Proofreading for college-aged kid?

intparent
Sun, 13 Jul 2014 15:57:36 +0000

I cut the cord on this when D2 left for college last year. For academics, there is a writing center on campus (I am pretty familiar with how they work, as D1 worked in the writing center on campus). I told her they could be her paper reviewers from now on, and she would have to make appointments to do so. She called a couple of times last year and asked me to look at her papers, and I said no. In a couple of cases she clearly could have gotten better grades if she had worked with SOMEONE to proofread. But she has to learn to either do a better job herself or use the resources around her (and remember to make writing center appointments).

My logic on an internship with writing involved is that SHE is the one getting paid, or that they may be evaluating as a long-term hire whether paid or unpaid. It is a tough lesson, but if she is not a good enough writer to do the job, then she shouldn’t have the internship or get the long term job. I can’t proofread for her forever. She is old enough and her brain should be mature enough to either develop her own skills in this area, or find other resources besides her mom to shore up her weak areas.