Academic Integrity Policy

Proof & Polish is an academic coaching and editing service. Our work is designed to support learning, clarity, and authentic student authorship. We do not provide ghostwriting or any service intended to misrepresent a student’s work as their own.

Our Core Standard: Authentic Student Work

All submissions must remain the student’s original work, meaning:

• The ideas, experiences, voice, and final wording are the student’s.
• Proof & Polish may help improve structure, clarity, organization, tone, grammar, and style, but will not create a final product that replaces the student’s authorship.

Services We Provide (Permitted Support)

Proof & Polish may provide the following, consistent with academic integrity:

• Feedback and coaching: written comments, margin notes, and strategy guidance.
• Editing and proofreading: grammar, punctuation, word choice, readability, transitions, and formatting.
• Structural support: outlining, reorganization suggestions, and paragraph-level flow recommendations.
• Question-based development: prompts and interviews to help the student clarify their ideas and strengthen their narrative.
• Application support: guidance on positioning, consistency across documents, and message alignment.
• Citation and research support (where applicable): guidance on how to cite, avoid plagiarism, and improve attribution (we do not fabricate sources).

Services We Do Not Provide (Prohibited Conduct)

To protect students and institutions, Proof & Polish does not:

• Write essays, personal statements, supplements, statements of purpose, research papers, or any academic assignment from scratch for submission as the student’s work.
• Provide “done-for-you” submissions, turnkey templates meant to be lightly edited and submitted, or writing that substitutes for the student’s own language.
• Complete graded coursework, take-home exams, online quizzes, or discussion posts.
• Create or manipulate citations, invent sources, falsify data, or assist in any misrepresentation.
• Help a student violate school policies, honor codes, or application rules.

Student Responsibilities

By using Proof & Polish, the student agrees to:

• Submit only work that reflects their own authorship and complies with their institution’s or program’s policies.
• Use our feedback to revise themselves and maintain control over the final draft.
• Disclose editing/coaching support when required by a school, program, employer, or scholarship provider.
• Provide truthful information and authentic experiences. We will not help present false achievements or identities.

How We Handle Revisions and Authorship Boundaries

We focus on a process that keeps the student in the driver’s seat:

• We may suggest edits directly on a document (tracked changes or comments), but the student should review, accept, reject, or modify changes and ensure the final voice is theirs.
• When a draft requires substantial rewriting, we will pivot to coaching and guided revision rather than rewriting the piece ourselves.

Institutional Policies Control

Different schools and programs have different rules. If a policy is stricter than this Academic Integrity Policy, the stricter rule applies. If you are unsure what is allowed, we recommend checking your institution’s:

• academic honesty policy
• code of conduct
• application instructions and certification language

Refusal of Service and Termination

Proof & Polish may refuse or end services if we reasonably believe a request:

• involves ghostwriting or misrepresentation,
• violates an academic or application policy,
• requests falsification of content, sources, or credentials.

No Guarantee of Outcomes

Coaching and editing can improve clarity and effectiveness, but Proof & Polish does not guarantee admission, grades, scholarships, publication, or employment outcomes.

Questions

If you have questions about whether a specific request is permitted, contact us before sharing sensitive materials.

You can contact us:

By email: proofandpolish@yahoo.com