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Expert College Essay Consultant & Academic Writing Specialist
Marianne B.

5.0 (1,818 ratings)

6,631 hours tutoring

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About Marianne

Bio

As one of Wyzant's highest-performing writing tutors, I successfully guide students toward writing that is vivid, concise, and polished by showing them science-backed ways to write clearly for a reader.
My students learn to analyze their strengths and weaknesses and move from idea generation to the final draft in a productive, strategic and rewarding process. And by clarifying objectives, editing, and polishing, the student learns how to ensure their ideas are unique and their writing is...

As one of Wyzant's highest-performing writing tutors, I successfully guide students toward writing that is vivid, concise, and polished by showing them science-backed ways to write clearly for a reader.
My students learn to analyze their strengths and weaknesses and move from idea generation to the final draft in a productive, strategic and rewarding process. And by clarifying objectives, editing, and polishing, the student learns how to ensure their ideas are unique and their writing is interesting and valuable for the reader.
With an MA in Teaching Writing and a BA in English, I inform each lesson with scholarship based on multi-faceted educational pedagogy. Preparing individualized lessons with targeted documents and writing detailed reports results in a rich resource of custom writing instruction and information. My holistic approach to enhance writing mastery results in lessons that boost reading, logic, and writing skills that bridge ideas and writing. By incorporating off-line proofreading to provide actionable feedback, my students feel much less stressed during the writing process.

I’m a member of the National Association of College Admission Counselors, and my admission positions at 2 selective institutions (as well as writing countless college recommendations as a high school English teacher) means I've been responding professionally to college admission essays for over 25 years. As an essay coach, I devote sessions to choosing the best topic, style, and structure, and my targeted feedback maintains your unique personality and voice. I will help you find interesting connections that result in a meaningful essay that exceeds the reader's expectations and contributes to a compelling and successful college application.

I believe everyone can become a better writer, and I love helping students of all writing abilities strengthen their writing along with their confidence as a writer by fully using skill, logic, and creativity to express their unique ideas, using their unique 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: $165
  • Rate details: LATE CANCELLATIONS- Charged for 30 minutes No Shows- After 15 Minutes, Charged for Full Lesson
  • Lesson cancellation: 2 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

ACT English

ACT English

My ACT English tutoring plan helps students develop a strong skill set to master the three parts of the English exam: Grammar, usage, and rhetoric, Reading, and Writing. I individualize the plan to meet each student’s goal for the ACT--whether it’s to improve grammar and usage, reading, writing, or all three. English Grammar and Usage: Students learn to quickly identify and correct errors in the grammar and usage conventions typically used on the exam. These conventions, which comprise 40 out of the 75 English questions, are: Punctuation: internal and end-of-sentence punctuation, with emphasis on the relationship of punctuation to meaning and avoiding ambiguity. Grammar and usage: agreement between subject & verb, pronoun & antecedent, and modifiers & the word modified; verbs and verbals; tense and aspect; and idiomatic usage Sentence Structures: compound and complex sentences, relationships between and among clauses, conjunctions, placement of modifiers, shifts in construction and focus, a Rhetoric: phrases, nominal structures, revising for clarity and conciseness Reading: Students learn ways to quickly analyze the four subject passages-- social studies, natural sciences, literature, and humanities— to identify the main idea, compare ideas, generalize ideas, identify relationships such as cause-and-effect, and define words based on context Writing: Students learn to use advanced rhetoric to write a unified, coherent essay that clearly states an insightful perspective on an issue and supports a nuanced, precise thesis. They learn to develop the significance of the issue in logical and organized paragraphs. Test-taking Strategies: Students learn to unpack each multiple-choice item and eliminate wrong answers. They learn to engage with the readings and pay close attention to questions. They learn strategies for when they are stuck on a question, word, or section of a passage. They learn the difference between reading, skimming, and scanning. And last, but certainly not least, they learn how to manage
ACT Reading

