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Advanced Academic Writing & AP Language & Literature Specialist
Marianne B.

5.0 (1,870 ratings)

6,825 hours tutoring

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About Marianne

Bio

As a top-rated advanced academic writing tutor, I help all students develop writing that is clear, purposeful, and intellectually engaging. My approach focuses on teaching students how writing actually works—how to shape ideas into effective arguments, structure paragraphs for clarity, and write with an awareness of audience and purpose. From idea generation through revision and polish, I guide students through a strategic, manageable process that builds both skill and confidence.

My...

As a top-rated advanced academic writing tutor, I help all students develop writing that is clear, purposeful, and intellectually engaging. My approach focuses on teaching students how writing actually works—how to shape ideas into effective arguments, structure paragraphs for clarity, and write with an awareness of audience and purpose. From idea generation through revision and polish, I guide students through a strategic, manageable process that builds both skill and confidence.

My background includes an MA in Teaching Writing, a BA in English, and extensive experience as a university writing tutor embedded in courses across multiple disciplines. This work required helping students adapt their writing to different academic contexts, genres, and expectations. I bring that same structured, research-informed approach to my tutoring by creating individualized lessons, providing targeted materials, and offering detailed, actionable feedback that students can immediately apply to their work.

Through detailed, guided feedback and one-on-one discussion, I show students how to strengthen logic, organization, and clarity while feeling confident and supported throughout the writing process. My goal is not only to improve individual assignments, but to help students become independent writers who can communicate complex ideas effectively in any setting. By combining skill, strategy, and creativity, I work with each student to fully develop their ideas and express them in a compelling, polished, and authentic voice.

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Education

Illinois Wesleyan University: English Major & 9-12 Education Minor
BA in English
DePaul University: Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse & Educating Adults
MEd
St. Bonaventure University: High School Counseling
Graduate Coursework

Policies

  • Hourly Rate: $149
  • Rate details: LATE CANCELLATIONS: Charged for 30 minutes. NO SHOWS: Charged for full session
  • Lesson cancellation: 5 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 8/3/2020

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

English

English

Nearly every year, my AP Lit & AP Lang students beat the national pass rates in AP English Exams by 48%. I've been specially trained to teach AP Lit and AP Lang courses as a high school English teacher, and as a tutor, I develop individual lessons for each student, helping them through their coursework and offering additional official AP materials to guide practice writing exercises. I provide valuable and actionable feedback that moves their writing from the high school level to the level that AP Lit & Lang essay assessors expect-- the college level. My work as a writing tutor at a major university involved being embedded into college courses, from all disciplines, to present writing-based lessons and work individually with students on all genres of writing. I take the same systematic, organized approach to my AP tutoring, creating a plan for each student to identify and strengthen their weaknesses in all phases of their writing, from idea generation to the final proofread and polish.
Essay Writing

Essay Writing

I hold a master’s degree in teaching writing and have completed multiple graduate-level courses focused specifically on the essay—its history, purpose, and evolving role as a form of inquiry and expression. The essay is the form I most admire and love to teach, and I specialize in helping students develop clarity, depth, voice, and structure across a wide range of essay genres. I have extensive experience working with college admission essays, academic essays, and other essay-based writing, guiding students to articulate complex ideas with precision and confidence. My approach combines deep knowledge of the form with individualized, thoughtful instruction tailored to each writer’s goals.
Fiction Writing

Fiction Writing

I have extensive experience as a professional and college admission interview preparation expert, supported by formal training at a university career planning and development center. I have worked with individuals applying for a wide range of professional roles, helping them communicate their strengths clearly, confidently, and authentically in interviews. I also prepare students for college admission interviews at institutions where interviews are part of the evaluation process, focusing on thoughtful self-presentation, strong responses, and meaningful engagement. My coaching is strategic, personalized, and grounded in a deep understanding of what interviewers are looking for.
Literature

Literature

Nearly every year, my students beat the national pass rates in AP® English Literature by 48%. My experiences as both a high school AP Literature English teacher and a college-level tutor has equipped me with effective strategies that can help you develop the following skills with any work of prose or poetry: a more active and interrogative mode of reading, a higher-level response to the work, and an an interesting, complex claim that is defensible with evidence from the text. Our collaboration will also expand your ability to draw conclusions, synthesize ideas, and form an understanding of the work, including the genre and literary movement. With AP Lit, I work by teaching strategies for writing the FRQ responses such as literary argument, analysis & interpretation, and criticism. Together, we dig deeper so you can confidently comment on the eternal questions that literature asks us to grapple with.
Personal Statements

Personal Statements

I’ve worked with students from across the US and worldwide to gain undergrad, graduate, and transfer admission to their dream schools, including the top schools in the US. These results come from my 13 years in selective college admissions and my engagement with NACAC, the National Association of College Admission Counselors. It's not just about great grades and scores; the admission committee wants to see a distinctive person who will intellectually and personally engage with their unique campus environment. This specialized insight informs my approach to guiding each student in crafting successful personal statements, supplemental and scholarship essays, activities lists, and wait-list letters. My Master's degree-level expertise in teaching personal narrative writing informs my ability to help students access their unique voice, thus bolstering their self agency by engaging in each step of the application essay process: Understanding the nuances of each prompt to generate a unique idea. Deciding, through self-reflection prewriting activities, the characteristics and traits that they will highlight to singularly position themselves, making them stand out amongst other candidates. Finding the best story (one that is neither cliche nor predictable) that reveals those exceptional characteristics, adding credibility to their essay. Polishing it into an essay so original that the admission committee will not only find it valuable and informative but also memorable. I keep students on track, motivated, and organized by storing all documents, including my detailed session reports that review what we accomplished and advise them on the next steps to move forward, in a shared google document. This helps reduce stress-- in fact, my students tell me that working with me is fun, and that they've learned a lot about themselves throughout this process because of our collaboration on choosing the best topics, style, and structure, as well as from my targeted feedback that helps find interesting intersections th
Proofreading

