it is nice to get feedback from different points of view. For example, your English teacher may be able to give you the best advice on grammatical issues where your guidance counselor can speak to the content and/or structure of the essay with regard to what the admissions office wants to see. Be open to constructive criticism and you will come away with the strongest essay possible!
Always have someone proofread you essay before you turn it in. I have heard many admission representatives tell families this. It is extremely important to have someone proofread your essay before submitting it. Ask your English teacher, or your librarian, or your counselor. Words of advice, always give the person at least two weeks to proofread your work, as their time is valuable as well.
Having someone else proofread an applicant’s essay is fine. There is not a writer in the world who cannot benefit from another set of eyes searching for the kinds of typos and basic grammar mistakes that are often blurred and missed in the course of countless rereading, rewriting, and editing efforts. However, outside reviewers—even parents—whose efforts go beyond that can produce an essay that is less the work of the applicant than the reviewer’s. This only serves to undermine the process and raise questions about the legitimacy and integrity of the whole application. Yes, the stakes can seem high, but it is ultimately the applicant’s record and work that is being evaluated and it should be theirs that is submitted as well.
Almost all writers need another set of eyes to review their work. We are only human and when we do a lot of writing we may lose our ability to spot our mistakes no matter how many times we read and reread a passage. There are times when even a spell checker will not be sufficient as a proofing tool because words can be spelled correctly in your written work but the meaning may not make sense-for example: we went to there house is not picked up by the spell checker and what you meant to say was: we went to their house.
I always have one or more people proof important pieces of writing. The more important it is, the more eyeballs I get on it.
Not only is it OK to have someone proofread your essay, it is *highly* recommended. You should feel encouraged to have friends, family members, and teachers proofread your essay but be sure that your voice is not altered. Your essay should be grammatically correct with no spelling errors, but it should sound like *you*. Be open to suggestions that others might have, but be mindful of retaining your viewpoint and style.
Absolutely! In fact, it’s recommended! A few great proofreaders are: your English teacher, guidance counselor, a member of your church or synagogue, or a tutor. Of course you can allow a family member to serve as your proofreader. However your essay should be honest and in your own voice; sometimes it can be a little difficult to have someone who is very close to you give you an objective opinion!
We can all use a second set of eyes sometimes, especially if we’ve been looking at the same five paragraphs over and over for months. It’s fine to have someone with strong skills in grammar, spelling and usage proofread your essay for errors and typos. It’s not fine to have someone write any portion of or make substantial changes to your essay. Colleges want to hear your voice and ideas and no one else’s. They don’t expect a publishable essay (would you really need college if you could already write a publishable essay?) but it should be highly polished, thoughtful, and very strong.
Yes, and it is expected, just as it is expected that the student will seek guidance when in college (this is what college Writing Centers are for). The proofreader can offer suggestions, but should not be writing/rewriting the essay. It always needs to be the students work and voice.
It is always a good idea to have someone else proofread your work. All of us as we write tend to see what we intended to be written on paper and our brains fill in the missing words or thoughts. As a result, words are missing, misplaced or the thought has not accurately been completed. A novice reader to your work brings a free pair of eyes and someone who is reading your work trying to follow your argument/statement. If it isn’t clear then they will not get it. Even if you re-read your work and think…”How could they not understand this…?” It doesn’t matter that you think it is clear. The point is that you can run the risk with the admissions officer not getting your point either so making a more simple or clearer argument would be highly recommended. It can be challenging and tedious work but I guarantee you that you will be much happier with the end result and it will only bring your closer to your goal of successful admission to that institution!
Definitely! Have someone proofread your essay. You don’t want an essay with typos or grammatical errors or an essay with the name of the wrong college.
Presenting a well written and grammatically correct essay is a key component to your college application. Your essay needs to be error free. When you select your proof reader politely ask them to help you with proof reading, but not re-engineering your essay.
Not only is it okay to have someone proofread your essay, it’s highly encouraged! In fact, it’s probably a good idea to have two additional sets of eyes take a look at what you’ve written before you hit “submit.” The important thing to remember is that your essay should be just that: Yours. You shouldn’t expect the person proofreading your essay to make sweeping changes to what you’ve written or to re-write any part of your prose. Your essay should be your voice, not that of your teachers or parents.
It would be irresponsible not to have someone proofread any important piece of writing.
Not only is it ok to have someone proofread your college admissions essay, it would be a mistake not to have them read it. Keep in mind, there is a difference between someone proofreading your essay for spelling and grammatical errors, and some suggestions for theme development and structure, as opposed to simply writing the essay for you.
You better, and make sure they’re an expert or someone with vast experience like one of us!
Absolutely! Actually, you should have a couple of individuals to proofread your essays. You can ask your parents, teachers, friends, college counselors, and mentors. Now, there are plenty of admission coaching companies that can provide you with expert advice on your essays. Also, it may be a good idea to get a small group of classmates together and each can give feedback on each other’s essays through the admission process. Nonetheless, when someone proofreads your essay, they can catch any grammatical errors, provide feedback on what you were attempting to express and what they read, and raise any red flags that could hurt your essays. With recent reports of cheating and plagiarism, it is prudent to write your own essays because admission officers want to learn about you in your own words.
It’s not only okay, you should ALWAYS have someone proofread your essay. Ask someone who’s a good writer, or two people if you can. Have them check for spelling errors and grammar. (Remember that spell checkers won’t catch words that you didn’t mean to use but that are spelled correctly — like “there” instead of “their.” They also won’t catch missing words. That’s where humans come in handy.)