ACT Reading

I began my graduate studies in education with courses such as Reading and Learning Disabilities, Assessment and Diagnostic Teaching of Reading, Human Development and Reading, and Literacy for the Exceptional Child. As a high school English teacher, I was committed to improving the literacy challenges of my students who struggled with reading. While I’m a born reader, I wanted to understand how the brain learns to read and why decoding skills frustrated bright students. My strong background in graduate-level instruction in reading and my experience in teaching reading as a high school English teacher allow me to offer personalized reading instruction to any student. Whether my students are preparing for the ACT, SAT Reading exams or reading literature and poetry for high school or college assignments, they all enjoy gains in their reading comprehension and speed.
College Counseling

College Counseling

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
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.
ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL Qualifications I have five years experience tutoring international students at DePaul University's Multicultural Center for Writing and Reading. I tutored English language learners from a multitude of countries using popular methodologies and components of major language areas: listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar. I planned and implemented effective lessons, using my knowledge of TESOL, English grammar, and applied linguistics .
Grammar

Grammar

I have graduate-level coursework in Grammar for Teachers and Advanced Linguistic and Traditional Grammar. I have tutored countless students on grammar-based issues. I have graduate-level coursework in editing for grammar.
Linguistics

Linguistics

My approach to tutoring English is based on the fundamentals of linguistics, the scientific study of language. I’ve done a great deal of linguistic research, as a graduate student and life-long linguistics fanatic, to understand the structural grammar, syntax, and diction underlying all versions of the English language. When working with college writers, ESL students, and students preparing for the AP Literature and AP Language exams, I start them thinking about word categories and sentence structures to help them objectively evaluate the English language, paying particular attention to how words change form and how they function in sentences.
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.
Proofreading

Proofreading

I am a highly qualified, professionally trained academic editor with over 15 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.
SAT Reading

SAT Reading

Through graduate courses such as Reading and Learning Disabilities, Assessment and Diagnostic Teaching of Reading, Human Development and Reading, and Literacy for the Exceptional Child and as a high school English teacher committed to improving the literacy challenges of my students who struggled with reading, I am uniquely poised to offer help in ACT/SAT Reading exam preparation. My strong pedagogical and teaching background has lead to me to understand how the brain learns to read and why decoding skills frustrate bright students. Whether my students are preparing for the ACT, SAT Reading exams or reading literature and poetry for high school or college assignments, they all enjoy gains in their reading comprehension and speed.
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.
SAT Writing
Vocabulary

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 (1,818 ratings)
5 star
(1,783)
4 star
(20)
3 star
(5)
2 star
(2)
1 star
(8)

Reviews

Spectacular college essay tutor/coach

Marianne helped my daughter tremendously, to brainstorm, edit and craft her college personal statement and supplemental essays. Her feedback was extensive and detailed. Marianne was helpful in keeping my daughter, a notorious procrastinator, on track by reaching out to her periodically, checking with her to see how her final drafts were coming along. Marianne truly made the entire essay writing process fun and rewarding rather than intimidating or strenuous. She’s an excellent college essay coach! The very best! Thank you for being so patient with my daughter!

Inoka, 10 lessons with Marianne
Tutor responded:

Thanks for your incredibly kind words! It truly warmed my heart to hear your daughter's excitement about her acceptances to her reach schools and that she'll be attending her dream school--the highly competitive University of California Berkeley M.E.T. Program that has a 3% acceptance rate. I had no doubt about her accomplishments, dedication, hard work, and remarkable abilities, and it's been an absolute pleasure assisting her with all her college essays. Her future is bright, and I have every confidence that she will continue to excel in everything she does. I'm grateful to have played a role in her journey and look forward to hearing more about her future achievements. 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, 6 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.

Kristen, 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

❤️❤️❤️ ❤️❤️

Marianne is an excellent teacher for my daughter. She is patient, professional, and creates a clear and supportive learning environment.

Li, 31 lessons with Marianne

Patient and a great help for college essay

Marianne has been great helping my daughter with her college essay. In the first meeting they started with an idea, afterwards Marianne send more tips on how to tie everything together and my daughter came up with a really long essay - now it is time to cut words and clean it up. Thanks Marianne!!

Annemarie, 5 lessons with Marianne