Proofreading

I am a highly qualified, professionally trained academic editor with 20 years of professional editing experience and expertise in all high-stakes business and academic writing: university undergrad and graduate admission essays, university assignments, master's thesis, PhD dissertations, and manuscripts for journal submission. I am efficient and effective, providing suggested in-text and actionable margin comments that adhere to all conventions of excellent writing: Organizing for logical flow of ideas for clarity Identifying and correcting sentence-level issues in terminology, tone, and syntax by rephrasing awkward sentences Correcting formatting issues My collaboration with your writing project will improve the value of your work for the reader, so you can focus on your writing and submit your final draft with confidence.
Writing

Writing

My expertise in teaching high-level writing skills lies in providing guidance and support to students as they manage the demands involved with writing at a considerable level of complexity and rigor. My years of teaching high school English classes, tutoring college academic writing at DePaul University, and as a private academic writing tutor, I've helped students discover their strengths and weaknesses in all genres and rhetorical contexts. My methods include teaching students how to: Analyze the rhetorical demands of the writing task Generate and focus ideas at the prewriting stage Ensure the draft is addressing the writing assignment directly and effectively Notice repetition as a lack of development and rework the draft Strengthen arguments, spot weak rhetorical choices and make more effective choices Address formatting or other surface-level concerns My philosophy is to not just make the writing better, but to make my students better writers. My greatest joy is when a student tells me they're proud of their work and feel confident -- and even excited -- about their next writing task.

Examples of Expertise

Marianne has provided examples of their subject expertise by answering 1 question submitted by students on Wyzant’s Ask an Expert.

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Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (1,870 ratings)
5 star
(1,834)
4 star
(20)
3 star
(5)
2 star
(2)
1 star
(9)

Reviews

Amazing AP Lang Tutor!

Marianne was amazing! She really took the time to teach my daughter practice skills to prepare for the upcoming AP Lang exam. She was very approachable and extremely helpful with her suggestions and offered follow up with additional study practice materials and guidance. She is wonderful to work with and in one session, my daughter applied so much of what Marianne said to her test which she believes landed her a 5! Thank you Marianne!

Denise, 1 lesson with Marianne
Tutor responded:

Hi Denise. It was a joy to work with your daughter—she is so bright and engaging, and I loved guiding her toward mastering both parts of the AP Lang exam! Her dedication to practicing the MCQs with the strategies we discussed and crafting clear and concise AP Lang essays was truly impressive. I’m thrilled to hear about how confident she was when taking the exam and that she's expecting to get the top score. I’m so glad I could contribute to her success.

Excellent Advice, Support, Saffolding

Marianne’s advice and support were invaluable to our son. She was able to help him develop ideas, elevate his writing, and guide him toward producing a much improved personal statement. Our son appreciated Marianne’s approach and enjoyed working with her. In the end, he was proud of his work and credits Marianne with pushing him toward success.

Mary Bush, 8 lessons with Marianne

Excellent tutor for College Essays!!

Marianne assisted both my daughter and son with their college essays. She provided invaluable ideas to make their drafts more competitive and also expertly proofread their work. The final results were extraordinary essays. Thank you Marianne!!

Vignes, 4 lessons with Marianne

Amazing tutor!!

Marianne is helping our daughter with her personal essay and she is simply amazing!! We highly recommend her for any student!! Lovely and extremely experienced tutor!

Camilla, 4 lessons with Marianne

Amazing college essay consultant!

Marianne is an amazing college essay consultant! She provides detailed, thoughtful feedback that is both clear and actionable. Unlike others, her guidance makes it easy for students to take concrete next steps and improve their essays with confidence.

Liz, 6 lessons with Marianne

She is an excellent tutor!

Marianne was very prompt, and her advice was excellent. The feedback we received from her proofreading session demonstrates her expertise. We look forward to working with her again.

Miyuki, 3 lessons with Marianne

Insightful and Encouraging

Marianne guided my daughter, was able to talk to my daughter and look at her ideas, fine tune them and point her in the right direction to expand further. She was positive and encouraging! Marianne pointed out my daughter's passions and encouraged her to do a "free write" to get all of her ideas in her head written down. This was extremely helpful and my daughter enjoyed doing them!

Shannon, 13 lessons with Marianne

Knowledgeable

She was able to easily identify issues with my son’s college admission essay. She helped my son rethink ideas and helped him organize his thoughts in a concise way. Very impressed.!

Ana, 6 lessons with Marianne

Knowledgeable and encouraging tutor

Marianne had a well-crafted and thoughtful lesson to help my daughter formulate ideas for her essay topic. Marianne is genuine and sincere, and that helped my daughter to focus on her true and authentic voice.

Anonymous, 1 lesson with Marianne

❤️❤️❤️ ❤️❤️

Marianne is a caring and passionate teacher. She helped me revise my college essays, showcasing her unparalleled talent and expertise. I always look forward to her precise and insightful reviews. Under her guidance, I have learned advanced writing techniques of the highest standard. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found such an exceptional and rare teacher like Marianne.-Christina

Li, 31 lessons with Marianne