William: Homewood tutor
Certified Tutor
Find your voice, tell your story, and write with power!
Need help with SAT prep, admission essays, term papers, book reports, or other writing projects? I'm passionate about helping writers of all levels gain the skills and confidence to turn their ideas into compelling prose.
I'm a writing tutor with years of experience as an editor, journalist, author, and teacher. I'm an Ivy League graduate with a degree in English (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), a regular contributor to major magazines and newspapers like the Wall Street Journal, Wired, and Smithsonian, and a published author. I've worked as an editor and proofreader for magazines and publishing houses, and have taught writing to high school, college, and graduate students.
I believe in the power of a good story, and will work with you to hone your ideas into provocative, compelling, clear, and organized essays. We'll work on grammar and spelling — the details count! — and on overall argument structure. I'm an expert in the SAT/ACT five-paragraph format, and in personal statements, application essays, research projects, and book reports. No writing assignment is too big or too small! I have experience working with foreign students and students still learning English.
We'll shape our lessons to your skills and needs with practice test questions, essay prep, critical thinking, outlining, self-editing, and proofreading. I'll help you mold your words into high-scoring writing with clear instruction and lots of encouragement.
Self-confidence is the key to great writing! You'll leave our tutoring sessions empowered, encouraged, and eager to write.
Connect with a tutor like William
Undergraduate Degree: Brown University - Bachelors, English
hiking, biking, reading, photography
- American Literature
- Business
- Business Writing
- College Application Essays
- College English
- College Level American Literature
- Creative Writing
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Essay Editing
- Expository Writing
- Fiction Writing
- High School English
- High School Level American Literature
- High School Writing
- Journalism
- Technical Writing
- Technology and Coding
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
The best writing comes from the heart, and that's where I begin my lessons. We start with the story you're trying to tell, and then build and outline a clear structure to support it. Organization is key!
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
We'll get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, what you love about telling stories, and what scares you, and envision some of the challenges ahead and how we can work together to beat them.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I have a bursting toolkit of editorial tips and tricks gathered over my years as a professional proofreader and book editor. I'll share these shortcuts with you to empower you to write, edit, and polish your work on your own.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Writing can be hard, even for seasoned pros. The best way to stay motivated is to find simple, achievable writing goals. I'll help students break down insurmountable challenges into small, manageable tasks.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
There are many roads to success! I'm a visual learner, and I love using diagrams, charts, and drawings to illustrate tricky subjects.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Sometimes it's a matter of getting lost in the forest and missing a single tree, and sometimes it's staring too hard at a single leaf. Reading is a balance between close observation and big-picture thinking. We'll make sure to strengthen both of these skills!
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I find that talking through writing problems out loud, putting down the pen and paper, and just telling a story helps the words flow naturally. The nitty gritty of grammar and outlining can come later.