Writing Consultation Services
Working on a personal statement for college, grad school, or another continuing education program? In my 5+ years of experience as a consultant in university writing centers, I’ve most enjoyed helping clients tell their stories authentically and effectively in order to achieve their biggest goals.
Whether you need help brainstorming the “big idea” of your essay, you’re looking to polish up your final draft before submitting it, or you’re at any stage of the writing process in between, I’m here to help. Book a one-on-one consultation below!
Zoom Consultation
Fee: $50 / 1-hour Zoom session
How it works: After you book, you will receive a Zoom link to meet with me at the scheduled time. You will also receive a collaborative Google Doc link where you will paste any work you’ve done so far. I ask that you have up to three goals for what you would like to achieve by the end of the hour so that we can focus and prioritize the session.
Best for working on: Brainstorming, outlining, early content drafting, structure, main idea, strategizing across applications
Google Doc Consultation
Fee: $30 / Google Doc comment session
How it works: After you book, you will receive a link to a shared Google doc. By the time of the scheduled appointment, you will paste your draft in the Google doc along with any prompts from your applications. Within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment time, you will receive an email from me confirming that my comments are complete with the link to view them. DO NOT book a Google Doc session within 24 hours of your application’s deadline.
Best for working on: Organization, word choice, grammar, meeting application requirements (word count, ensuring you are answering the prompt directly)
Writing Consultation FAQs
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AI can be a great tool for certain parts of the writing process, like proposing an outline for your essay or even proofreading. However, having worked for multiple university writing departments, I can tell you with certainty that a fully AI-generated piece of writing is not hard to spot, especially for an admissions officer who likely sees dozens of AI-generated personal statements every day. Not to mention, the undisclosed use of generative AI tools for academic writing is currently against many universities' academic integrity codes.
A personalized consultation to help you write a completely original essay will no doubt help you stand out from the crowd. Not to mention, if you're applying for an undergraduate program, I can help you to prepare for the standards of writing that colleges expect.
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In both my Zoom and Google Docs consultations, I am more than happy to help with grammar, word choice, proofreading, and polishing final drafts before submission. However, if you book a Zoom consultation, I expect you to be equally engaged in a conversation around your work, and that you will be the primary editor of your own writing. Think about it--ethics-wise, me generating the writing that you submit as your own is heading in the same direction as you submitting AI-generated work as your own.
That being said, I often provide suggestions of words or phrasings that you could use, in hopes that you will think critically to ultimately decide what you think will be most effective. In a Google Docs consultation, I will often use the "suggest" function to make proofreading comments, so that you ultimately make the decision of whether to include each recommendation.
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Before a Zoom consultation, I will read any program descriptions, prompts, requirements, and goals for the session that you share in the booking form. However, I consider any direct engagement with the draft to be part of the one-hour session for a couple of reasons:
I want you to be able to continue to work on your draft up until the appointment time, so I don't want to waste my personal time reading a draft that might change significantly before the session.
The way I engage with a draft during a Zoom consultation is very interactive--I may ask you which sections you want to prioritize working on, and I will ask you questions as I read the draft. Not all drafts need to be worked on from beginning to end, and I want to prioritize your goals and areas of focus for the session.
I am compensated for the one-hour session, and those boundaries are blurred if I spend time outside the session engaging with your draft.
If you prefer to have your draft reviewed and commented on asynchronously, you may want to book a Google Doc session instead!
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The idea of the Google Doc consultation is that I provide comments and suggestions for you to consider as you revise your draft. If you have done the work of revising your draft and you have additional questions or want it reviewed again, you are more than welcome to make another appointment with me on Google Docs or Zoom.
If you are hoping to ask questions and work together on making revising decisions during the consultation process, a Zoom consultation may be a better fit for you!
