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Blog > Common App , Essay Advice > How to Write an Insightful College Essay About Tutoring

How to Write an Insightful College Essay About Tutoring

Admissions officer reviewed by Ben Bousquet, M.Ed Former Vanderbilt University

Written by Kylie Kistner, MA Former Willamette University Admissions

Key Takeaway

If you’ve had a job tutoring others, you know that tutoring can be an impactful act of teaching and learning. It can also at times be gratifying, hilarious, or downright difficult.

As a college essay topic, tutoring experience can be an effective way to highlight your academic expertise and communication skills. Essays about tutoring can also be some of the most endearing when they discuss the tutor-tutee dynamic. In short, a college essay about tutoring can be a great topic to round out your application narrative .

But often students rely too heavily on overdone themes.

In this post, I lay out the three most common issues with college essays about tutoring and discuss what you can do instead.

When writing about tutoring others, a “love of helping and teaching” is not enough.

One of the most common tropes in personal statements about tutoring is a “love of helping others” or a “love of teaching.” Even if you’ve genuinely developed a love of helping or teaching, these themes alone are simply too common and generic to produce an insightful college essay.

Instead, try focusing on the critical pedagogical and communication skills you have developed while tutoring. Analyze the lessons you’ve learned to understand how they connect to your own experience as a student. Ask yourself how your work as a tutor has shaped your goals for the future.

Let’s say that your favorite student struggled with math, so you found a brilliant way to engage her in a new concept that resulted in her acing her next exam. You could write about how great it felt to help her or how much you loved teaching her.

But that topic doesn’t give the admissions committee very much to go on. A better approach would be to discuss what your strategy was, why you used it, and how it exhibits something wonderful about you.

By concentrating on what specifically has made you feel like a good teacher or helper, you can write an essay that showcases your love of helping and teaching while also demonstrating to your admissions officers your ability to think deeply and act with forethought and kindness.

Center yourself rather than your tutee when discussing your tutoring experience.

It’s only natural that you may want to write about a specific person you tutored when talking about your tutoring experience. The tutee is, after all, an integral half of the tutoring session. Forming good working relationships is part of being a good tutor, and the best tutor-tutee relationships have lasting impacts on both people.

But the heart of your college essay should not be about not the amazing or frustrating or brilliant student you tutored. It should be about you. Accomplish this by instead drawing attention to how your tutee affected you.

Perhaps the student you’ve connected with the most is one who was so shy he’d barely look at you in your first appointment. Although you may be so proud of the progress he made, your essay should not be about him. He’ll have his own turn to apply to college.

Discuss what you’ve learned from him, how you’ve been inspired by him, or how he reminds you about something about yourself. Maybe he taught you patience or bravery. Or maybe it was your work with him that led you to want to be a teacher or counselor.

Whatever your story is, it should be about you.

Talk about how your tutoring work makes you a good member of an academic community.

One of the reasons the “love of helping” essays don’t come across well to admissions officers, aside from being overdone, is that they can also read as arrogant. Your academic merits may have earned you your tutoring job, but the rest of your application will also show that you can excel in the classroom.

Instead, use your essay to convey to the admissions committee what a good academic community member you are. Highlight a time when you collaborated on a problem, when you were surprised at something you learned from your tutee, or when you had to work harder to be a better tutor.

Most schools would probably prefer to invite a curious and collaborative student to join their community over an arrogant and competitive one, so check your essay for tone.

You should come across as authoritative in your tutoring field but genuine in your recognition of the progress you have made and the lessons you still have left to learn.

Remember the importance of peer learning as you write and revise your own college essay about tutoring.

Finally, you were effective as a tutor not only because of your skills but also because there is inherent value in peer learning. Don’t forget to benefit from peer learning yourself by seeking out others who can read your college essay.

Having someone ask clarifying questions, evaluate the effectiveness of your approach, and identify your central message will only improve your essay.

Tutoring is hard work that takes great effort, skill, and persistence. What will make your college essay about tutoring insightful rather than generic is your ability to show your admissions officers why tutoring mattered to you and why your tutoring experience makes you a good fit for their school. The best essays will also tactfully reveal who you are as a person through your interactions with your tutee.

Ready to take your college essay to the next level? Check out our How to Write a College Essay guide.

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“A Tutor’s Guide to Tutoring College Essays” by Amit Klingner

Amit Klingner is one of two SSWCA Tutor Representatives and a Senior tutor in the Herndon Writing Center. 

The time has come for Seniors to write personal and often creative pieces for their college applications. As writing center tutor, no matter your age, you will most likely tutor a college essay soon! It is completely normal for underclassmen tutors to fear working with a seemingly more mature Senior tutee who asks to have their college essay tutored. What should you do? You’ve never written a college essay, so how could you possibly give them any advice?

Wrong! You are in the writing center because you know how to help peers with writing, and most likely, you have a pretty good idea of how to write a college essay–you just don’t know it!

College essays are just personal narrative essays! Seem a little less scary now? The only difference is that a tutee’s intended audience is their college of choice. You don’t need to have first-hand experience writing college essays in order to tutor them. Keep in mind that tutoring these essays does not require a hidden level of maturity that only Seniors have!

Here are a few points to keep in mind when tutoring these essays in order to create the most productive session with you and your tutee. Although these tips are super important for all writing center tutoring sessions, these points should be the main area of emphasis while tutoring college essays.

Help Tutees Brainstorm

One of the most important parts of tutoring college essays is the idea-generating portion. Try to ask your tutee open ended questions or questions that make them clarify what they mean in different parts of their essay. These questions help the tutee think more about their topic, and help them feel more confident with what they are trying to emphasize or say in their essay.

It is quite common for stressed Seniors to come into the writing center with college essays that are in its early stages, and hope to seek help from a tutor. As a tutor, you may feel stuck in helping them generate ideas, but don’t fret! If that situation ever happens, you can spend the session helping them do a number of brainstorming and idea organizing activities. Have the tutee create a mind map. It is really helpful for the tutee to draw out ideas and map them out on a visual surface, by drawing it out, he or she can draw lines to make connections between parts of their essay.

Another good tip is to have them create an outline of what they plan to write in the essay. If they have a lot of ideas and things that they want to add to their essay, try to get them to make an outline of what they want to write about. This outline can be in the form of bullet points, but this method is really helpful, so they get an organized “to-do” list of things that they would like to mention in their essay.

Remind your tutee that writer’s block doesn’t mean they don’t have any good ideas about the topic. It is more of a mental state of being overwhelmed or critical of the ideas in your head.

Be Supportive

Being supportive of the tutee and their ideas is another key part of tutoring someone working on a college essay. College essay writing is very personal and can make any writer feel vulnerable about the content of their essay. It is important, especially in these personal narrative tutoring sessions, that you make the tutee feel comfortable with sharing their ideas with you.

One amazing tip is to create a compliment sandwich when you are giving constructive criticism on their essay. An example of a compliment sandwich is if a tutor were to say “I really like that you included this part into your essay, and if you make your point more clear here, then your essay will be stronger than it already is!”

This does not necessarily mean you should be walking on eggshells the entire tutoring session, but just remember to be mindful of how you approach explaining your constructive criticism. If they are feeling stuck and overwhelmed, assure them that having too many initial ideas is better than having none.

Help Tutees Make Their Writing Shine

Another thing to look for when tutoring a college essay is that their writing is vibrant and unique in some way. To be more specific, try to help the tutee’s personality shine in the essay through tone, writing style, and diction. This doesn’t necessarily require you to know the person writing the essay, but having some vibrance in the writing will sure put the “person” in personal narrative. One tip to tell the tutee is that a friend should be able to read their essay, and be able to know who wrote it!

You Can Do It!

By following at least some these tips, hopefully some of the pressure of college essays can be relieved from you and your tutee! Regardless of you grade level, any writing center tutor is capable of tutoring a college essay–it’s just how you approach it!

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, getting college essay help: important do's and don’ts.

College Essays

If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

• Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
• Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
• Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
• Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

• Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
• Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
• Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
• Tell you what to say and how to say it
• Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
• Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

• An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
• An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
• An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

• If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
• If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
• If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

• Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
• Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
• Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

• Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
• How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
• Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
• Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

• Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
• Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
• Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
• Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
• What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

• You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
• A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
• A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
• A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
• All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
• Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
• If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
• Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

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What i learned from being a tutor, whether it's improving your communication or leadership skills, there are many benefits that can be gained from tutoring..

Now that my senior year has officially begun, I cannot help but reflect on all of the wonderful experiences with which SUNY Oswego has provided me. Perhaps the most amazing opportunity I have had in college thus far is working as a tutor in the Writing Center of Penfield Library. I first began tutoring as a sophomore during the fall of 2013, and I honestly could not be more pleased with my experience. Though I look forward to graduating more and more each day, I still feel a pang of sadness when I realize that the job I have fallen in love with will soon come to an end.

Since working as a writing tutor, I have acquired new knowledge and developed a variety of skills that will no doubt benefit me in the future. Both my listening and communication skills have improved substantially over the past few years due to my engagement with tutees. Since many students who come in for tutoring may feel nervous about visiting the Writing Center, it is important to make them feel comfortable and welcome. In order to do this, a tutor must frequently ask for his or her tutee's thoughts and opinions, which encourages effective communication between both parties. Thanks to my job, I am now capable of expressing myself to others in a much more clear and concise manner. I have also learned how to interact positively and effectively with students in order to best serve their interests. This is an especially important tool for me to have, since I work with students on an individual basis. Interaction between the tutor and the tutee is absolutely crucial for a successful session.

