Award-Winning High School Writing
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Award-Winning High School Writing Tutors

Certified Tutor
6+ years
Mimi
Strong high school writing comes down to making a claim and defending it — something Mimi practiced extensively as an art history major at Dartmouth, where every paper required building an argument from visual and textual evidence. She teaches students to outline with purpose, integrate sources with...
Harvard University
Masters in Education, Education
Dartmouth College
B.A.

Certified Tutor
8+ years
Solange
The jump from a five-paragraph essay to real analytical writing trips up most high schoolers. Solange walks students through crafting thesis statements that make actual claims, structuring body paragraphs around evidence rather than plot summary, and revising for clarity instead of just length. Her ...
Harvard University
Bachelor in Arts (Sociology & Women's Studies)
Certified Tutor
9+ years
Henry
Strong high school writing comes down to structure and evidence, two things Henry drilled relentlessly while completing his history degree at Harvard. He walks students through the mechanics of building an argument — from crafting a specific, debatable thesis to choosing quotations that actually adv...
Harvard College
Bachelor in Arts, History
Certified Tutor
6+ years
Ingrid
Strong high school writing means knowing how to structure an argument, integrate textual evidence smoothly, and revise with purpose — skills Ingrid sharpened while producing research-level writing in both engineering and humanities at Northwestern. She walks students through each stage of the writin...
Northwestern University
Bachelor of Science, Biomedical Engineering
Certified Tutor
9+ years
Emily
Strong high school writing comes down to learning how to build an argument — structuring a thesis, selecting evidence, and revising for clarity and voice. Emily's Yale biology and French training required constant analytical and persuasive writing across disciplines, giving her a sharp eye for every...
Yale University
Master of Public Health (MPH), concentration in Epidemiology and Global Health
Yale School of Public Health
Master in Public Health, Public Health
Yale University
Bachelor of Science (B.S.), double major in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and French
Certified Tutor
8+ years
Brittney
Strong high school writing starts with learning to build an argument — not just stating a thesis, but structuring evidence, integrating quotations, and revising for clarity and voice. Brittney's Princeton literature degree and graduate-level English training mean she can pinpoint exactly where a dra...
Grand Valley State University
Master of Arts, English
Princeton University
B.A. in Comparative Literature
Certified Tutor
5+ years
Keith
Most high school students can generate ideas — the struggle is organizing them into an argument that builds logically from paragraph to paragraph. Keith tackles this by teaching outlining as a thinking tool, not busywork, and then walks through how topic sentences should function as mini-claims that...
Williams College
Bachelor in Arts, Political Science and Government
Cornell University
Juris Doctor, Prelaw Studies
Certified Tutor
6+ years
Renee
The jump from middle school writing to high school essays trips up students who've never been asked to sustain an argument across multiple pages. Renee's time as a Writing Consultant taught her exactly where that process breaks down — weak thesis statements, unsupported claims, disorganized body par...
Colgate University
Bachelor in Arts, Spanish
Princeton University
Doctor of Philosophy, Spanish and Iberian Studies
Certified Tutor
4+ years
Most high school students know what they want to say but struggle to organize it on the page. Zosia breaks the writing process into concrete steps — thesis construction, paragraph architecture, evidence integration — so that a five-paragraph essay or research paper stops feeling like guesswork. Her ...
Yale University
Bachelor of Science
Certified Tutor
5+ years
Jennifer
The jump from 'five-paragraph essay' to real analytical writing is one of the hardest transitions in high school, and it's exactly where Jennifer lives professionally. Training as a secondary ELA teacher through NYU, she tackles the specific skills that elevate student writing: embedding textual evi...
New York University
Master of Arts Teaching, Language Arts Teacher Education
Mcgill University
Bachelor in Arts, English
Certified Tutor
9+ years
Brian
Analytical thinking is the backbone of Brian's approach to writing — his Caltech training in economics and computer science taught him to build arguments the way you'd build a proof, with every claim supported and every paragraph advancing toward a conclusion. That logical scaffolding turns out to b...
