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Harvard PhD, High School and College Writing Tutor
Nathan R.

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Hourly Rate: $260
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About Nathan

Bio

In the age of AI, nothing matters more than cultivating your specific writerly voice. Nothing matters more than shaping your unique perspective. Fortunately, as a Harvard professor and creative writer, this is my specialty.

Whether you need help with college admissions essays, SAT essays, or collegiate and creative writing, I will gingerly guide your braid of form (spelling, grammar, style) and content. I will help you transmute your personality onto your laptop, finding prose to match...

In the age of AI, nothing matters more than cultivating your specific writerly voice. Nothing matters more than shaping your unique perspective. Fortunately, as a Harvard professor and creative writer, this is my specialty.

Whether you need help with college admissions essays, SAT essays, or collegiate and creative writing, I will gingerly guide your braid of form (spelling, grammar, style) and content. I will help you transmute your personality onto your laptop, finding prose to match your brain. I will help you cut down hyperbole and cliché. I will help you bring your full self to a page that can only represent you in part. And in the process, I will not only help you present yourself to college admissions counselors and teachers and professors. I will help you become a better writer for the rest of your life.

I began to tutor writing to high-achieving high school students in Harvard's Pre-College program in 2018, where I taught journalism courses for six years, after publishing my first memoir. I worked as the Writing Fellow for the Art, Film, and Visual Studies Department from 2020-2021. In 2023, after finishing my PhD at Harvard – where I became a three-time winner of the Derek Bok Award for Excellence in Teaching undergraduate students – I began to teach student writing for UCSB and the Harvard Extension School online.

Although I work closely with students at many points in their their writing journeys, editing prose line by line, I am best fit to tutor high school/college/graduate students with basic command of English grammar and style. I work best with students who are ready to take their writing to the next level: by, say, applying to Ivy League universities, or working to improve grades in college writing courses.

If this sounds at all like you, I look forward to working with you soon!

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Education

New York University
Cinematic Philosophy
Harvard University
PhD

Policies

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Approved Subjects

College Counseling

College Counseling

I have worked as a college admissions essay tutor since 2018, and my students have gotten into schools like Northwestern, Wellesley, and Emory University. I have helped students discern the schools that would be best for them based on factors like GPA, personal and professional interest. As a NYU undergraduate and Harvard PhD who has lectured at a public university (UCSB), I use my wide-ranging collegiate experience to help students discern as they apply.
Creative Writing

Creative Writing

After being mentored by acclaimed novelist Zadie Smith, I wrote a memoir about media called "Surface Tensions: Searching for Sacred Connection In A Media-Saturated World," which was published by Hendrickson Publishers in 2016. My literary essays have been published by the Los Angeles Review of Books and TIME.com, and my screenplay, "Wag," was produced into a short film.
English

English

After receiving a 750 (99th percentile) on the reading and writing SAT, and training under award-winning author Zadie Smith, I taught writing courses in Harvard's Pre-College Program. As a PhD candidate at Harvard, I also worked as my department's Writing Fellow, running writing workshops for undergraduate students. I have also worked as a personal tutor for high-achieving students writing their college admissions essays, and my first memoir was published in 2016. My writing has also been published in TIME.com and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Essay Writing

Essay Writing

I have taught essay writing courses for Harvard College and Harvard Extension School since 2017. I was also the Departmental Writing Fellow for the Art, Film, and Visual Studies Department in 2020-2021, where I worked closely with students to perfect their course essays. I have tutored high-achieving Harvard Pre-College Program students regarding their college application essays since 2018.
Film

Film

I have a PhD in Film and Visual Studies from Harvard University, and I have taught film history and theory for the University of California Santa Barbara and Harvard Extension School. since 2017. I am also a film writer, director, and editor, of my own film projects in Los Angeles.
Personal Statements

Personal Statements

I published my first memoir, "Surface Tensions," in 2016. I then taught personal writing for Harvard's Pre-College program from 2018-2023, and also ran a workshop for writing artist statements as the Writing Fellow for the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard University in 2020-2021. As a college application essay tutor since 2018, I have worked with students to help them communicate their personal experience and perspective, to make their personal essays shine brightly to broad readership.
SAT Reading

SAT Reading

Since receiving a 755 on the Reading and Writing SAT subject test (99 percentile) myself, I have taught the close reading of academic and literary texts for Harvard University (Harvard College, Harvard's Pre-College Program, and Harvard Extension School) since 2017. I have also taught these same skills at UCSB.
SAT Writing

SAT Writing

In high school, I received a 755 in SAT reading and writing (99 percentile). Since then, I have worked as a writing instructor for the Harvard Pre-College Program for 5 years, where I taught students important rules of grammar and style – as well as a personal writing tutor for students preparing for college admissions. My students have been consistently accepted to universities like Northwestern, Emory, and Wellesley.
Thesis Writing

Thesis Writing

I work with Harvard College students to help them perfect their undergraduate theses as the Departmental Writing Fellow for the Art, Film, and Visual Studies Department in 2020-2021. In the three years before, and five years after this appointment, I worked closely with students to hone their theses as an instructor in further Harvard College and UCSB courses.
Writing

Writing

After training with the bestselling author Zadie Smith, I published my memoir about media at age 23. I worked as a writing instructor for Harvard's Pre-College program from 2018 to 2023, and I hosted workshops and worked with undergraduate students as the Writing Fellow for Harvard's Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies. I have worked as a personal writing tutor since 2018, typically – although not exclusively – for students developing applications to elite universities.
ACT English

Examples of Expertise

Nathan has provided examples of their subject expertise by answering 2 questions submitted by students on Wyzant’s Ask an Expert.

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Hourly Rate: $260
Contact Nathan