One of the many methods I have developed as a tutor, is viewing each student that visits the Writing Center not as "just another tutee," but as a unique individual with his or her own strengths and weaknesses. As soon as a new student comes in for tutoring, I introduce myself and then ask his or her name. Oftentimes, I will ask a tutee what his or her major is, where he or she is from and what year he or she is in. As the tutoring session progresses, I typically pose more detailed and open-ended questions. These may include: Why are you taking this course and how do you like it so far? To what extent are you interested in the course material? Are you understanding what is being taught in class? How do you feel about your writing skills, in general? What would you like to see improved? I try my best to get to know each student on a personal level, since I have found that my tutees tend to be more comfortable and communicative with me if they feel like we are on close terms with each other. Interacting with my tutees on a one-on-one basis establishes a stronger bond, as well as a higher level of trust and respect, which allows me to work with them more effectively.

Another important lesson I have learned through my experience as a tutor is that there are many different types of learners. Therefore, one of the many personal goals I set for myself at the beginning of my sophomore year was to discover what kind of learner each tutee is (i.e., visual, auditory, tactile kinesthetic, etc.) so that I can tailor my teaching style and strategies to accommodate the needs of each individual. For example, for learners that tend to be more visual, the most useful strategies may include highlighting, notecard-making, and using pictures/videos to help commit important information to memory. For students that are auditory learners, using acronyms, mnemonic devices, rhymes, and songs generally work best. Over the years, I have used various techniques in order to help my students better learn and understand the required material. Being adaptable to different learning styles and approaches has ultimately contributed to my success as a writing tutor.

Offering positive reinforcement during tutoring is another vital lesson I have learned from my job. Whenever I engage in a session, I try to be very careful about my choice of words to not discourage or offend my tutee in any way, especially since he or she may feel ashamed about coming to the Writing Center. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma attached to tutoring. Many students seem to be under the impression that if they ask for help, they will automatically be labeled as “dumb” or “inferior.” This is a common misconception; in fact, most of my tutees are exceptional students who are incredibly dedicated, conscientious, and eager to learn.

As a tutor, it is important for me to remember that there is a fine line between constructive criticism and destructive criticism. I am aware that I should not simply critique papers, since this might make students feel incompetent or inadequate. Rather, I should make a conscious effort to find positive things to say about students’ papers even if it is something as simple as word choice. One essential lesson I have learned is that there is always room for praise and encouragement. No matter how poorly-written or constructed an essay may be, a tutor can still find something nice to say about it. Not only does this reassure the student that he or she is headed in the right direction, but it also boosts his or her self-esteem. By working to promote positive reinforcement and inspire confidence within my tutees, I am able to have more effective tutoring sessions with students.

Overall, I feel incredibly fortunate to have been hired as a writing tutor at SUNY Oswego. My job has provided me with a tremendous sense of self-satisfaction. The main reason why I enjoy being a tutor is because I absolutely love having the ability to provide helpful feedback on peers’ papers and to assist them with focusing, developing, and organizing their writing. Over the past few years, working as a tutor in the Writing Center, I have received such compliments as, “I received a good grade on my paper because of you!” and “I feel so much better about this assignment, thanks to your help!” Phrases like this not only make my day, but they also make my job worthwhile.

As an English major who understands and appreciates the power of the written word, I take great pride and pleasure in working with fellow students to help them enhance their writing skills. Having the opportunity to witness my tutees’ gradual development into critical thinkers and successful learners is extremely rewarding. My position as a writing tutor has not only taught me important lessons in leadership and communication, but it has also prepared me for a successful writing career in the future. I am confident that through my job at SUNY Oswego, I have gained invaluable skills and training experience that will no doubt allow me to utilize my writing skills to the fullest potential and encourage others to do the same.

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19 lessons i'll never forget from growing up in a small town, there have been many lessons learned..

Small towns certainly have their pros and cons. Many people who grow up in small towns find themselves counting the days until they get to escape their roots and plant new ones in bigger, "better" places. And that's fine. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought those same thoughts before too. We all have, but they say it's important to remember where you came from. When I think about where I come from, I can't help having an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my roots. Being from a small town has taught me so many important lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

1. The importance of traditions.

Sometimes traditions seem like a silly thing, but the fact of it is that it's part of who you are. You grew up this way and, more than likely, so did your parents. It is something that is part of your family history and that is more important than anything.

2. How to be thankful for family and friends.

No matter how many times they get on your nerves or make you mad, they are the ones who will always be there and you should never take that for granted.

3. How to give back.

When tragedy strikes in a small town, everyone feels obligated to help out because, whether directly or indirectly, it affects you too. It is easy in a bigger city to be able to disconnect from certain problems. But in a small town those problems affect everyone.

4. What the word "community" really means.

Along the same lines as #3, everyone is always ready and willing to lend a helping hand when you need one in a small town and to me that is the true meaning of community. It's working together to build a better atmosphere, being there to raise each other up, build each other up, and pick each other up when someone is in need. A small town community is full of endless support whether it be after a tragedy or at a hometown sports game. Everyone shows up to show their support.

5. That it isn't about the destination, but the journey.

People say this to others all the time, but it takes on a whole new meaning in a small town. It is true that life is about the journey, but when you're from a small town, you know it's about the journey because the journey probably takes longer than you spend at the destination. Everything is so far away that it is totally normal to spend a couple hours in the car on your way to some form of entertainment. And most of the time, you're gonna have as many, if not more, memories and laughs on the journey than at the destination.

6. The consequences of making bad choices.

Word travels fast in a small town, so don't think you're gonna get away with anything. In fact, your parents probably know what you did before you even have a chance to get home and tell them. And forget about being scared of what your teacher, principle, or other authority figure is going to do, you're more afraid of what your parents are gonna do when you get home.

7. To trust people, until you have a reason not to.

Everyone deserves a chance. Most people don't have ill-intentions and you can't live your life guarding against every one else just because a few people in your life have betrayed your trust.

8. To be welcoming and accepting of everyone.

While small towns are not always extremely diverse, they do contain people with a lot of different stories, struggle, and backgrounds. In a small town, it is pretty hard to exclude anyone because of who they are or what they come from because there aren't many people to choose from. A small town teaches you that just because someone isn't the same as you, doesn't mean you can't be great friends.

9. How to be my own, individual person.

In a small town, you learn that it's okay to be who you are and do your own thing. You learn that confidence isn't how beautiful you are or how much money you have, it's who you are on the inside.

10. How to work for what I want.

Nothing comes easy in life. They always say "gardens don't grow overnight" and if you're from a small town you know this both figuratively and literally. You certainly know gardens don't grow overnight because you've worked in a garden or two. But you also know that to get to the place you want to be in life it takes work and effort. It doesn't just happen because you want it to.

11. How to be great at giving directions.

If you're from a small town, you know that you will probably only meet a handful of people in your life who ACTUALLY know where your town is. And forget about the people who accidentally enter into your town because of google maps. You've gotten really good at giving them directions right back to the interstate.

12. How to be humble.

My small town has definitely taught me how to be humble. It isn't always about you, and anyone who grows up in a small town knows that. Everyone gets their moment in the spotlight, and since there's so few of us, we're probably best friends with everyone so we are as excited when they get their moment of fame as we are when we get ours.

13. To be well-rounded.

Going to a small town high school definitely made me well-rounded. There isn't enough kids in the school to fill up all the clubs and sports teams individually so be ready to be a part of them all.

14. How to be great at conflict resolution.

In a small town, good luck holding a grudge. In a bigger city you can just avoid a person you don't like or who you've had problems with. But not in a small town. You better resolve the issue fast because you're bound to see them at least 5 times a week.

15. The beauty of getting outside and exploring.

One of my favorite things about growing up in a rural area was being able to go outside and go exploring and not have to worry about being in danger. There is nothing more exciting then finding a new place somewhere in town or in the woods and just spending time there enjoying the natural beauty around you.

16. To be prepared for anything.

You never know what may happen. If you get a flat tire, you better know how to change it yourself because you never know if you will be able to get ahold of someone else to come fix it. Mechanics might be too busy , or more than likely you won't even have enough cell service to call one.

17. That you don't always have to do it alone.

It's okay to ask for help. One thing I realized when I moved away from my town for college, was how much my town has taught me that I could ask for help is I needed it. I got into a couple situations outside of my town where I couldn't find anyone to help me and found myself thinking, if I was in my town there would be tons of people ready to help me. And even though I couldn't find anyone to help, you better believe I wasn't afraid to ask.

18. How to be creative.

When you're at least an hour away from normal forms of entertainment such as movie theaters and malls, you learn to get real creative in entertaining yourself. Whether it be a night looking at the stars in the bed of a pickup truck or having a movie marathon in a blanket fort at home, you know how to make your own good time.

19. To brush off gossip.

It's all about knowing the person you are and not letting others influence your opinion of yourself. In small towns, there is plenty of gossip. But as long as you know who you really are, it will always blow over.