University of California-Santa Cruz
PHD, Technology & Information Mgmt (Indef. deferred)
California Institute of Technology
Bachelors in Economics and Computer Science
Certified Tutor
9+ years
Joseph
Strong high school writing lives or dies on the strength of its thesis and the logic connecting each paragraph. Joseph tackles essay structure by teaching students to reverse-outline their drafts — a technique that quickly reveals where arguments lose focus. His own graduate-level writing at Yale ke...
Yale University
Master in Public Health, Public Health
University of California Los Angeles
Bachelor's in Biology
Certified Tutor
9+ years
Strong high school writing comes down to building a clear argument and backing it up — skills Kevin sharpens every day as a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major at Penn. He digs into thesis construction, evidence integration, and paragraph-level organization, teaching students how to revise the...
University of Pennsylvania
Bachelor in Arts
Certified Tutor
10+ years
Jeff
Strong high school writing isn't about following a five-paragraph formula — it's about learning to build an argument that holds up under scrutiny. Jeff taught philosophy and history at UC Berkeley, where constructing and critiquing written arguments was the core of every class he ran. He brings that...
University of California-Berkeley
Masters, History
Princeton University
B.A. in philosophy
Certified Tutor
6+ years
Frances
A psychology degree from Duke — earned magna cum laude — gave Frances practice building written arguments around empirical evidence, a skill that maps directly onto the analytical and persuasive essays high schoolers face most often. She also writes professionally, which means her feedback on drafts...
Duke University
Bachelor in Arts, Psychology
Duke University
Degree unspecified
Top 20 English Subjects
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Brian
AP Statistics Tutor • +115 Subjects
Analytical thinking is the backbone of Brian's approach to writing — his Caltech training in economics and computer science taught him to build arguments the way you'd build a proof, with every claim supported and every paragraph advancing toward a conclusion. That logical scaffolding turns out to be exactly what high schoolers need when they're learning to write persuasive essays or structure a research paper, and he teaches students to outline and revise with that same deliberate, evidence-first mindset.
Joseph
Pre-Algebra Tutor • +44 Subjects
Strong high school writing lives or dies on the strength of its thesis and the logic connecting each paragraph. Joseph tackles essay structure by teaching students to reverse-outline their drafts — a technique that quickly reveals where arguments lose focus. His own graduate-level writing at Yale keeps these skills sharp and current.
Kevin
AP Statistics Tutor • +47 Subjects
Strong high school writing comes down to building a clear argument and backing it up — skills Kevin sharpens every day as a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major at Penn. He digs into thesis construction, evidence integration, and paragraph-level organization, teaching students how to revise their own drafts rather than just fixing surface errors. His approach turns vague five-paragraph essays into writing that actually persuades.
Jeff
Calculus Tutor • +45 Subjects
Strong high school writing isn't about following a five-paragraph formula — it's about learning to build an argument that holds up under scrutiny. Jeff taught philosophy and history at UC Berkeley, where constructing and critiquing written arguments was the core of every class he ran. He brings that same rigor to thesis development, evidence integration, and revision at the high school level.
Frances
Calculus Tutor • +29 Subjects
A psychology degree from Duke — earned magna cum laude — gave Frances practice building written arguments around empirical evidence, a skill that maps directly onto the analytical and persuasive essays high schoolers face most often. She also writes professionally, which means her feedback on drafts goes beyond surface-level grammar corrections to the harder stuff: whether the thesis actually stakes a claim, whether each paragraph justifies its existence, and whether the conclusion does more than echo the introduction.
Sugi
Pre-Algebra Tutor • +54 Subjects
Having reviewed and edited essays for dozens of college and medical school applicants, Sugi knows what separates a competent high school essay from a compelling one: a clear argumentative throughline and evidence that actually does work in each paragraph. She teaches students to outline with purpose, write thesis statements that take a real position, and revise at the structural level before polishing sentences.
Victoria
Calculus Tutor • +27 Subjects
Strong high school writing comes down to one skill most students never explicitly learn: revision. Victoria doesn't just correct drafts — she teaches students to diagnose their own weak transitions, vague thesis statements, and underdeveloped analysis so they can self-edit before turning anything in. Her multiple arts degrees and extensive academic writing experience mean she's revised thousands of pages of her own work and knows the process inside out.
