Thinking about Graduate School During a Pandemic?
Applying to graduate school during a pandemic shows tremendous courage.
professional copy editing, admissions essay coaching, and services for writers Learn More
Professional editing and communications services for nonprofits, individuals, and others. Find out how we can work together to care for your words.
I’ll work with you to find just the right words, in just the right length. I have an eye for the heart of what you want to say in the words you’ve written, and I will help that shine clearly for admissions readers.
My writing has appeared at the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Religion Dispatches, and in academic journals such as the Journal of Religion and the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion.
Find out how working with me has helped people achieve their writing goals and read reviews from happy clients.
Testimonials
What people who've worked with me have to say:
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I’m so glad I found Emily. The time I spent with her was even more fruitful than her website and the guidance she shares in her blog. In our first conversation she asked practical questions about my goals and ideas, and got me on track when a graduate essay prompt derailed me. She was calm, reassuring and moved me toward a completed written piece I felt good about.
- M. F. -
I wanted to thank you again for all of your help with my application essay for film school. I also wanted to update you and let you know that I was accepted to my first choice school! I will be attending in the Fall. Your coaching and perspective was so helpful in getting my ideas clarified and concise. I reread my essay again twice before my interview and it was so helpful to be able to reference some of the language in it when answering questions the admissions committee posed. Thank you!
- Brent, MFA in Film -
“Emily has been a tremendous help throughout the physical therapy grad school application process. Her work did more than correcting grammatical errors and editing. She helped me collect my thoughts and gave me confidence in the writing samples I submitted to the schools. Thank you!”
- Keith C.
Featured Posts
How to Outline a Personal Statement
How to outline a winning personal statement for your graduate school application–even when one size doesn’t fit all.
The Personal Statement’s Two Main Questions
Every graduate school personal statement should answer these two main questions: why am I interested in this field, and why this school the best fit?
Why Words With Care?
I think of writing and editing as care for words and writers.
“Words with care” means care of self and world through the words we choose. How we use words in our thoughts and in our written work shapes the world we live in. Why not choose to use them carefully, and to show care?
But words with care is about more than writing. It’s about editing, too. When I edit, I want to lavish care on your words. As in deep listening, I’m paying attention for the heart of what you’re saying. It’s “soul care,” but for words and their writers.
As an editor, I have over six years of experience working closely with the written word. As director and editor at the Harvard Square Library I read all content closely before publishing to the web, including fact-checking, formatting, and bibliographic style. More recently I worked as project coordinator and editor for Digital Chicago. In January 2019, I became co-editor-in-chief for the twenty-year-old literary magazine Killing the Buddha.
As a developmental editor, I’ll look closely at the structure of your writing (if you’re at that stage in the process).
If you prefer, I’ll focus instead on line editing and copy editing, looking at grammar, style, word usage, typos, extra spaces, and so on. In addition, I have a close eye for formatting errors, like accidental changes of font type or size.
You can trust me with the small and large details which together makes for excellent editing as care for words. Find out more about my editing services here.