Grateful Beyond Words: A Letter to My Inspiration

I have never been so thankful to know you..

I can't say "thank you" enough to express how grateful I am for you coming into my life. You have made such a huge impact on my life. I would not be the person I am today without you and I know that you will keep inspiring me to become an even better version of myself.

You have taught me that you don't always have to strong. You are allowed to break down as long as you pick yourself back up and keep moving forward. When life had you at your worst moments, you allowed your friends to be there for you and to help you. You let them in and they helped pick you up. Even in your darkest hour you showed so much strength. I know that you don't believe in yourself as much as you should but you are unbelievably strong and capable of anything you set your mind to.

Your passion to make a difference in the world is unbelievable. You put your heart and soul into your endeavors and surpass any personal goal you could have set. Watching you do what you love and watching you make a difference in the lives of others is an incredible experience. The way your face lights up when you finally realize what you have accomplished is breathtaking and I hope that one day I can have just as much passion you have.

SEE MORE: A Letter To My Best Friend On Her Birthday

The love you have for your family is outstanding. Watching you interact with loved ones just makes me smile . You are so comfortable and you are yourself. I see the way you smile when you are around family and I wish I could see you smile like this everyday. You love with all your heart and this quality is something I wished I possessed.

You inspire me to be the best version of myself. I look up to you. I feel that more people should strive to have the strength and passion that you exemplify in everyday life.You may be stubborn at points but when you really need help you let others in, which shows strength in itself. I have never been more proud to know someone and to call someone my role model. You have taught me so many things and I want to thank you. Thank you for inspiring me in life. Thank you for making me want to be a better person.

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life..

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Don't freak out

This is a rule you should continue to follow no matter what you do in life, but is especially helpful in this situation.

Email the professor

Around this time, professors are getting flooded with requests from students wanting to get into full classes. This doesn't mean you shouldn't burden them with your email; it means they are expecting interested students to email them. Send a short, concise message telling them that you are interested in the class and ask if there would be any chance for you to get in.

Attend the first class

Often, the advice professors will give you when they reply to your email is to attend the first class. The first class isn't the most important class in terms of what will be taught. However, attending the first class means you are serious about taking the course and aren't going to give up on it.

Keep attending class

Every student is in the same position as you are. They registered for more classes than they want to take and are "shopping." For the first couple of weeks, you can drop or add classes as you please, which means that classes that were once full will have spaces. If you keep attending class and keep up with assignments, odds are that you will have priority. Professors give preference to people who need the class for a major and then from higher to lower class year (senior to freshman).

Have a backup plan

For two weeks, or until I find out whether I get into my waitlisted class, I will be attending more than the usual number of classes. This is so that if I don't get into my waitlisted class, I won't have a credit shortage and I won't have to fall back in my backup class. Chances are that enough people will drop the class, especially if it is very difficult like computer science, and you will have a chance. In popular classes like art and psychology, odds are you probably won't get in, so prepare for that.

Remember that everything works out at the end

Life is full of surprises. So what if you didn't get into the class you wanted? Your life obviously has something else in store for you. It's your job to make sure you make the best out of what you have.

Navigating the Talking Stage: 21 Essential Questions to Ask for Connection

It's mandatory to have these conversations..

Whether you met your new love interest online , through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

1. What do you do for a living?

What someone does for a living can tell a lot about who they are and what they're interested in! Their career reveals a lot more about them than just where they spend their time to make some money.

2. What's your favorite color?

OK, I get it, this seems like something you would ask a Kindergarten class, but I feel like it's always good to know someone's favorite color . You could always send them that Snapchat featuring you in that cute shirt you have that just so happens to be in their favorite color!

3. Do you have any siblings?

This one is actually super important because it's totally true that people grow up with different roles and responsibilities based on where they fall in the order. You can tell a lot about someone just based on this seemingly simple question.

4. What's your favorite television show?

OK, maybe this isn't a super important question, but you have to know ASAP if you can quote Michael Scott or not. If not, he probably isn't the one. Sorry, girl.

5. When is your birthday?

You can then proceed to do the thing that every girl does without admitting it and see how compatible your zodiacs are.

6. What's your biggest goal in life?

If you're like me, you have big goals that you want to reach someday, and you want a man behind you who also has big goals and understands what it's like to chase after a dream. If his biggest goal is to see how quickly he can binge-watch " Grey's Anatomy " on Netflix , you may want to move on.

7. If you had three wishes granted to you by a genie, what would they be?

This is a go-to for an insight into their personality. Based on how they answer, you can tell if they're goofy, serious, or somewhere in between.

8. What's your favorite childhood memory?

For some, this may be a hard question if it involves a family member or friend who has since passed away . For others, it may revolve around a tradition that no longer happens. The answers to this question are almost endless!

9. If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?

We all have parts of our lives and stories that we wish we could change. It's human nature to make mistakes. This question is a little bit more personal but can really build up the trust level.

10. Are you a cat or a dog person?

I mean, duh! If you're a dog person, and he is a cat person, it's not going to work out.

11. Do you believe in a religion or any sort of spiritual power?

Personally, I am a Christian, and as a result, I want to be with someone who shares those same values. I know some people will argue that this question is too much in the talking stage , but why go beyond the talking stage if your personal values will never line up?

12. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Even homebodies have a must visit place on their bucket list !

13. What is your ideal date night?

Hey, if you're going to go for it... go for it!

14. Who was/is your celebrity crush?

For me, it was hands-down Nick Jonas . This is always a fun question to ask!

15. What's a good way to cheer you up if you're having a bad day?

Let's be real, if you put a label on it, you're not going to see your significant other at their best 24/7.

16. Do you have any tattoos?

This can lead to some really good conversations, especially if they have a tattoo that has a lot of meaning to them!

17. Can you describe yourself in three words?

It's always interesting to see if how the person you're talking to views their personal traits lines ups with the vibes you're getting.

18. What makes you the most nervous in life?

This question can go multiple different directions, and it could also be a launching pad for other conversations.

19. What's the best gift you have ever received? 

Admittedly, I have asked this question to friends as well, but it's neat to see what people value.

20. What do you do to relax/have fun?

Work hard, play hard, right?

21. What are your priorities at this phase of your life?

This is always interesting because no matter how compatible your personalities may be, if one of you wants to be serious and the other is looking for something casual, it's just not going to work.

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Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in challah bread or easter bread.

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

A few weeks ago, I was given a loaf of bread called Challah (pronounced like holla), and upon my first bite, I realized it tasted just like Easter Bread. It was so delicious that I just had to make some of my own, which I did.

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

2 tsp active dry or instant yeast 1 cup lukewarm water 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup white granulated sugar 2 tsp salt 2 large eggs 1 large egg yolk (reserve the white for the egg wash) 1/4 cup neutral-flavored vegetable oil

Instructions

• Combine yeast and a pinch of sugar in small bowl with the water and stir until you see a frothy layer across the top.
• Whisk together 4 cups of the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
• Make a well in the center of the flour and add in eggs, egg yolk, and oil. Whisk these together to form a slurry, pulling in a little flour from the sides of the bowl.
• Pour the yeast mixture over the egg slurry and mix until difficult to move.
• Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes. If the dough seems very sticky, add flour a teaspoon at a time until it feels tacky, but no longer like bubblegum. The dough has finished kneading when it is soft, smooth, and holds a ball-shape.
• Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place somewhere warm. Let the dough rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Separate the dough into four pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a long rope roughly 1-inch thick and 16 inches long.
• Gather the ropes and squeeze them together at the very top. Braid the pieces in the pattern of over, under, and over again. Pinch the pieces together again at the bottom.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment and lift the loaf on top. Sprinkle the loaf with a little flour and drape it with a clean dishcloth. Place the pan somewhere warm and away from drafts and let it rise until puffed and pillowy, about an hour.
• Heat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the reserved egg white with a tablespoon of water and brush it all over the challah. Be sure to get in the cracks and down the sides of the loaf.
• Slide the challah on its baking sheet into the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking. The challah is done when it is deeply browned.

I kept wondering how these two breads could be so similar in taste. So I decided to look up a recipe for Easter Bread to make a comparison. The two are almost exactly the same! These recipes are similar because they come from religious backgrounds. The Jewish Challah bread is based on kosher dietary laws. The Christian Easter Bread comes from the Jewish tradition but was modified over time because they did not follow kosher dietary laws.

A recipe for Easter bread is as follows:

2 tsp active dry or instant yeast 2/3 cup milk 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup white granulated sugar 2 tbs butter 2 large eggs 2 tbs melted butter 1 tsp salt

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast; stir well. Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan; heat until milk is warm and butter is softened but not melted.
• Gradually add the milk and butter to the flour mixture; stirring constantly. Add two eggs and 1/2 cup flour; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal size rounds; cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each round into a long roll about 36 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick. Using the two long pieces of dough, form a loosely braided ring, leaving spaces for the five colored eggs. Seal the ends of the ring together and use your fingers to slide the eggs between the braids of dough.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place loaf on a buttered baking sheet and cover loosely with a damp towel. Place loaf in a warm place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Brush risen loaf with melted butter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Both of these recipes are really easy to make. While you might need to have a day set aside for this activity, you can do things while the dough is rising or in the oven. After only a few hours, you have a delicious loaf of bread that you made from scratch, so the time and effort is really worth it!

