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Writing Tutoring in Portland, Oregon
Develop the skills needed to tackle challenging writing assignments. Work with our private writing tutors in Portland or online.
Expert Writing Tutors
Writing assignments can feel daunting when you are unsure how to go about them. Such uncertainty leaves many students feeling overwhelmed and prone to procrastination.
While no one is born a good writer, you can absolutely become a good writer through proper guidance, consistent practice, and a willingness to improve. Our writing tutors have the expertise to help you reach your writing goals, whether you are a neurodiverse learner seeking writing methods appropriate to your needs, a student writing a research paper for the IB Diploma Programme, or an AP Language and Composition student striving for a five on the test. Our tutors will demystify the process while making you more resourceful.
Our Writing Tutoring Process
Our tutors can meet with you online or in-person to guide you through each step of the writing process, customizing their approach to suit your needs, interests, and temperament. They engage you in a collaborative interaction, enabling you to talk through your ideas and clarify your critical thinking. Our writing tutors share evidence-based strategies and models of good writing that you can emulate as you embark upon each task. Then, they review your drafts with you and deliver constructive feedback, empowering you to make impactful revisions.
Below is the process we follow for students writing either a literary analysis or research paper.
How it works
Assessment
To begin, we perform an evaluation. We discuss your writing habits and read some of your previous written work. Then, together, we craft a plan that builds on your strengths and identifies key areas for skill development.
Research
A good writer is always an active reader. We teach you how to glean information and cull suggestive details from the text, giving you the interpretive tools to break down complex passages and delineate powerful ideas.
Critical Analysis
Learn to organize and explain your selected material so that it serves as evidence in support of your thesis statement and related claims.
Organization
Arrange your thesis, claims, and evidence logically to create an outline of your argument. That makes it easier to start writing and stay on course.
Drafting
Write a rough, unedited first draft to flesh out ideas. Then, revise it to improve structure, content, meaning, and clarity. As you revise, replace your plot summary with an analysis.
Editing
Your last revision is for grammatical correctness, spelling, and stylistic improvements. It’s where we polish your work for your final audience.
As their skills and writing quality improve, our students typically experience a boost in confidence. They begin to feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in the work. That makes it easier to tackle more complex and lengthier writing assignments in the upper grades. Students learn to manage their time efficiently, writing longer papers in steps over a sequence of days and weeks while receiving periodic feedback. Equipped with good scheduling and support, they avoid procrastination and limit anxiety.
Qualifications
Our lead writing tutor and owner of Tutor Visions, David Wolf, Ph.D., has over twenty years of relevant university and high school teaching experience and degrees from Brown University and the City University of New York (CUNY). He was a Writing Instructor in the Honors College at Portland State, where he mentored seniors writing their honors thesis. He has published academic research in peer-reviewed journals and served as a moderator for award-winning student literary magazines.
After working with thousands of students, David realized that his greatest passion was working one-on-one to impart strategies and light a fire in young writers. That prompted him to launch this tutoring business, where he serves as an owner-operator and vets prospective new tutors through this lens. All writing tutors at Tutor Visions must have a background in teaching, a demonstrated enthusiasm for the English language, and impeccable references.
Subjects
Our tutors possess broad expertise across all writing, reading, and language-related subject areas, making them perfectly suited to prepare high school students for the rigor of college academics. They are available to tutor high school students in the following subject areas:
- Language Arts, including Honors, AP Language and Composition, and AP Literature and Composition
- Social Studies and History, including Honors, AP European History, AP United States History, AP Government, and AP Psychology
- Language and Literature courses in the IB Diploma Programme
- Dual Credit Courses with Portland Community College (PCC), Portland State University (PSU), and Lewis & Clark
- Gender Studies
- Journalism
They can also be an excellent resource for seniors writing college application essays and for college students across all related subject areas, including research papers and creative nonfiction.
Success Stories
Private writing tutoring is helpful to students of all ages and capabilities. It provides the tactical skills and individualized attention you need to become a stronger writer and overcome obstacles. But don’t take our word for it; here are some kind words from our clients.
Let's talk
Contact us to learn more or arrange a one on one session in Portland.