Mock Essays and Revisions

Greetings!

I have been accepting Mock Essays for about a week and a half, and I want to clarify Mock Essay protocol. I have received about 1/4 of the number of submissions I was expecting from you.

If, for some reason, you are unable to submit your Mock Essay on or before your due date, common courtesy would suggest that you let me know so I might fill your slot with a new student, or someone whose date does not work for them.

I have had a few students who have worked with me on this, and I greatly appreciate their courtesy! They have found that I am really nice.

I will send a reminder before your essay is due, but if you do not submit your essay, I do not follow up. I am not a babysitter, I am a consultant. If you want to take advantage of this service, by all means, do it, but I will not beg, plead, or coerce. 

I know this is a busy time of year, and that you are facing the end of school and finals. I also know that in the summer you will be working, or at camp, or on a trip with your family. There will always be a conflict. To take advantage of this service, you need to make a choice and stick with it. If we lived next door to each other, I would offer chocolate, but we don't, so offer yourself an incentive each time you send in an essay, or accept the incentive of self-satisfaction stemming from a job well done.

Now, as you prepare to receive my response to your mock essay, realize that each response is personal. It will be tailored to the essay you send. Realize that there will always be some -- or many -- suggestion(s) from me for improvement. Realize that revision is a change in the fundamental nature of the essay, and that "revise" often means "start over."

I have been truly impressed with the mock essays that have come to me so far, even when I have to send radical comments and requests for fundamental revisions, and I only wish that more of you would see the importance of participating. You don't actually have to act on those suggestions. After all, it is the Mock Essay.... But it is a fantastic opportunity. Don't waste it.

One more thing: If you are one of the people who didn't send in an essay on your prescribed date, make time for it and send it anyway. I will get to it, and I promise you, it will be worth it!


Have a lovely day,
Julie
CollegeEssayMentor.googlepages.com
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Julie Gardner
435.723.8262