Julie
12th Grade Math Tutor • +82 Subjects
Strong high school writing comes down to one thing most students never learn explicitly: how to structure an argument so each paragraph earns the next. Julie studies philosophy at Princeton and edits college essays, so she lives in the space between clear thinking and clear prose. She digs into thesis construction, paragraph-level logic, and the revision process that turns a rough draft into a polished piece.
Maya
Calculus Tutor • +37 Subjects
Strong high school writing comes down to learning how to build an argument — structuring a thesis, selecting evidence, and revising until every paragraph earns its place. Maya, a Yale-trained writer, breaks down each stage of the drafting process so students internalize the craft rather than just completing assignments. Rated 5.0 by students.
Jane
Pre-Algebra Tutor • +39 Subjects
Most high schoolers can write a five-paragraph essay — the challenge is writing one that actually argues something. Jane zeroes in on thesis development, evidence integration, and paragraph-level transitions, the skills that separate a B paper from an A. As a Princeton English major and AP Scholar with Honors, she's spent years refining exactly the kind of analytical writing high school demands.
Top 20 Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
High school writers often struggle with three core areas: developing a clear thesis and supporting it with evidence, organizing ideas into a coherent structure, and moving beyond basic five-paragraph essay formats. Many students also wrestle with finding their authentic voice while meeting academic expectations, managing the revision process effectively, and understanding how to analyze texts deeply rather than summarizing them. A tutor can identify which of these areas needs the most attention and build targeted strategies to address them.
A tutor works with you to move beyond surface-level statements toward arguments that are specific, debatable, and worth proving. They'll help you ask better questions about your topic, test whether your thesis can actually be supported by evidence, and refine it through multiple drafts. This personalized feedback is crucial because a strong thesis shapes everything that follows—your evidence selection, paragraph organization, and overall argument strength.
Strong essay organization depends on your argument and audience, not a rigid formula. A tutor helps you move beyond the standard five-paragraph structure by teaching you how to create logical progressions between ideas, use topic sentences strategically, and build momentum toward your conclusion. They'll also show you how to use transitions and signposting to guide readers through your argument, and how to adjust your structure based on whether you're writing a literary analysis, persuasive essay, or research paper.
Effective revision happens in layers: first focus on big-picture issues like thesis clarity and argument structure, then move to paragraph-level concerns like evidence quality and topic sentence strength, and finally address sentence-level issues like grammar and word choice. A tutor teaches you to read your own work critically, identify what's working and what isn't, and prioritize changes that have the biggest impact on your argument. This staged approach prevents overwhelm and helps you develop revision skills you'll use long-term.
Literary analysis requires you to examine how an author uses specific techniques—dialogue, imagery, symbolism, point of view, tone—to create meaning and support a theme. A tutor teaches you to move from "what happens" to "how and why the author makes it happen," and to use textual evidence that actually proves your interpretation rather than just illustrating it. They'll also help you develop an analytical argument about the text rather than just describing its elements.
MLA is standard for humanities and literature courses (in-text citations with author and page number, Works Cited page), while APA is common in social sciences and some high school courses (in-text citations with author and year, References page). A tutor helps you understand not just the formatting rules but the reasoning behind them—why different disciplines prioritize different information. They'll also teach you how to integrate quotations smoothly into your own writing and how to avoid plagiarism through proper attribution.
Academic writing doesn't require you to sound robotic—it requires clarity, precision, and evidence-based reasoning, but your authentic voice can shine through word choices, sentence rhythm, and perspective. A tutor helps you identify what makes your voice distinctive, teaches you which conventions are flexible and which are essential, and shows you how to maintain your personality while meeting assignment requirements. This balance is especially important for essays where you're expected to take a position and defend it with conviction.
Personalized feedback targets your specific patterns and gaps rather than generic writing rules. A tutor can show you exactly where your argument breaks down, why a paragraph feels disconnected, or how to strengthen a weak piece of evidence—feedback that's impossible to get from a rubric or general writing guide. This one-on-one guidance accelerates improvement because you're addressing the actual issues in your writing, not just general writing tips.
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