The best. Help. Ever.
I gained more from our 1 hour conversation than I did in my entire year-long English course.
~Anthony, 24 lessons with Steven
Steven B. Killion, PhD
Writing Coach · Academic Tutor
Humanities & Latin Specialist
Steven’s Approach
Process Over Product
Writing isn’t a performance–it’s a craft. Steven teaches students to trust the process of drafting and revising, building confidence that lasts beyond a specific assignment.
Line-By-Line Revision & Editing
Sentence by sentence, Steven works through writing with his students, helping them learn to identify weaknesses and develop strengths that that create strong writers.
Teacher’s Perspective
With decades of college teaching and academic coaching, Steven reads your work the way your professor will, interpreting the rubric standards and anticipating the questions that will influence your grade.
Exam Prep & Writing for College Admission
From AP exams to graduate admissions essays, Steven prepares students to develop a record of achievement and present it best when it counts most.
Patient Coaching
No judgment, no rushing. Steven meets every student exactly where they are, taking the time needed to untangle confusion and construct genuine understanding.
Independence
Steven’s goal is to develop more capable, self-aware writers, ready to achieve academic and professional success independently.
Services
Coaching Academic Writing
From college essays to seminar papers, Steven helps students at every level develop clear arguments, strong structure, and confident prose.
Test & Exam Preparation
AP, SAT, ACT, GRE, and course exam prep—Steven's students consistently achieve dramatic score gains through targeted, strategic practice.
Graduate Writing & Dissertation Support
Sustained, expert guidance through literature reviews, prospectus writing, chapters, and defenses—from MA thesis to PhD dissertation.
Professional Writing & Résumés
Executive résumés, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, and business writing—including specialized MBA résumé coaching (240+ completed).
Latin & Humanities Tutoring
University-level Latin instruction using original texts, plus support in history, philosophy, and literature from a PhD medievalist.
Editing, Proofreading & Memoir Writing
Line editing and proofreading for any document, plus patient, encouraging coaching for personal essays, memoirs, and creative nonfiction.
What Students Are Saying
Wonderful tutor, great to work with
We highly recommend Steven for tutoring in English: writing, editing, reading comprehension, literature. He is superb! Steven has worked with our high school son and on occasion our college daughter. He has helped with all kinds of writing for different classes, English, vocabulary, grammar, SAT, ACT, college admission essays, presentations, editing, resumes, building self confidence and more. Spending many hours with Steven, in person, on the phone, and online, we can vouch for his excellent character as he is kind, patient, knowledgeable, honest, dependable, and really takes an interest in his clients. He has gone the extra mile for our son. We have used many tutors over the years and Steven by far surpasses all of them. He has gone beyond our expectations. Our son, who always hated writing and English ,said, "Writing is fun!" and "I've learned more this semester from Steven than in all my years of school in English." Steven has made himself completely available to our children 24/7, and they feel extremely comfortable calling on him. Our children will continue to call on Steven for help through college and through their journey in life.
~John, 143 lessons with Steven
Fabulous for Teaching and Fostering Interest in Latin
When faced with a sub-optimal grade in my AP Latin class, my parents asked me if I wanted a tutor. I resisted this with vigor, complaining that my schedule would not allow even weekly lessons, but mostly cowering at the unattractive prospect of extra time spent reading Latin. I truly despised the subject. Nevertheless, I was told that I must at least try a tutor. I reluctantly agreed to one lesson with Steven, knowing full well that at the lesson's conclusion I would tell my parents that a tutor was useless. I was dead wrong. In that first lesson, I came face-to-face with Steven's unique teaching style, in which every lesson begins with him asking me to "teach him some latin". He made the subject matter feel a little lighter and a lot more accessible. I begrudgingly admitted to my parents that lessons with Steven could actually be a big help to me. This reluctant prediction turned out to be more than accurate. After a few weeks with Steven, my latin class grade went up from a dismal C to a proud A, the likes of which I had not seen in latin for over three years. And my grade remained at this new height for the rest of the year (over 6 months), largely due to weekly lessons with Steven. Steven's instruction lends a viewpoint different than that I receive in class. He encourages me to contemplate not only the words of Caesar and Virgil, but also the motives and thoughts of both the authors and their characters. Steven teaches me by having me read, then he corrects my mistakes, and then we interpret the meaning together. Since we lack the luxury of native speakers to talk to, this is the best way to learn Latin. But the most helpful thing Steven has done for me, a thing which I value even more than his helping me to raise my grade and prepare for the AP test, is making me enjoy Latin. Now, i cannot say that Latin will ever be my favorite subject, but reading it has gone from being an unbearable torture to a tolerable, and even sometimes enjoyable, task. Steven makes it relatable, and adds in his intellectual sense of humor, to transform the subject into a more interesting and fun pursuit.
~Mark, 54 lessons with Steven
Responsive, professional and inspires
My Rising Junior son had his first latin lesson with Steve and we will have more. My son got along well with Steve and is ready for more. Steve is responsive and very easy to work with. A true professional.
