Markups
An offline version of tutoring. Guidance with no meetings involved.
How it works
Comments and annotations are made directly over the submitted PDF portfolio or essay, marking up the work and giving constructive feedback.
No meetings involved. Work is uploaded directly to the system and sent back within five working days.
What it covers
Portfolios, personal statements, supplemental essays, etc.
For undergraduate and postgraduate applications. BArch, MArch, BSc, and equivalent degrees.
Access
Available to those who have received AP Core. This is because students are required to have an understanding of key ideas before markup submissions.
Requested via a form within AP Core itself.
Availability
Markups made by Sebastian.
Unlike the tutoring enrollments, this service does not book up.
Once requested, we will get back with details on how to proceed. A single item is submitted at a time, such as one portfolio or one essay.
AP’s markup service helped me transform my barely put-together set of artworks into a coherent portfolio that got me into my top choice, which was the BSc program at the Bartlett. I had countless misconceptions of what the portfolio should be, thinking that it should be full of building designs and technical drawings. The quality of the feedback is just unmatched by any other markup service I tried, with Sebastian putting in effort to understand your unique strengths to help develop ideas for a distinctive portfolio. The markup is always very detailed, and looks at every aspect of the portfolio from the layout to the themes to the content, and you always have the advantage of taking your time to understand the comments thoroughly.
E.S – Undergraduate applicant for 2026 entry
Unlike our tutoring enrollments, markups require no meetings. Markups are requested via a form within AP Core. Once requested, we will get back to you with details on how to proceed. You would then upload a single item (at a time) for a markup, such as a single portfolio, or a single essay.
Markup feedback (offline tutoring)
Portfolios
These can be rough drafts (a basic assortment of images) or polished drafts. If you need software to get you going, try Google Slides and make a landscape 11×17″ document. You’ll be able to export as PDF.
1 – Identity (deciphering what the apparent themes may be)
2 – Content (the project work itself, and suggestions for extra projects)
3 – Structure (how the portfolio flows)
4 – Formatting (layouts and text)
Essays
Architecture-specific essays such as the Common App BArch supplementals, UCAS PS, or other ‘why architecture?’ essays requested by an architecture school. Again, these can be rough drafts or polished drafts.
1 – Identity (how personal the writing is)
2 – Content (what you’ve chosen to write about)
3 – Structure (how the text flows from start to finish)
4 – Relevance (suitability to the essay prompt you’ve been given)
