The essay was the start.
A guide to college-level reading and writing, and a single session you can book when a paper, an essay, or a class needs a second reader.
More reading than the week holds
And papers that ask for a claim someone could dispute, not a summary. The guide covers how to sort a week of assigned reading, keep notes that still work when the paper comes, read an assignment as a question, and decide where AI fits — and where it doesn’t.
How to use it: read it through once before the next paper. Then keep the two one-page tools at the end with the syllabus — the first gets a row for every assigned reading, the second gets filled in before every paper.
Download the PDF, or make a copy of the Google Doc so the tools live in your own Drive.
A Guide to College‑Level Reading and Writing
Nine pages. Three questions for anything you read, how to read a long article out of order on purpose, notes you can use in April, what a college paper asks that the application essay didn’t, three working rules for AI, and a six-day process for a paper due in a week.
When one paper needs a second reader
Most of what you’ll need in college is one focused hour at the right moment, not a season of support. So this is set up one session at a time: sixty minutes on Zoom, booked when you need it, with a draft or a reading sent ahead so the hour goes to the work.
Typical focus areas: a paper due this week, a scholarship or transfer essay before it goes out, an internship cover letter, a reading load that isn’t working, a writing plan for the semester, or a course you’re trying to get back on top of.
If you worked with me on your application essays, nothing about how we work changes. Same process, same priorities after each session, same respect for your voice.
College session
- Book a time; send the draft or reading the day before.
- Clear next steps at the end of every session.
- Payment details arrive with the booking confirmation.
Not sure a session is the right move? Email me with what you’re working on and I’ll tell you honestly.
Things worth passing along
Most of the site is built for students still applying. If you have a younger sibling, or a friend’s family in the middle of it, these are the pages to send.
The ACT, SAT, and GRE Companions
Strategy chapters, every lesson, practice tests, and the trackers — one Companion per test, $59.99 each, with a free chapter on request. The GRE Companion is the one to keep in mind for later.
The College Essay Toolkit + Tools
The guide and the ten tools we used, as one downloadable resource, plus the free Essay Scorecard and the College Essay Tracker. For a sibling who is where you were a year ago.
Vocabulary tools
Word lists with definitions and examples, a study mode, and a Vocabulary tab in the Test Prep Learning Log for words you meet in reading. The log habit is the one that carries into college.
Know a family who could use a second reader this fall? Here’s a page you can send them.