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Best Online Writing Tutoring Services

Chegg is our pick for best online writing tutoring service

Everyone needs a little writing boost from time to time, whether they're working on a term paper, preparing for the essay portion of a standardized test, or developing niche writing skills.

Online writing tutors are a great solution to any writing issues you or your child might have, with plenty of instructors specializing in every niche imaginable, right at your fingertips. And, thanks to the pandemic and the growing need for flexible learning options, online tutoring options continue to expand.

If you're looking for professional help or a way to boost your creative writing skills, we've reviewed some of the best online writing tutoring services out there.

The 7 Best Online Writing Tutoring Services of 2024

• Best Overall: Chegg
• Best for High School Students: Princeton Review
• Best for Transparent Pricing: Skooli
• Best National: Kaplan
• Best for Creative Writing: Wyzant
• Best for Professional Writing: Business Writing Center
• Our Top Picks

Princeton Review

Business Writing Center

• See More (3)

Final Verdict

Comparing online writing tutoring services, frequently asked questions, methodology, best overall : chegg.

• Price: Starting at about $15.95 per month
• Grade Level: High school-age and older
• Frequency: As needed

Chegg makes it easy to find tutors with expertise in your struggle areas. Plus, you’ll be able to submit a paper and receive feedback within 48 hours.

24/7 support

Submit papers for feedback

Plagiarism checker

Different tutor for each use

No real curriculum or lessons

Chegg covers pretty much any subject you might need writing help in, which is a comfort for students. The site has thousands of writing experts, all with their own individual expertise and specialties. Whether students need help with literary analysis, lab reports, or a history research paper, someone can assist.

Chegg’s system allows learners to submit a paper they need help with and have it checked by a suitable expert who can provide feedback within 48 hours, whether it's an answer to a specific question or a general scan of your paper and writing style.

The platform offers a subscription plan for Chegg Writing, which includes a plagiarism detector, free citation creation, and proofreading and grammar scans for an unlimited number of papers.

The writing subscription is $9.95 per month, however there is a free trial. Prices for Chegg study and tutor start at around $15.95 per month.

Best for High School Students : Princeton Review

Use promo code INVESTO15 for 15% off MSRP.

• Price: Starts at $40 an hour up to roughly $350 to $1,450 for six-month flex plans
• Grade Level: K-12 and higher education
• Frequency: One to 10 hours per month, or 10 hours to 50 hours in six months

High school students will benefit from the help of expert tutors that can cater to individuals’ one-on-one needs and specific learning goals. The tutors are available 24/7 for those late-night cramming sessions.

One-on-one tutors plus premade content for academic help

Tutors available 24/7

Heavily vetted tutors include professors, teachers, PhDs and other experts

Can be expensive

No one-off sessions

Princeton Review just might be the perfect fit for high school students looking for help with their writing skills.

Whether they're looking for help on a book report, a research paper, an admissions essay, or something else, they can call on these tutors 24/7 to polish writing skills. Even better: Princeton Review's instructors are categorized by topic, so students can specifically search for tutors with expertise in whatever subject help is needed.

Rather than negotiating rates with individual tutors, Princeton Review offers several different pricing plans, including monthly subscriptions with a set number of hours per month or a more flexible plan allowing access anytime.

Monthly packages range from about $40 for one hour to roughly $340 for 10 hours per month, while six-month flex plans run from approximately $350 for 10 hours ($35 per hour) to around $1,450 for 50 hours ($29 per hour).

These flex plans allow students to log on at any time during the six months, and a session can be as short or as long as they want.

Best for Transparent Pricing : Skooli

• Price: Starts at $0.82 a minute with pay-as-you-go; as low as $0.65 a minute if you prepay 32 hours
• Grade Level: Elementary school through college

There’s no commitment needed with Skooli. You can use the platform as needed, and you’ll only have to pay roughly $1 per minute. 

Get help instantly 

No commitment needed

Pay per minute makes rates reasonable

15 minute minimum

No student-tutor relationship, since you’ll book as needed

Since Skooli offers tutoring in plenty of different subjects, you’re likely to be able to find writing tutors who can help tailor your essays to the specific needs of your subject. Writing a history research paper is very different from writing a literary analysis, and you can browse Skooli’s wide range of tutors to find one with the background and expertise to help with your specific project.

You can use Skooli as a long-term tutoring option—either with one specific instructor or different ones each time students log on—but it’s also designed for in-the-moment queries. The pricing structure reflects that: Skooli charges around $1 per minute rather than monthly or even hourly rates, so all time is accounted for while learning.

For the most part, tutors on Skooli are well-vetted and experienced and hold degrees and teaching certifications, so students can be sure that every minute spent will further their knowledge.

Best National : Kaplan

• Price: Courses start at $549 (ACT prep) and $1,100 (LSAT prep)
• Grade Level: From high school admissions through career advancement
• Frequency: Varies by course

Kaplan is widely known and trusted for online tutoring, and offers test prep tutoring from high school admissions tests through college admissions tests and beyond. 

Robust offering

Help for specific tests

Widely known and trusted brand

Not much offered beyond test prep courses

Not for basic writing tutoring

Kaplan's name and its test prep formulas are top of the line. For students looking for private or group tutoring to prepare for a standardized test or entrance exam, Kaplan’s tutoring program is one of the most comprehensive.

Students can sign up for small-group remote classes with experienced teachers or enroll in private, one-on-one tutoring. Tutoring sessions are highly structured, including multiple full-length practice tests and in-depth explanations for scores. It’s as close as it gets to taking the test before you actually take it.

While a good portion of the tutoring focuses on the multiple-choice sections of these tests, Kaplan tutors also work with students to improve their writing skills and help them learn what the test review boards are looking for in each individual exam. The platform is for serious, long-term tutoring with highly experienced tutors and exclusive materials, not one-time sessions, and the prices reflect that.

Prices vary depending on which test you’re preparing for. If you're prepping for the ACT, you can enroll in an online class with top ACT teachers for $549. If you want one-on-one tutoring, options start at $749. If you're prepping for the LSAT, they offer a live online course for $1,100 and one-on-one tutoring plus a live online course starting at $1,999.

Best for Creative Writing : Wyzant

• Price: Starts at $25 an hour
• Grade Level: All, plus adults

Wyzant allows you to search for tutors in your subject matter of interest, including both gen-eds and more creative classes. 

Ability to search for the type of tutor you want

Search within your price range

24/7 access to tutors

Experience is specific to the tutor you choose

Site does not have tutors adhere to a specific methodology

No tutor/student relationship, as sessions are one-off and as-needed

While the majority of tutoring sites focus more on straightforward academics, Wyzant also includes creative writing tutors. Whether you’re a student working on an English class assignment, a creative writing major looking for a little extra guidance, or just someone wanting to dig into creative writing on your own time, there’s likely an instructor for you.

The site filters tutors by broad subject area and then by narrower expertise. Prospective students can view a tutor’s profile, rating, and hourly rate before reaching out. Many of the site’s creative writing tutors have advanced degrees or professional experience, so you can be sure you’re getting genuine expert help.

Wyzant gives students and tutors a lot of leeway to negotiate their own relationships, both in the classroom and in terms of rates. Tutors set their own fees (the average is between about $25 and $65 per hour, although there are plenty of tutors above and below that range), and the platform offers a one-hour guarantee: the first hour lesson with a new tutor is guaranteed to be a success, or it’s free. It’s a great way to dip your toe in and get help honing your craft.

Best for Professional Writing : Business Writing Center

• Price: $69 up to $595
• Grade Level: Adult
• Frequency: Self-paced for four months

Business Writing Center caters specifically to professionals by teaching business writing for reports, proposals, and other important work writing. 

Specifically for business professionals

Classes for non-native speakers available

Self-paced classes may not be for everyone

Greater fee for individualized courses

Business Writing Center (BWC) isn’t your typical tutoring service.

Rather than aiming its services at secondary school-aged students, the site is geared toward business professionals looking to brush up their writing skills. While some of the offerings are more suitable for business people whose first language isn’t English, there are options for one-on-one tutoring and feedback on professional reports, proposals, and other important work documents.

Rather than hourly tutoring, BWC offers its tutoring services through “coaching” courses. The company has a few different specialties, including document writing, coaching for executive writing, and a more general individual training option.

Self-paced courses start at $69, go up to $595, and can last up to four months. They allow students to work on real-world writing projects and get personalized feedback from an experienced teacher.

An online writing tutor can help students and professionals alike brush up on their writing skills so that their finished writing projects are more successful. Since you can access these tutors from anywhere, they can accommodate most schedules and learning rhythms. We chose Chegg Study as the best overall online tutoring service because it's affordable, convenient, and offers a range of writing tutoring options.

What Is an Online Writing Tutoring Service?

An online writing tutoring service is a website or platform that connects students with writing tutors, completely online and remote. These companies may be geared toward a specific grade level or type of writing, or they may be a more general platform to connect students and tutors.

A research study found that students who sought the help of tutors in writing the second draft of essays progressed more and scored higher on their second drafts than those who did not seek help. The same study found that students who used online tutoring services in addition to in-person tutoring in their school’s writing center scored even higher than those who did not take advantage of online tutoring services.

