Proofreading for college-aged kid?

moonchild
Mon, 14 Jul 2014 00:47:08 +0000

No. With the exceptions of the college essays, I never saw my kids’ high school or college papers before they were turned in. I’m sure they made some mistakes that I could have caught, but I think they learned from making them most of the time. My Dd had a junior English instructor who was so tough he would subtract a point for a missing comma. Dd became very careful in her proofreading during that year!
In the past she has asked me to read cover letters when applying for jobs, but that was more for content-to make sure she presented her best case- than for grammar or writing style, and I was happy to do it.

My son has never asked me to look over anything since, well, ever. He was a fairly weak writer in junior high but rose to the challenge in a very demanding high school and, like his sister, learned a lot from making mistakes. By the time he finished college, writing had become one of his strengths. Both kids currently have jobs that require a lot of writing and are proficient enough that I assume they act as proofreaders for their friends and colleagues at this point.