Our Services

Effective writing starts with a good sense of the basics, including sentence structure and punctuation. Regardless of the grade level, most students have questions and need some guidance on how to make their sentences more impactful and sophisticated. When should you use a comma? What’s the difference between a colon and a semicolon? What transition words work best in different circumstances? Does it matter whether you use present tense instead of past tense? Going over the rules and working through exercises with students boosts their knowledge and confidence.

Many school assignments ask students to take a stance on a particular topic or issue and write about it in a convincing way. I help them decide what topic to tackle (if they’ve been given a choice) and what they’re going to argue. We first map out a 5-point essay with three major points that support the argument. Then, we draft it with an introduction, three main body paragraphs, and a conclusion. After that, we print it out and go through the editing process. Which quotations offer the strongest support? Do the transitions between paragraphs make sense? Is there repetitive language, and if so, what stronger verbs or adjectives could we substitute? If there isn’t a school assignment that lends itself to this exercise, we can select one.

In our era of smartphones and screens, a lot of children have trouble focusing on longer reading assignments and on absorbing what they read. I start our sessions by asking if there’s anything in their most recent reading assignment that challenged them. If so, we can re-read it together and discuss. If not, I’ll ask them what caught their interest or was most memorable to them, encouraging them to paraphrase it. Sometimes, relating the substance of the book to current events or pop culture makes the material more relatable. We can also read ahead and/or talk about themes to keep an eye out for as they continue with the class assignment.

Books offer an ideal opportunity to practice critical thinking skills. Literary analysis prompts you to look beyond plot (what happens) to the often ambiguous questions a story raises. Why do characters behave in certain ways? Which ones resonate the most with us, and why? What social issues does the author address? What are the most important themes? Could (or should) the book have ended differently? Discussing such questions in depth hones critical thinking skills not only for English but also for other subjects, including History and Social Studies.

AP English presents as an introductory college English class, which I taught for five years at Vanderbilt University. We will analyze and workshop whatever books are assigned in class to hone these skills in advance of the test. Throughout my graduate study and my 20 years of working in publishing, I have read most of the texts that the AP lists in its curriculum.

The PSAT, SAT and ACT evaluate critical thinking in real time—but these tests present the problems in different ways. In addition, the SAT is now adaptive, meaning the questions will get more challenging if you do well on the initial set of questions. It is now offered only in a digital format. The ACT is non-adaptive (everyone gets the same set of questions) and does offer a paper option. Either way, the key to improving performance is exposure to the format and level of the language and subsequent practice. We’ll use the Barron’s study guides to run a diagnostic, target areas for improvement, review test strategies, and work through practice tests (both in print and online).

College essays or personal statements can be challenging for the senior applicant. Finding a topic is the first hurdle. Then, drafting it so that students present an authentic picture of their intellect and their writing skills becomes an even higher task. We'll address each of the Common Application's seven prompts first and polish the drafts until the students are satisfied. We can approach the supplement questions accordingly, trying to "mix-and-match" several questions as they arise.