I recommend that students have all of their college essay’s proofread. However, be careful not to have someone edit the essay in such a way that it no longer remains your own work. Essays are an opportunity for the school’s to get an idea of who applicants are outside of their application and academic record, so feel free to let your personality shine! Students are often overwhelmed with maintaining grades from their regular school work while meeting the pressures of the college application season. Having someone review your work with a “fresh” pair of eyes never hurts!
It’s ok to give your essay to somebody you trust to check out your essay on mistakes, ideas and an overall sense. But remember, even if you have such opportunity to get help and outer edit movements, your essay should stay your own essay and still reflect your own views, thoughts and feelings! Your essay is YOU in words. Not somebody else.
It’s ok to give your essay to somebody you trust to check out your essay on mistakes, ideas and an overall sense. But remember, even if you have such opportunity to get help and use outer edit movements, your essay should still stay your own essay and reflect your own views, thoughts and feelings! Your essay is YOU in words. Not somebody else.
Not only is getting someone to proofread your college essay ok, it is essential. Making the little mistake (writing “then” instead of “than”) or the big mistake (writing “Harvard” instad of “Yale”) can leave an impression you do not want to make. An extra set of eyes to make sure you avoid the pitfalls spellcheck does not pick up on or the 5 line run-on sentence is invaluable.
Please, have someone read your essay. So many get sent in with multiple grammatical errors, poorly written style, or no personal connection with the author. I believe you can have too many editors, but please, have someone proofread your essay. English teachers are wonderful for this. Parents are often times good, but sometimes can lead you the wrong direction. English teachers know about what admission officers are looking for.
Ys. I mean Yes. It is ok to have someone proofread your essays. Proofreading, however, is not the same as editing or rewriting. The essay must be yours and in your voice. Yet there is no excuse for spelling or grammar mistakes. So have a trusted teacher or friend (ideally not a parent), proofread the essay for you. That can make a huge difference as application readers have little patience for sloppily or carelessly written essays.
It never hurts to have your writing proofread. But, whoever is doing the proofreading, should not be changing the content. They should be looking for misspellings, syntax, and grammatical errors. We know when a parent or counselor wrote the essay. Don’t do that.
Definitely! Ask someone you trust to be meticulous, critical, but supportive of your original message. This is your work! Caution: don’t ask too many people. Too many cooks in the kitchen can become stressful and confusing.
Yes, it is okay to have someone else proofread your essays. In fact, it’s encouraged to ensure that your essays will be typo free and grammatically correct. However, the key is to proofread, not have someone write them for you. You do want the essays to sound like you; it should be your voice. There should be some consistency between the essays and interviews.
Abolsutely. Having someone proofread your essays shows you care enough about the school to not make careless mistakes. And one thing’s for sure: your computer’s spellcheck is not good enough. “From” and “Form” are both spelled correctly, but have vastly different meanings.
Not only should the essay be proofread it should be read out loud.
most students would ask their English teacher to read their essay for admisisons, however, some English tutors can also read your essay for you. the important part of the essay is not so much about the grammer and style, it is the topic and inspiration of presenting yourself well in front of the admisisons counselor.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that in my experience, parents are NOT the best source of editing or proofing a student’s essay. Most parents don’t really know what the admissions office is looking for, and many parents are sufficiently removed from writing that their proofing/editing skills are not helpful.
It is VERY important to have someone proofread your essays.
Short Answer:
Absolutely!
It’s more than ok–it’s a must! If you type “your” instead of “you’re”, spell check won’t catch that. It’s a good idea to get someone who hasn’t seen your essay to be the one who proofreads it. A typo like the one I mentioned above is the kind of thing your eye might glaze over because you’ve read your own essay so many times. One bad typo sends the message that you didn’t put the necessary effort in your work, even if that’s not true. This is the time to be meticulous!
Absolutely. You should have someone qualified both proofread and offer notes to you on your essays. It’s not cheating to seek the advice and expertise of others as long as you write the essay yourself. As much as this is an important snapshot of your writing ability it’s also a chance for your to engage in the writing process, which always involves editors and proofreaders. I, however, suggest you find someone who works as a professional essayist and knows what colleges are looking for. Working with practicing arts professionals has tremendous benefits, and they often know a number of quick and easy ways to take a flat essay and help you make it sing.
I’m biased, because that is what I do for a living! But I talk to admissions officers as well, and they always inists that students should have SOMEONE ELSE read their essays! Another set of eyes helps catch errors and not just the grammatical kinds. My theme as the Essay Lady is, “Your words, only better.” I don’t write essays for students. Not only is this plagiarism, it’s actually very unfair to both you and your prospective college(s). They want to get to know you, not me! I try to help students take their own essays and make them more clear, concise, and compelling. Whenever I make suggestions for changes or revisions, I always keep that student’s own voice in mind. I would not advise sending in an essay without having someone proof it first.
Sponsored Meaning Explained
EducationDynamics receives compensation for the featured schools on our websites (see “Sponsored Ad” or “Sponsored Listings” or “Sponsored Results”). So what does this mean for you? Compensation may impact where the Sponsored Schools appear on our websites, including whether they appear as a match through our education matching services tool, the order in which they appear in a listing, and/or their ranking. Our websites do not provide, nor are they intended to provide, a comprehensive list of all schools (a) in the United States (b) located in a specific geographic area or (c) that offer a particular program of study. By providing information or agreeing to be contacted by a Sponsored School, you are in no way obligated to apply to or enroll with the school. Your trust is our priority. We at EducationDynamics believe you should make decisions about your education with confidence. that’s why EducationDynamicsis also proud to offer free information on its websites, which has been used by millions of prospective students to explore their education goals and interests. close