Helping with Essays

Probie · 10-06-2012, 08:29 AM

My child is working on essays, and the temptation to jump in and help is almost overwhelming! However, I refrain (other than to insist on spell checking and exercising English class writing rules). I know that the essay is an important part of the admittance process but how much intervention should a parent give?

mhmm · 10-07-2012, 04:30 PM

The "Party line" on cc is that the kids do their own essays, choose their own schools, etc. However out there in the real world parents proof their kids' essays, they also give suggestions for topics in case a 13 is stuck...... . The main thing is for the essay (besides the usual stuff of grammar etc) allows your child's personality and voice to come through.

ThacherParent · 10-07-2012, 05:37 PM

I proofed for grammar and spelling. My approach on content was to ask questions about his work. He was responsible for 100% content creation, but I felt it was within my purview to ask him about a point he made if I didn't understand it or thought, maybe, that a well placed question might cause him to rethink a point or strengthen a position.

I'm not a fan of being more involved than light proofing because your kid needs to know that he or she did it on his/her own. I also think parental authorship is totally obvious (and boring) for theAO.

Probie · 10-07-2012, 06:55 PM

Thanks for the insight! When my child had a block on what to write for an essay, I reminded about a book that was read over the summer that couldn't be put down. The essay isn't quite finished yet but my input was (I think) invaluable because it was the perfect topic for an essay.

@ThacherParent....if Thacher wasn't so far away, we would've jumped on it. It was my child's first choice. DC is only 13 (14 going into boarding school) but if DC had been 15 or 16, I would have been onboard. Thacher is quite a remarkable school!

classicalmama · 10-08-2012, 10:29 PM

As a college English teacher who helps students with essays all the time, I'll suggest a rule I always give to college tutors: help that doesn't involve you actually touching the student's essay with your pen or pencil is okay. When my kids ask me for help with writing essays, I always help, always without a pencil in hand, even when pointing out errors. When I'm looking at something on the computer, I'll use the comment function but never make changes to the draft itself, again, even when it comes to pointing out typos.

ThacherParent · 10-09-2012, 09:41 AM

The physiology of proofing! Great! Totally agree

Periwinkle · 10-09-2012, 10:32 AM

When my kids were stuck on editing essays, I would suggest they read the essays out loud. The ear will often catch errors the eye won't.

mountainhiker · 10-09-2012, 02:01 PM

Some kids are better at talking about their passions rather than writing about them. One strategy is to have a conversation with your child about the essay prompt, and record it. Then have them play it back, and listen to what they are saying. It's a great way to capture phrases and sentences that are truly in "their own words" which they can then weave into their essays.

redbluegoldgreen · 10-26-2012, 02:56 PM

I think brainstorming ideas is the limit. I think actually helping to proofread or even write would be a mistake as ADCOMS can pick up on things like that pretty quickly.

classicalmama · 10-26-2012, 07:11 PM

I often agree with rbgg, but I've proofread many, many college essays for my students; why wouldn't I do the same for my children? I wonder if some of us have different ideas of what constitutes proofreading. To me, not asking someone to check over an important piece of writing is a sign of carelessness, not helicopter parenting. If proofreading is a pseudonym for wrting/rewiting the essay,then yes I agree, parents should stay away. I

javontay · 11-20-2012, 12:23 AM

The prosperity in our community has an impact to those who live there; this is why the neighborhood need programs that is valuable to the people. Some of the members who live in the community were laid off; a job readiness program would increase their changes for employment. In addition, the number of teenagers that are misusing drugs, a rehabilitation center would motivate them to seek treatment. A vocational school for trouble teens would be a great opportunity for the community, these teens would have another chance to earn their GED and learn a trade. These programs would not only help people to succeed but a united community who are proud to live there.

mountainhiker · 11-20-2012, 12:44 AM

Not sure what you're asking for, javontay.

Is this the start, the rough outline, of what you're writing to answer an essay prompt?

If so - is this something that you have specific, personal experience with? It reads like you're writing a research paper, and are just making points based on something you read, or something you heard.

Essays should "come from the heart." They should reveal something about YOU, what makes you smile, what makes you rant and rave, how you view the world and your place in it. Make your essays personal, not generic.

girlgeekmom · 11-20-2012, 12:49 AM

And since you've just hijacked this thread, javontay, you might have better success starting a new thread with your query.

GMTplus7 · 11-20-2012, 02:42 AM

@javontay,

awkward proposition:
Impact on (not impact to)

Lack of subject-verb agreement in a number of instances:
…why the neighborhood needs programs that are valuable

Incomplete subordinate clause:
In addition, infinitive verb the number of teenagers that are misusing drugs, a rehabilitation center would motivate them to seek treatment.

Run-on sentences and need to convert “trouble” to a participle adjective:
A vocational school for troubled teens would be a great opportunity for the community, these teens would have another chance to earn their GED and learn a trade.

Missing verb:
These programs would not only help people to succeed but verb a united community…

Lack of subject-verb agreement and lack of noun-interrogative agreement:
…a united community who are proud to live there. (community is singular so it does not jibe w “are”; also community is not a “who”)

In addition to the major grammatical errors in all but the second sentence, the larger issue w this passage is that the theme is all over the place. The paragraph opens with what appears to be a discussion of the economic health of the community, then suddenly jumps to teenagers needing rehab, then jumps to GED.