~Andrew, 309 lessons with Steven
Patient tutor
My son isn't a big fan of English class but has enjoyed his time with Steven. He's finally gaining an understanding of how to properly write an essay and how to express his thoughts. I appreciate the literal line-by-line approach of working through a writing session. My son who was apprehensive in the beginning now looks forward to his lessons.
~Kimberly, 20 lessons with Steven
Absolutely Fantastic Tutor
Steven has been working with our son who is a junior at college. He needed work on reading comprehension, organizing and planning papers, and strengthening his writing ability. Steven has made an enormous difference and our son is not only learning quickly but showing marked improvement in his work. He has been getting great grades and receiving strong, positive feedback from his professors. Steven is flexible, available when needed, and has formed a wonderful working relationship with him. Our son feels he is learning every time they work together. I cannot recommend Steven highly enough. We feel lucky to have him a part of our son's college life and helping to prepare him to be a really excellent writer once he is out in the working world.
Sally, 22 lessons with Steven
Knowledgeable and professional tutor!
Steven did an excellent job as an academic coach and tutor for my son. He immediately was able to assess his needs and guide him appropriately on an assignment that he was struggling with.
Dominick, 69 lessons with Steven
Excellent tutor! Knowledgeable, patient, cares about the student and the students progress
Steven worked with our 17 year old son during the past year. Originally we wanted him to help our son with the reading and writing portions of the SAT. However, our son found value in working with Steven to help him with his AP English class and general study habits too so we continued weekly sessions throughout the school year. He is extremely knowledgeable and patient and understands how to work and communicate with a teenager. When the session/work required extra time to complete he stuck with it until they were at a good place. He's professional and cares about the student and the progress the student makes and wants to make sure that they understand the concepts and do good work. This was our first time using online tutoring and it was great to be able to find someone with the background, knowledge and experience that we wanted. The flexibility of online tutoring has been very beneficial as our son is an athlete and has a very busy schedule. Being able to schedule around that has been extremely helpful. We will likely continue tutoring with Steven during his senior year and into college if he needs any additional help.
~Celeste, 30 lessons with Steven
Passionate, patient and knowledgable!
My son loves his tutor and enjoys studying further with Steven. He is very experienced and knowledgeable to help teenagers to fall in love with reading and writing. My son got a higher grade in writing recently and feels more confident that he can write quickly with rich resources. I think confidence is the first step for a good writer!
~Sherry, 35 lessons with Steven
Outstanding Tutor
Steven has been working with my son on English 10 over the past few months, and I couldn't be happier with the progress he has made. Steven is not only knowledgeable and skilled, but also incredibly patient and understanding. Steven always tailored the lessons to suit my son's learning style and pace, making complex concepts easy to grasp. He is also available at relatively short notice and accommodative, which is quite helpful. Thanks to Steven, my son feels well-prepared and more confident in his abilities. His grades and skills have been on the upward trend. I highly recommend Steven to anyone seeking a dedicated and effective tutor.
~M, 13 lessons with Steven
Steven throws himself right into whatever help you request!
Steven is helping my 10th grade son to edit a paper with the aim of submitting it for publication the philosophy journal Dialogue. Prior to my sons' first session, Steven got the basic background on my son, read his paper and perused papers previously published by Dialogue. Steven did all this in one day, and the next day Steven and my son had their first session. What more could one possibly ask for? On a scale of 1 - 10, I'd give Steven an 11. Really superb! Immediately after their session, my son told me how things went. Considering that getting information from my son relating to school type stuff is nearly impossible, there can be no greater recommendation for the type of dedicated, lively and interesting interaction Steven is capable of providing. Steven, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Katie, 80 lessons with Steven
Extremely Knowledgeable and capable tutor/teacher
Steven helped me raised my English ACT score from a 22 to a 34. He is an amazing teacher and very professional in all aspects. I have a lot of positives I could say, but I would rather just let the numbers do the talking.
~Melissa, 22 lessons with Steven
Fantastic and detailed analysis of University English!
I need to expand my review to say how impressed my daughter was with Steven's step by step analysis and critique of her essay. She asked why all English professors could not be as great as Steven!! We will definitely ask him to tutor again! Thank you.
Pamela, 6 lessons with Steven
About Steven
Steven B. Killion has been coaching writers and teaching students since 1985—for over 4 decades he has helped writers and learners at all levels find the words they need to achieve their goals.
He holds a BA, MA, and PhD in English Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill, with a concentration in Medieval Studies. His doctoral research examined Hiberno-Latin glosses to understand how Irish scholars transmitted the Venerable Bede’s wide-ranging scholarship into the Carolingian educational system.
Steven taught at UNC-Chapel Hill and Marist College, where he specialized in Developmental Writing and Litaerature courses. At Marist, he invented the college's first distance-education course and co-developed the Marist-IBM Digital Library. Following that, he served for over a decade as Executive Director of the Wade Edwards Learning Lab in Raleigh and directed the Wade Edwards Short Fiction Contest. In 2016 and 2017 he coached first and second year MBA students writing their résumés for UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Program, completing over 500 résumés.
He coordinates the Kadampa Center Prison Project and volunteers in the North Carolina prison system, currently at Nash Correctional Insitution and Central Prison in Raleigh.
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