Academic Writing · One-on-One Coaching

Write With Clarity,Argue With Authority

From the AP essay to the college application to the graduate seminar paper, strong writing is a skill you build—not a talent you’re born with. Work through it one-on-one with a PhD academic and writing coach, line by line.

Book a Free 15-Minute Consultation Packages from $500 · every curriculum built around your goals
The Coaching

What We Work On

There is no single “academic writing.” A timed AP argument, a literary analysis, a personal statement, and a dissertation chapter each demand different moves. So every curriculum takes shape around the student in front of me—your assignment, your deadline, your strengths, and the specific habits standing between you and a stronger draft.

Whatever the form, the work is the same at its core: finding something worth saying, structuring it so a reader can follow, and revising until the prose earns the reader’s trust.

  • AP English Language and Composition—Rhetorical analysis, the argument essay, and the synthesis essay; reading nonfiction for strategy, not just content
  • AP English Literature and Composition—Close reading, the poetry and prose analysis essays, and building a defensible literary argument
  • The expository essay—Explaining, informing, and analyzing with a clear thesis and orderly support
  • The persuasive essay—Making a claim and defending it with evidence, reasoning, and rhetorical control
  • College application essays—The personal statement and supplemental essays; finding the authentic story and telling it well
  • Research and analytical papers—Thesis development, source integration, citation, and argument across a longer piece
  • Dissertation and thesis coaching—Structure, scholarly voice, and momentum for graduate-level writers
  • Grammar, usage, and style—The sentence-level command that makes everything above read as confident and clear
Your curriculum, designed for you. I don’t teach a fixed syllabus. A short consultation gives me what I need to build the sessions around your actual assignments and goals—whether that’s a single essay due Friday or a semester of steady growth. This coaching also serves students moving into high school or college who want to get ahead of the greater writing demands those transitions bring.
How Sessions Work

You Write, We Revise Together

Sessions are hands-on. We work from your own drafts and prompts: I read closely, ask the questions a demanding reader would ask, and we revise in real time so you can see why a change works, not just that it does. The goal is for you to leave able to do it yourself next time.

“He is kind, patient, knowledgeable, honest, dependable, and really takes an interest in his clients. We have used many tutors over the years and Steven by far surpasses all of them. Our children will continue to call on Steven for help through college and through their journey in life.”

John
143 sessions · High School & College

“My son who was apprehensive in the beginning now looks forward to his lessons. I appreciate the literal line-by-line approach of working through a writing session—he’s finally gaining an understanding of how to write an essay and express his own thoughts.”

Kimberly
20 sessions · High School Writing
This coaching fits: high school students preparing for AP English exams or sharpening their essays; college applicants writing personal statements; undergraduates strengthening research and analytical papers; graduate students working through theses and dissertations; and students moving into high school or college who want to meet the greater writing demands of those transitions head-on.
About Your Coach

About Your Instructor

Steven B. Killion holds a BA, MA, and PhD in English Language and Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill, with a specialization in Medieval Studies. He has taught writers—high school through graduate and professional level—since 1985, and has worked directly with AP students, college applicants, and graduate researchers for decades. Steven teaches every session personally.

Enroll

Choose Your Package

Both packages use the same flexible scheduling—book now and choose your dates at your convenience. Not sure which fits? Start with a free consultation.

5 Sessions—$500
$500Save $125
Focused, single-goal coaching
  • Expository or persuasive writing—your choice of focus
  • One curriculum built around your assignment and goals
  • Hands-on drafting and revision from your own work
  • Ideal for a specific essay, application, or exam push
Book 5 Sessions—$500
10 Sessions—$900
$900Save $350
Full development across the term
  • Expository and persuasive writing—full range
  • Sustained work across multiple assignments or skills
  • Room for AP prep, application essays, and research papers
  • Best value for steady, semester-long growth
Book 10 Sessions—$900
Or start with a free 15-minute consultation →