How Much Do Online Writing Tutoring Services Cost?

Online writing tutoring services cover a wide range of prices. In general, there are two basic models: pay-per-session or subscription. For the former, students pay for access each time they use the service for tutoring help. For the latter, students pre-pay for a package that spans a certain amount of time, number of sessions, or even a mini-course that also includes one-on-one tutoring time. Many tutoring services charge $1 per minute or $35 to $60 per hour. Monthly packages can range from about $69 to thousands of dollars.

What Can You Learn From a Professional Writing Tutoring Session?

Adult professionals can expect to gain practical skills they can apply directly to the writing they do in their chosen profession. Some of those skills may include document writing, executive writing, using basic grammar and sentence structure, and writing for non-native speakers of English.

Online writing tutors may also look over previously written documents and provide edits and/or suggestions to help you polish them.

What Features Do Online Writing Tutoring Services Have?

Every tutoring service structures its offerings a little differently, and each tutor may have their own particular style of teaching. That being said, these platforms are usually based around chat functions, either video/audio or text-based (or some combination of both), and many services have some type of screen-sharing and document-sharing capabilities.

Most online writing tutors will focus on helping students apply their knowledge in a practical sense. While some might have pre-planned assignments to develop particular skills (more common in specialized subjects like creative writing or test prep), other instructors prefer to have students come prepared with an assignment they need help with and give feedback to strengthen it.

Online writing tutoring doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and we’ve tried to make selecting an instructor as easy as possible. Because “writing” is such a broad skill applied to so many different settings, we’ve sorted out some of the categories that we think will be the most useful to the largest number of students. The platforms here range from specialized expertise in niches like business writing and test prep to more general essay-writing assistance.

Students seeking a writing tutor may want a long-term preparatory course or help with an individual essay. With this in mind, we’ve included a wide range of specialties and, more importantly, price points, from pay-per-minute instant feedback to formal, highly researched, long-term prep classes that cost significantly more over the course of several months.

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Al Chibani W. The effectiveness of online and on-to-one tutoring in the writing center on the students’ achievement: a multiple case study . Int Lett Soc Humanist Sci . 2014;41:192-197. doi:10.18052/www.scipress.com/ILSHS.41.192

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Get help brainstorming ideas, writing essays, and more from an essay writing tutor online. Our tutors can help you write a book report, brainstorm ideas for a term paper or put the finishing touches on a college admissions essay

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How to Write an Essay about Your School

If you’re hoping to draft an insightful essay about your school, you’re in the right place! Writing an essay about your school offers an opportunity to share your experiences, the unique features of your school, and why it is important to you.

In this tutorial, I’ll guide you through five straightforward steps to pen such an essay effectively. Alongside these steps, we’ll craft a sample essay to demonstrate how you can apply these steps in practice. Ready to begin? Let’s dive in!

Step 1. Plan the word count for your essay’s paragraphs.

Planning the word count for each paragraph in your essay is a helpful initial step, which can make the writing process smoother and faster. Remember, a typical essay comprises three key parts:

• The introductory paragraph
• Three body paragraphs
• The concluding paragraph

For example, you want a 300-word paragraph. Here’s one way to distribute 300 words across five paragraphs:

That’s all you need for your essay — five solid paragraphs.

Step 2. Choose your central theme and supporting points.

Firstly, decide on a central theme that encapsulates your school experience. This will provide a coherent thread for your entire essay. When choosing your theme, think about what defines your school. What are the core values? What unique attributes does it possess?

For our sample essay, let’s use this as our central theme: “My school, Greenfield High, stands out for its emphasis on community, innovative teaching methods, and commitment to the arts.”

Next, we will apply the Power of Three to break down this main theme into three supporting points. The Power of Three is a three-part structure that aids you in crafting your body paragraphs.

In our case, we will focus on three features that define Greenfield High:

• Greenfield High fosters a strong sense of community.
• Innovative teaching methods are a hallmark of Greenfield High.
• Greenfield High shows a deep commitment to the arts.

With these in mind, we can now begin to write our essay!

Step 3. Write the introductory paragraph.

To write an introductory paragraph , you can follow the diagram below:

The introductory paragraph should begin with an engaging opener that sets the context for the essay. Following this, you should introduce your central theme and your three supporting points. Here’s our example:

Introductory Paragraph

“Schools can profoundly shape our lives, molding us through their unique cultures, methodologies, and focus areas. My school, Greenfield High, stands out for its emphasis on community, innovative teaching methods, and commitment to the arts. Its sense of community fosters cooperation and mutual respect among students, its innovative teaching methods stimulate our intellectual curiosity, and its commitment to the arts provides a rich, expressive outlet for students.”

Step 4. Write the body paragraphs.

Next, we’ll develop three body paragraphs to elaborate on our supporting points.

Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that summarizes the paragraph’s main idea, followed by explanation and examples.

Paragraph 1

“Greenfield High fosters a strong sense of community, which has deeply impacted my school experience. Its student-led initiatives and regular community outreach programs have taught us the value of teamwork and public service. For instance, our annual ‘Greenfield Gives Back’ campaign, where students volunteer in local charities, has not only benefited our local community but also fostered a sense of responsibility and empathy in us students.”

Paragraph 2

“The innovative teaching methods adopted by Greenfield High are another defining feature. Teachers often integrate technology into their lessons, enhancing our understanding and making the learning process more interactive. I remember how our geography teacher used virtual reality to explore different ecosystems, turning abstract concepts into immersive experiences.”

Paragraph 3

“Lastly, Greenfield High’s commitment to the arts is exceptional. The school offers numerous art programs and supports artistic events like art festivals and music competitions, providing students with opportunities to express themselves and develop their talents. For example, participating in our annual school musical has allowed me to explore my passion for performing arts and has greatly boosted my confidence.”

Notice how each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence, followed by further explanation and examples.

Step 5. Write the concluding paragraph.

The concluding paragraph is best written by paraphrasing the points made in your introductory paragraph. Avoid copying and pasting; instead, refer back to your introductory paragraph and restate the points in a new way. Let’s apply this method to our sample essay:

“Schools greatly influence our formative years through their unique characteristics. Greenfield High, with its emphasis on community, innovative teaching methods, and commitment to the arts, has shaped my educational journey in significant ways. Its strong sense of community has instilled in me the importance of cooperation and service. Its innovative teaching methods have fostered my intellectual curiosity. Finally, its dedication to the arts has allowed me to express myself creatively and grow my confidence.”

With this approach, writing the conclusion becomes quick and straightforward.

And there you have it! I hope you find this tutorial useful as you craft your own essay about your school.”

Tutor Phil is an e-learning professional who helps adult learners finish their degrees by teaching them academic writing skills.

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Award-Winning SAT Essay Tutors

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Top SAT Essay Tutors

I am a graduate of Stanford University and earned a bachelors in Biology. Since graduation, I have been volunteering my time tutoring with underserved populations throughout California and Pennsylvania. While I tutor a broad range of subjects, I am most passionate about Mathematics (all branches from Algebra to Calculus) and Science (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics). As a high school student, I vividly remember preparing for the SAT and hope to use the tactics that I... Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Reading , SAT Math , SAT Mathematics and 98 more subjects.

• Stanford University - Bachelor of Science, Biology, General

Test Scores

• SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1540
• SAT Math: 770
• SAT Verbal: 770

...Rice University where I was a pre-med student studying Public Health and Anthropology. I'm passionate about working with students, and I was active in TA and mentorship roles during my time in school. While standardized test prep can be intimidating or tedious, I strive to make sessions fun while tailoring my approach to the needs of the student. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking and keeping up with the latest TV shows. Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Writing and Language , SAT Mathematics , SAT Math and 55 more subjects.

• Rice University - Bachelor in Arts, Public Health

...global finance student at the Johns Hopkins University, I have countless experiences in the fields of history, English, mathematics, and language. Furthermore, I have taken numerous AP classes in high school and am capable of educating in subjects that are of the relevant fields. In addition to this, I have taken the SAT and ACT, and have achieved high scores, giving me the ability to show you how to take these tests. Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Mathematics , SAT Math , SAT Reading and 103 more subjects.

• Johns Hopkins University - Bachelor in Arts, International Economics
• ACT Composite: 34
• ACT English: 33
• ACT Math: 34

I am an undergraduate student at the University of Florida, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Cell Sciences whilst minoring in Health Science. I aspire to attend Medical School after graduating. Since beginning my tutoring journey, I have tutored students on SAT/ACT/PERT examination preparation, high school and college-level math courses, and the sciences (e.g biology, chemistry, etc.). Amongst this broad range of subjects, my favorite materials to tutor would definitely be the SAT... Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Writing and Language , SAT Mathematics , SAT Math and 50 more subjects.

• University of Florida - Bachelor of Science, Microbiology
• ACT English: 36
• ACT Math: 35

I aim to give students the skills to approach any problem with confidence. Through active problem solving and diagnostics, even the most daunting assignments and problem sets can be deconstructed into digestible information. Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Writing and Language , SAT Mathematics , SAT Math and 36 more subjects.

