Ways I Can Help You With A Specific Writing Task

Is there an essay question, prompt or rubric that just has you confused? Are you getting feedback from teachers that is confusing you? Is your family stressed by the pressure of not knowing how to support you? Do you need help to understand what it means that every essay has to have an argument? What even makes a strong argument? What are you supposed to argue when you have been asked to describe something? Are you wondering what your teacher, professor, or TA’s comments mean, and how to use that feedback to improve your grades? Perhaps when it comes to writing you know what you want to say, but not how to get it onto the page, let alone structure it properly or present an argument. Maybe you are fortunate to get excellent grades but are frustrated about a lack of feedback to take your writing to the next level. These are problems I see everyday at The Writers’ Schoolhouse, and I can help. The Writers’ Schoolhouse provides students in high school, undergraduate, and graduate studies with the resources to develop and improve their essays. Recognising that successful to meet the readers’ needs and expectations, I work closely with students as they progress through the crucial moments of brainstorming and questioning, and on to developing outlined/drafted material, and sharpening final drafts.

I can help you by:

• Brainstorming an approach to a set essay prompt, or developing a compelling research question, that captures ideas as both a way of starting writing, and constructing a claim to argue.
• Helping you understand your readers’ expectations, needs and perspectives so your writing can both engage and influence their thinking.
• Reviewing a preliminary or complete draft, and commenting on the overall argument as well as the cogency of the argument’s evidence and reasoning.
• Reading a preliminary or full draft and providing comments on its organisation, the information flow, and readability at paragraph and sentence levels.
• Providing suggestions for ways to revise a paper for improved reader engagement and textual coherence, clarity, and persuasiveness.
• Aiding STEM students with the skills involved in clear Writing for Research, establishing relevant Problem Statements and Research Questions, as well as developing skills for written submissions and writing as a life skill.
• Working with graduate students and professional academics to: develop, write and edit research proposals; prepare dissertations in full or specific chapters; write and focus academic journal articles, conference papers and presentations; prepare grant submissions; and draft and edit academic books.

Your Session

The Writers’ Schoolhouse can work with you as long as you have access to the internet; online sessions are a specialty. You will not miss out by sharing an online learning experience. However, in-person consultations are available if you are in Brisbane.

Whether we meet in person or online, you need to be prepared by following these simple steps:

1. Contact me by email to schedule your writing support session, be sure to enter it in your diary and make the agreed payment.
2. If we are working on your paper, email your draft or essay question at least 24 hours before your appointment, either as an editable Word file or by providing a link with permission to edit it in Google Docs – [email protected]
3. If we are meeting online, you will receive an email containing a link to join your online video session. Please join at least five minutes before your scheduled time. At your appointment start time you will be able to enter the meeting from the Waiting Room.

For in person sessions, I ask that you reschedule your session if you find that you or a member of your household has a fever, cough or other flu like symptoms.