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In some cases, a college application may help determine a prospective student's path in life. If you have been asked to proofread someone's college application, you should take the task seriously. This guide is designed to provide you with tips on how to proofread a college application.
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In some cases, a college application may help determine a prospective student's path in life. If you have been asked to proofread someone's college application, you should take the task seriously. This guide is designed to provide you with tips on how to proofread a college application.
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Introduction
- A college application may be one of the most important documents that a person writes and submits in their lifetime. The difference between a well and poorly-written college application will determine whether a person gets into their college of choice and can therefore determine his or her path in life. If a friend, child or other family member asks you to proofread his or her college application, consider it a compliment. Not only does it mean that he or she trusts you, but also that he or she respects your opinion.
Step 1: Be Objective
- As difficult as it may be, especially if you are proofreading your child's application, do your best to distance yourself from your personal relationship with the applicant. Although it may cause some initial conflict and hurt feelings, remind the applicant that you are providing honest feedback in an attempt to improve his or her application and increase his or her chances of getting accepted to his or her desired college. Be as honest as you can and try to read the application with a critical eye. If need be, think of the application as belonging to someone you don't know: If you were a school administrator, would you accept this person? If not, how could he or she improve the application in order to gain your approval?
Step 2: Look for Spelling and Grammatical Errors
- On your first pass through the application, look for simple spelling and grammatical errors. Read the application carefully and thoroughly, but try to pay more attention to the words themselves than what they are saying. Since the applicant will have likely created the application using a word processor, most of the spelling errors should have been picked up by a spell checker, but be sure to keep an eye out for:
- Repeated words
- Incorrectly used words. Some words that are technically spelled correctly, but misused, will not be picked up by a spell check problem. For example, leaving a letter out of the word "may" will produce "my," or adding an extra letter to the word "to" will create the grammatically incorrect "too"
Step 3: Read for Content
- The main focus of your proofreading will likely be on the essay portion of the application. Again, try to look at the essay with an objective eye and provide feedback as though you didn't know the writer.
- Some questions you should ask yourself when proofing the application include:
- Is the topic and focus of the essay clear?
- If the writing clear and succinct, without any superfluous words or phrases?
- Did the writer provide specific examples to support his or her points?
- Does the essay contain the three main portions an essay should: An introduction, body and conclusion?
- Is the essay compelling and interesting?
- Is the essay unique enough to stand out from hundreds of others?
- Does the essay demonstrate superior writing skills?
- Does the essay effectively and smoothly transition from one thought or point to the next?
- Read the essay at least three times with a critical eye. Take notes as you read to remind yourself of areas that were unclear, didn't make sense, or could use improvement. Then, compose and provide your feedback to the applicant.
Conclusion
- Proofreading a college application is not a task to be taken lightly. However, by doing so, you can potentially help someone you care about realize their dreams and career aspirations. Before you begin proofreading, try to distance yourself from the applicant—even if you are close with him or her, concentrate on providing honest and constructive feedback. Although correcting spelling and grammatical errors is important, it is equally, if not more important to help the author create a compelling, unique and clearly written application essay.
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