• Rice University - Bachelor in Arts, Music Performance
• University of Phoenix-Southern California Campus - Current Grad Student, Music Performance
• SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1580
• SAT Math: 800

I am a current Junior at Hamilton College and will soon receive my Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Math. I tutor primarily in Math and Test Prep with a strong emphasis on fun :). In my free time I enjoy playing soccer and chess, traveling, and learning new things! Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Reading , SAT Writing and Language , SAT Mathematics and 61 more subjects.

• Hamilton College - Bachelor in Arts, Mathematics
• ACT Composite: 36
• ACT Math: 36

I'm a junior in chemical engineering at ASU Barrett and I specialize in math and physics tutoring. If you need help with any of your math subjects or have trouble with physics and chemistry I'm the one to call. I love working with students and each and everybody's success is my top priority. Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Reading , SAT Math , SAT Mathematics and 36 more subjects.

• Arizona State University - Bachelor of Engineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
• Arizona State University - Current Grad Student, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
• SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1560
• SAT Verbal: 760

I studied computer science and statistics in college. Since late high school I have had a regular teaching commitment, whether it was helping younger students prepare for standardized tests or TA'ing for college courses. I can tutor very effectively across a variety of math, computer science, and statistics subjects, but am most passionate and have the most 1-on-1 experience in probability and statistics and test prep. I believe that anyone with a good amount of... Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Writing and Language , SAT Mathematics , SAT Reading and 86 more subjects.

• University of California-Berkeley - Bachelor in Arts, Computer Science

Howdy! My name is Meghana, and I am a BS/MD program student and President's Endowed Scholar at Texas A&M University studying neuroscience/biology and English. I enjoy helping my students with the SAT and ACT, English grammar, literature, writing, and AP subjects, especially in the sciences. Please feel free to message me for more info or to schedule a session. Thank you! Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Reading , SAT Writing and Language , SAT Mathematics and 78 more subjects.

• The Texas AM University System Office - Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience
• ACT Math: 32

...law degree at Boston University School of Law. I can tutor in many disciplines, but I most enjoy tutoring for standardized tests to prepare students to excel on the LSAT, GRE, and SAT. I am enthusiastic about helping students reach their goals, and I am confident that I can help anyone make a significant improvement in their scores by sharing the tips and tricks I learned myself when preparing for these exams. Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Mathematics , SAT Reading , SAT Writing and Language and 45 more subjects.

• Colgate University - Bachelor in Arts, Neuroscience
• Boston University - Juris Doctor, Legal Studies
• SAT Writing: 790

...I studied at Carnegie Mellon University, where I obtained a degree in computational neuroscience. I'm really passionate about computer science, math, biology, and psychology, as well as their intersection. I also have a passion for research, and have worked in research laboratories both in academia at Yale, CMU, and Jax, as well as in industry. In my spare time, I like to write poetry, work on personal coding projects, go biking, and travel. Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Writing and Language , SAT Mathematics , SAT Math and 71 more subjects.

• Carnegie Mellon University - Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience

As a self learner, I understand different struggles that students like myself might come across. I have a great passion for math and would love to share the tips and tricks that I have discovered that are application to not only the liberal arts but also in non academic activities as well. Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Reading , SAT Math , SAT Writing and Language and 72 more subjects.

• Cornell University - Bachelor of Science, Computer Science

Because of my passions for helping others and sharing my knowledge, I've gravitated toward tutoring since my early high school years. I'm now in my last year of college-- I study environmental science and art history at Barnard College of Columbia University in New York City-- and I'm happy that I've been able to continue to tutor a wide range of ages in a wide variety of subjects throughout college. My passion for languages shapes... Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Reading , SAT Math , SAT Mathematics and 97 more subjects.

• Barnard College - Bachelor in Arts, Environmental Science
• ACT Composite: 35
• ACT Math: 33

I am a graduate of The University of Texas at Dallas. I received my Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience with a focus in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. Since graduation, I have been volunteering quite a bit at my local homeless shelter as well as my local free clinic to gain some experience for my next step of going into medical school. I mainly tutor pure SAT in its entirety, Reading Writing, and Math. In my tutoring... Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Math , SAT Reading , SAT Writing and Language and 50 more subjects.

• The University of Texas at Dallas - Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience
• SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1480
• SAT Math: 780
• SAT Verbal: 700

...and have worked as an editor for fellow students' essays for several years. When it comes to how I teach and my overall philosophy, I believe in a conversational approach; myself and the student work together to decipher what needs to be worked on, the best ways to tackle it, and the result of these practices. Education should be a judgement-free zone and as long as both parties are working together in harmony, any material... Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Writing and Language , SAT Math , SAT Reading and 58 more subjects.

• Washington University in St Louis - Bachelor in Arts, Women's Studies
• ACT Composite: 33
• ACT English: 35
• ACT Reading: 36

I am a 7-12 certified middle school History teacher. I also am on the premedical track. I have a major in History and minors in Biology/Chemistry from Duke University. I love teaching and firmly believe in the potential of every student. I utilize an uplifting teaching model that empowers students to not only learn the material, but be confident in their knowledge. I have over 8 years of teaching and tutoring experience in a variety... Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Reading , SAT Mathematics , SAT Math and 217 more subjects.

• Duke University - Bachelor in Arts, History

Hello, my name is Jason! I am currently a mechanical engineering student at UMASS Amherst and I enjoy math and science. Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Writing and Language , SAT Reading , SAT Mathematics and 22 more subjects.

• University of Massachusetts Amherst - Mechanical Engineer, Mechanical Engineering
• SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1410
• SAT Math: 710
• SAT Writing: 700

Growing up, both my parents were professors so I learned to value education from an early age! I am excited to share my love of learning, and am looking forward to my 7th year of tutoring experience. In high school, I was awarded the titles of Valedictorian as well as National Merit Scholar. Now, I'm a student at Indiana University studying English and History, along with a minor in Labor Studies. I also have a... Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Writing and Language , SAT Reading , SAT Math and 98 more subjects.

• Indiana University-Bloomington - Bachelor in Arts, English

Hello, my name is Kristen! I am a current doctoral candidate in the Spalding University Psychology program. I received my undergraduate degree in Psychology and Education from Centre College. My experience includes elementary, middle, high school, and college level tutoring. I love working with people and would love to help you achieve your goal! Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Math , SAT Writing and Language , SAT Mathematics and 50 more subjects.

• Centre College - Bachelor of Science, Psychology
• Spalding University - Current Grad Student, Clinical Psychology

I am a current Mechanical Engineering and Plan II Honors double major at The University of Texas at Austin. I have lots of volunteer experience including being a camp counselor for teenagers with disabilities. As someone who has gone through the college application process and has an appreciation for how difficult it is, I am ready to help students learn and show what they are capable of. Read more

Can also tutor: SAT Writing and Language , SAT Mathematics , SAT Reading and 80 more subjects.

• The University of Texas at Austin - Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering
• SAT Verbal: 780

Private SAT Essay Tutoring

Our interview process, stringent qualifications, and background screening ensure that only the best SAT Essay tutors work with Varsity Tutors. To assure a successful experience, you're paired with one of these qualified tutors by an expert director - and we stand behind that match with our money-back guarantee.

Receive personally tailored SAT Essay lessons from exceptional tutors in a one-on-one setting. We help you connect with the best tutor for your particular needs while offering flexible scheduling to fit your busy life.

Dedicated Private SAT Essay Tutoring

If you're interested in private SAT Essay tutoring that won't interrupt your daily life, Varsity Tutors is the only name you need to know. We will set you up with online tutoring, so you don't have to worry about traveling to your sessions.

Furthermore, our Live Learning Platform leverages several handy features that can deliver a study experience comparable to any you could receive in-person. For example, our platform includes a shared document editor so your instructor can provide feedback as you work. Likewise, video chat allows you to communicate with your instructor in real-time. Please continue reading to find out more about the benefits of private tutoring.

Boost Your SAT Essay Score

The SAT only gives test-takers 50 minutes to plan and compose their essay, so time is of the essence. The SAT Essay prompt requires you to critique and analyze another author's arguments, so your instructor can show you how to identify their most important points and mark them down for reference in your piece.

A knowledgeable SAT Essay tutor can also teach you how to sketch out a quick outline, giving you something to reference if you forget what you wanted to say next. Perhaps most importantly, your SAT Essay coach can help you budget your time so that you can proofread your work for spelling, grammar, and flow before the test ends.

Best Ways To Prep For the SAT Essay

While software-based test prep follows a set curriculum regardless of a student's needs, an SAT Essay tutor can design a study plan around your unique goals. If you struggle to use evidence effectively, your tutor can provide small-scale practice questions to help you craft more effective arguments.

If you're better at maintaining a consistent tone throughout your writing, your instructor can concentrate on other stylistic elements to keep your sessions engaging. You can choose what you review with a private tutor, helping you maintain study efficiency.

How much does an SAT Essay tutor cost?

The price of private SAT Essay tutoring depends on your specific needs and goals. For example, you may be charged a different rate for a brief review of the rhetorical devices you may see on your exam than you would be for an in-depth breakdown of the types of analysis the SAT is looking for.

If you're on a budget, you may wish to consider group tutoring so that you can split the cost of your tutor with other students. Varsity Tutors also provides a live SAT Essay class that can serve as standalone test prep or a supplement to private instruction. Reach out to one of our friendly Educational Directors today for more specific pricing information.

