College · Family Resources

Revise from far away,
then close up.

Most essays get proofread when they need rethinking. Check each draft in three passes: the whole essay first, then each paragraph, then the sentences. Log what your readers said and what you did with it. The checklist flags a draft over its word limit and any advice you have not decided on.

Check a draftWhat you get

Your drafts

The worked example is made up: a third draft of a personal statement at 702 words against a 650 limit, with a paragraph a teacher said to cut, and a first draft of a short “why us” essay. Drafts save on this device only; paste the essay itself into your own document.

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What you get

College · Family ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A record per draft with the essay, prompt, word limit and count, and draft number; fifteen checks across the whole essay, paragraphs and sentences; each reader’s advice and what you did with it; two honesty checks. Flags drafts over the limit, checks not done and advice not yet weighed.
Who it is for
High school seniors writing application and scholarship essays, and the parents, teachers and counselors who read their drafts.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per draft. Prints one draft’s checklist, every draft as a table or a blank checklist; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Family Resources space in Caveat College.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Copy the prompt in exactly and enter the word limit.
  2. Pass 1: read the whole essay without a pen and answer the five questions.
  3. Pass 2: check each paragraph. Cut before you polish.
  4. Pass 3: sentences, then read it aloud and paste it into a plain text box.
  5. Give it to one or two readers with a question, and log what you did with their advice.

Check a draft

How revision works

Three passes, three distancesPass 1The whole essayDoes it answer the prompt? Is itabout one thing?Pass 2ParagraphsDoes each one earn its place?Pass 3SentencesDetails, verbs, thenproofreading.Go in this order: polishing a sentence you later cut is time lost.Three passes, three distancesPass 1The whole essayDoes it answer the prompt? Is it about one thing?Pass 2ParagraphsDoes each one earn its place?Pass 3SentencesDetails, verbs, then proofreading.Go in this order: polishing a sentenceyou later cut is time lost.
Revise from far away to close up. Polishing a sentence in a paragraph you later cut is time lost.

Word limits

The Common App personal statement allows 250 to 650 words, and the form will not take more. Supplemental essays set their own limits, often 100 to 300 words. Under the limit is fine; a short, finished essay beats a padded one.

Help that stays honest

Readers can tell you where they got lost or bored; the fixes should be yours. The Common App asks applicants to affirm their work is their own, and its fraud policy covers submitting content written by someone else or substantively by an AI tool. Each college may have its own rule too, so read it.

Sources

  1. Common App. First-year essay prompts and the 650-word personal statement limit (commonapp.org).
  2. Common App. Fraud policy and applicant affirmation (commonapp.org).
  3. Purdue Online Writing Lab. Revising, editing and proofreading (owl.purdue.edu).
  4. National Association for College Admission Counseling. Guide to the College Admission Process: the essay (nacacnet.org).

The worked example is made up. Prompts change each year; copy yours from the application. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.