How do I choose an SAT Essay tutor?

Finding your own tutor can be difficult as you need to make sure that any candidate combines the scheduling flexibility, SAT Essay knowledge, and communication skills you're looking for. Why go through the hassle when Varsity Tutors maintains a database of well-vetted, independent tutors? Our experts use advanced tutor-matching technology to find a great instructor for students of all ages and ability levels, and we're happy to find you a different one if the first recommendation doesn't work out.

We can also promise that your instructor will be up-to-date on everything SAT Essay, so all of the information you receive will be accurate. What more could you ask for?

Are SAT Essay tutors worth it?

Independent studies suggest that working with a private tutor can increase a student's test scores on high school exit exams like the SAT by up to 12 percent: a big boost considering how competitive the college application process can get. An SAT Essay tutor can also help you increase your self-confidence in your written communication skills as you prepare for the rigors of undergraduate coursework.

Your Personalized Tutoring Program and Instructor

Identify Needs

Our knowledgeable directors help you choose your tutor with your learning profile and personality in mind.

Customize Learning

Your tutor can customize your lessons and present concepts in engaging easy-to-understand-ways.

Increased Results

You can learn more efficiently and effectively because the teaching style is tailored to you.

Online Convenience

With the flexibility of online tutoring, your tutor can be arranged to meet at a time that suits you.

If you are currently looking for top-notch SAT Essay tutoring opportunities and you've been having a hard time, Varsity Tutors is here to help. We pride ourselves on being able to connect you to the right tutors to suit your particular instructional and scheduling needs.

SAT Essay tutors can be an excellent resource when you're working towards taking your skills to the next level. With hard work and a knowledgeable private instructor, you can review the content found on the SAT and work on various test-taking strategies to assist you while you're taking the exam. Studying for such an important exam can be daunting, but you don't have to do it alone. We are here to support you with a connection to instructors with the knowledge and desire to help you put your best foot forward.

The Essay portion of the SAT is used to assess your composition skills as well as your ability to analyze texts and comprehend passages. It is utilized as a part of the undergraduate admissions process, so the admissions officers have a way to evaluate whether you have the skills necessary to do well in the college of your choice. All United States colleges and universities accept SAT scores because it is known to be an equitable means to compare students and their potential.

The SAT Essay is a 50-minute assessment. While there are some schools which require you to take it, it is optional in most cases. For the Essay section, you'll be required to read a passage and write a response which analyzes how well the author presented his or her argument. Your score for this portion of the SAT is not part of your overall composite score. While it is not necessary in most cases for you to take this portion of the SAT, taking it can show initiative to the school you are attempting to get into while giving you an opportunity to showcase your writing skills. An SAT Essay tutor can help you as you review standard English conventions and editorial strategies so you can do your best on this part of the exam.

What content or skills can I review with a skilled SAT Essay tutor?

The Essay on the SAT is similar to other writing assessments which ask you to be able to analyze a passage. You will need to be able to read the passage thoroughly and be able to explain how the author uses evidence to support an argument. You will need to be able to use the evidence from the passage to support your analysis.

You are not required to give your own viewpoint and do not need to write about any personal experiences. You are simply required to analyze someone else's use of argumentative writing. The level of writing you should use in this essay should match the level which would be expected in an entry-level freshman composition course. Your instructor can assist you in being able to read a passage and determine which evidence supports the author's claims.

The types of passages you will encounter on the SAT are always taken from published works which were written for a diverse audience. Passages will provide detailed viewpoints on challenging subjects and use logical reasoning to support some sort of claim. The passage can examine various ideas, trends, or debates, and content can cover the arts, sciences, civics, cultural ideas, or political discussions. Your instructor can provide you with opportunities to practice reading these types of texts so you can experience and practice being able to spot any supporting evidence in an author's argument.

Your SAT essay will be scored by two different people. Each scorer will grant you 1 to 4 points in each of the following categories: reading, analysis, and writing. The two scores you receive from the evaluators will be added together to give you a score of between 2 and 8 points for each of the assessment categories. The scores are not added together, and you do not receive a percentile score. Your instructor can help you understand the scoring method a little bit better and provide practice opportunities to work on your reading, writing, and analytical skills. This can help you work towards receiving the best possible score in each of the categories.

In addition, SAT Essay tutors can help you with different strategies for test taking. Your study sessions can focus on the specific skills necessary to do well on this section but can also assist you with understanding the time limit and how to pace yourself while writing so you finish on time. Your instructor can show you different time management approaches to assist you while you are taking the test. Your instructor can implement mock SAT exams that are timed so you are able to expose any issues you have with pacing before your actual exam. This is a skill that will not only be useful for the SAT Essay but on any future timed standardized exam which requires you to provide an essay or writing sample.

How is SAT Essay tutoring different than other educational settings?

SAT Essay tutoring provides you with a different type of learning environment that you might find in a traditional classroom setting. Working with a private instructor can provide you with personalized one-on-one attention. This type of individual attention allows you to receive customized study lessons sessions. In addition, you are able to work at your own pace. If you have a hard time with your editorial skills, you can spend extra time working on this area instead of focusing on the analytical skills.

Working closely with a private instructor allows you the opportunity to cultivate a relationship with someone who understands your instructional needs and makes you feel comfortable. When you're working with an instructor who you trust, you may be more willing to ask questions during your study sessions because you feel comfortable. Your private teacher can spend time getting to know you and can also determine your personal learning style. This provides the opportunity for you to receive customized lesson plans which address your particular educational needs. For example, if you are an auditory learner, your instructor can make sure to utilize a lecture format during study sessions. If it turns out you are a visual learner, your instructor can use videos, infographics, or other visual representations so you can see the material in a new way. No matter what your particular learning style is, your instructor can use that information to help you understand the information being reviewed more thoroughly. As you progress in your skills and knowledge, your lesson plans can be adjusted to fit your new skill level.

Another huge benefit of working with a private instructor is the possibility of flexibility. When you choose Varsity Tutors to assist you in connecting with a knowledgeable instructor, you will have two options for meeting with your teacher. You may choose to meet with your instructor either online or in person. Students who choose the online option will be able to access study sessions using our unique Live Learning Platform. This online learning environment allows you to receive face-to-face instruction that you can access from anywhere with a computer and high-speed Internet. The flexibility of this option allows you to squeeze study sessions into the evenings after your extracurricular activities or on the weekends after sporting events. Students who choose to utilize in-person sessions can also meet with instructors at the time of their choice. Using this option, you will also have the opportunity to decide where you want your study sessions to take place. You can meet with your SAT Essay tutor at the local public library, at your favorite coffee shop, or in the comfort of your own home. Whatever option you choose, Varsity Tutors is here to support you in connecting to teachers with the proper knowledge to assist you in preparing for your SAT Essay and the communication skills to properly communicate strategies to you in ways that are easier to understand.

What do I need to do to start working with private SAT Essay tutors?

Studying with the assistance of skilled SAT Essay tutors can give you the edge you need to stand apart from other applicants. Although the Essay on the SAT is optional for most schools, if you do elect to take it, you will want to make sure to prepare adequately. Working with a private instructor gives you the chance to determine your particular weak points so you can focus on improving them. When you're ready to take your composition and analytical skills to the next level, all you need to do is call Varsity Tutors and speak to one of our educational consultants. We will walk you through the process of getting signed up and help you to understand the different tutoring options available to you. Call Varsity Tutors today and let us set you up with the best SAT Essay tutoring opportunities around.

• Graduate School

Grad School Essay Tutor: Do I Need One?

How can a grad school essay tutor help me boost my chances of getting into my dream school and succeeding once I am accepted? When figuring out how to get into grad school , you might have noticed that essays play a big role in the admissions process. Writing a killer essay is extremely challenging if you don’t know where to start, or even what to write about. Furthermore, a grad school essay tutor can help you develop superb writing skills to complete the myriad grad school essays you have to write throughout the years of grad school. The right grad school essay tutor will help you improve your writing skills, proofread your work, and provide personalized feedback. But finding the ideal professional to guide you in this journey can be a challenge in itself! That’s why this article reveals everything you need to know before hiring a grad school essay tutor.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Listen to the blog!

Article Contents 9 min read

What is a grad school essay.

A grad school admissions process normally involves writing one or more essays as part of your application. Other elements, such as your GPA, transcript, GRE scores, or your graduate school CV , contain general information about your academic performance and history. However, numbers do not define us, and there is only so much you can learn about a person by merely reading facts about them. That’s what grad school essays are for: they allow the admissions committee to get to know candidates more in depth, by learning about their personality, motivations, goals, and reasons to apply to graduate school.

The aim of these essays should be to convince your school that you are the right fit for a program, and that you can make valuable contributions as a student. A grad school essay tutor will work with you not only during your admissions process to provide grad school application help but also throughout your education to develop your professional writing skills. They can help you with course essays, how to write a master's thesis proposal , and essentially any piece of writing you might be required to produce.

There are several kinds of essays you may be required to write as a graduate school applicant or graduate student:

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It is not hard to imagine how difficult it is to write a grad school essay, especially an admissions essay, given that you only have one opportunity to impress the admissions committee. But not everyone is a great writer naturally. This is why hiring a grad school essay tutor can be a game-changer.

A grad school essay tutor can help you write your admissions essay. You might not even know what to write about, or how to structure your writing, and depending on your major, you might not even have taken English classes in a long time. If you feel completely lost, or if you want to make sure your essay will make your application stand out, hiring a grad school essay tutor is definitely something you should consider.

Unlike grad school admissions consultants , grad school essay tutors can also help you write “in-school” essays and provide support during the entire duration of your grad school journey. A tutor or graduate school advisor will teach you long-lasting writing skills that you'll take with you into your post-graduate career, as well as help you excel in your graduate studies.

However, not every student needs someone to help them with their grad school essays. Maybe you feel confident enough to write them on your own, using online resources such as examples and tips for graduate school statements of purpose .

Working on a personal statement for grad school? Here are the best examples!

Let’s start by clarifying that it is not your tutor’s job to write on your behalf. If you expect to pay someone to do the work for you, a professional grad school essay tutor is not the kind of person you are looking for. The job of your grad school essay tutor is to provide you with guidance, tips for applying to grad school, and help you develop writing and editing skills that will last you a lifetime.

More specifically, a grad school essay tutor will help you:

1. Pick an Essay Topic

Sometimes the hardest part of writing your grad school essays is getting started. Before you start with the writing process for any kind of essay, your tutor will have a brainstorming session with you to help you discover things that would look good on your essay. Brainstorming is an excellent resource for overcoming writer’s block, as it will provide insight into how to get started. The introductory paragraph is often the one which takes the longest to write. The rest of your essay will be easier once you have a clear idea of how to continue. Grad school essay tutors can help you during your studies, too, by helping you find a topic for your master's thesis or coaching you on how to find a PhD topic , too!

When it comes to writing admissions essays specifically, most people find it really difficult to talk about themselves while others have too much or too little to say and need a little help deciding what direction to follow. Either way, choosing what to talk about in your essay will require quite a bit of introspection and self-reflection. Your tutor will ask you questions such as “how would you describe yourself?”, “what’s your biggest dream?”, or “what’s your story?”, and eventually more specific questions like “what made you become interested in your field of choice?” or “what do you hope to do with the education you expect to receive in this program?”. Asking the right questions will be the key to finding those ideas that will bring your essay to life. Taking grad school interview questions as a guide is not a bad idea! You can talk about a specific life experience that changed the way you see things, about your greatest achievement, or about someone who influenced you personally or academically.

Once you know what you are going to include in your essay, you will be facing the challenge of structuring your text. The way you organize your essays is almost as important as the actual content. Each paragraph should revolve around one central idea, and follow an order that makes sense to the reader. Your grad school essay tutor should help you design the architecture of your essay. Keeping in mind the prompt and guidelines you are given, your tutor will help you decide how many paragraphs to include and what each one of them should cover.

In the case of an admissions essay, the very first sentence of your essay is usually the most important one, as it is aimed at catching the attention of the reader. You might be tempted to use typical phrases such as “for as long as I can remember...” or “ever since I was a child...”, but those are extremely overused phrases that will instantly make the reader lose interest. It is your tutor’s job to prevent you from making these mistakes and guide you on how to write compelling essays that grab readers' attention.

3. Tell Your Story

Your writing should reflect your personality and your true self. You might take for granted that whatever was written by you will naturally display your voice as the author. But, believe it or not, achieving a writing style of your own is not easy if you are used to writing essays based on what other authors have said. A big part of developing solid writing skills involves being able to produce original writing pieces that showcase your personal brand. A grad school essay tutor will help you achieve this by giving you personalized feedback and encouraging you to exploit your talents. With time and practice, your confidence will grow and your writing will start portraying your personality without you even noticing!

4. Proofread Your Essay

Even though there are numerous online writing assistants that highlight grammatical inconsistencies in our writing, they aren’t as insightful and accurate as a human expert, as they might ignore contextual or situational aspects of your text. Your tutor will know what your program expects. Tutors are familiar with the tone, style, and register a grad school essay should have, they know which topics are overused and cliché. Your grad school essay tutor will also check your grammar and make suggestions to improve your writing style. Don’t underestimate the difficulty of correct syntax and punctuation. Even if you are a native speaker of your language and have been immersed in books and academic texts for as long as you can remember, every text can be improved. Sometimes all you need is an extra pair of eyes! 

5. Provide Personalized Feedback

Getting personalized feedback from your tutor is the most important part of your essay writing process. Feedback helps us understand our strengths and weaknesses and shows us what to focus on in the future. While bad feedback is never easy to process and can feel extremely discouraging at first, it is necessary for us to identify mistakes that we might never know we’re making unless someone else points them out.

Your tutor will walk you through those segments of your writing that might be repetitive, or confusing, or that might need rewording, and you will work together to find solutions. Receiving feedback is also something you will have to face constantly during graduate school, so this would be a good time to learn not to take it personally.

Looking for more info on what to include in your grad school statement of purpose? This infographic will help:

4 Tips for Choosing the Best Grad School Essay Tutor

Tip #1: check if they are qualified.

Research your potential tutor by navigating their website and looking for reviews from previous clients. Determine the quality of the essay tutors available. What are their qualifications and experience? Use the following questions as a guide to evaluate whether they are qualified to provide this service:

An essay tutor will typically list their qualifications and experience on their website, so take a quick look to see what they are bringing to the table. You want to find a tutor who not only has a strong understanding of essay writing but experience with graduate school admissions. "}]">

Testimonials from former students are a very common resource tutors use to promote their work, so there should be plenty for you to analyze before making your decision. If you can’t find enough information about a tutor’s academic and professional background, how can you make sure they have the expertise that this task requires?

Tip #2: Check If Their Work Is Guaranteed

Even if you write a jaw-dropping essay, getting rejected is, unfortunately, always a possibility. What is your tutor’s policy regarding a possible rejection? If they have a high success rate and trust their service and their method, they should have no problem giving you your money back if you don’t get accepted after carefully following their instructions and professional advice.

Grad school essay tutoring services can be expensive. Choosing the best and most qualified professional to help you tackle the admissions process is important, but you also have to be able to afford it. There is an option available for every budget, and the most expensive services are not necessarily the best for you, so make sure to explore your options carefully. Their prices should also be transparent and available for you right from the start. When the price of a service is not available on their website, or if they don’t seem open to discussing costs until the last minute, they might be hiding additional fees that you’re not considering.

Tip #4: Get a Free Initial Consultation

After carefully navigating their website and reading reviews and comments from previous students, contacting them is the next step. Most tutoring services offer a free initial consultation to determine if the service they provide is right for you, especially if their fees are elevated. They need to know if they can help you and how, and it will be your opportunity to ask as many questions as you need. Find out what their service will consist of and talk about your expectations and what you hope to get from them.

Want to see some of our top tips for gaining acceptance to graduate school? This infographic is for you:

Hiring a grad school essay tutor might not be necessary for everyone, but it will undoubtedly help you improve your writing and provide you with valuable life-long skills. Writing is never easy, especially if your writing will determine whether or not you get into your school of choice. A grad school essay tutor will provide personalized feedback, edit your work, and help you decide what to include in your essay and how to structure it. To find the perfect tutor for you, you will have to do some research. Explore the tutor’s website, make sure they offer the kind of services you are looking for, study their reviews and success rates, and determine if their fees adjust to your budget.

It is entirely up to you. If you have experience writing this kind of essay, or if you feel that doing your own research on how to improve your writing will be enough, then you will also have higher chances of success. If, on the other hand, writing is not your best skill, or if you feel completely lost, hiring a grad school essay tutor to guide you in the process will make a big difference in the outcome of your application.

Absolutely not. Your grad school essay tutor is meant to assist you in the process of writing your own grad school essay. It is not their job to write it for you, as it wouldn’t reflect your personality and your voice, which is essentially the whole purpose of a grad school essay.

Even though they tend to be expensive, there’s a broad variety of options that might be suitable for your budget. Most grad school essay tutoring services, however, offer a free initial consultation that will help you decide if what they offer matches what you are looking for before you decide to hire them.

The job of a grad school essay tutor is:

• To provide guidance before, during, and after writing your grad school essay.
• To provide tips and expert advice.
• To help you choose an essay topic.
• To help you organize the structure of your essay.
• To proofread your work.
• To provide personalized feedback.

Choosing the perfect essay topic can be almost as difficult as writing about it. Your grad school essay tutor will help you decide what’s the perfect theme for your essay by asking you a series of questions and brainstorming essay ideas with you. Candidates usually choose to talk about past experiences that led them to where they are today, about what makes them special, or about what made them become interested in their chosen field.

Start by researching their website thoroughly. Any qualified grad school essay tutor will have a detailed and easily accessible description of their academic and professional background. Check out what previous students say about their services, and whether or not their applications were successful. Their success rates should also be at your disposal to help you decide if the service they provide is worth the investment.

Your grad school essay tutor should be able to guarantee your acceptance. If their service is as effective as they claim it to be, they won’t hesitate to offer a money-back guarantee.

Every school has different requirements. Always try to stick to their guidelines. Grad school essay tutors are normally familiar with what admissions committees expect, so you can trust their judgement when it comes to the register, tone, style, and length of your grad school essay.

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