Very Experienced, Patient Writing & College Essays Coach-UPenn PhD!

Theresa S.

My love affair with language began in 8th grade when, in reading The Atlantic, I saw how word-crafting could issue in “3-D thinking.” Good writing breathes sharp life into ideas, creating new thought patterns for writer and reader. Within 30 years of teaching/tutoring writing and literature —navigating students through essays, research, honors and master’s theses--I always found joy in guiding them to discover what they wanted to say—and to say it coherently and persuasively. As Academic Coordinator of UPenn’s College Achievement Program, I tutored thousands of students, from a wide range of backgrounds. For two years now, I have been helping high school students with college essay applications, consistently receiving glowing feedback, and many heartwarming notes as to their acceptance into first-choice colleges!

I hold a BA in English from Fordham University summa cum laude and in 1998 I earned a PhD in English from University of Pennsylvania. After completing an interdisciplinary doctoral project on Hamlet, I carried that intellectual exhilaration into all my work as a lecturer, writing specialist, tutor, and academic advisor at UPenn, always urging students to forge more conceptual connections and to write distinctively, memorably. Upon retiring from UPenn, I continue to tutor: I want to share my excitement, expertise, and love of writing and reading with Wyzant students, motivate and empower them to do, and to write, their best thinking!

Effective tutoring is a combination of art and skill. The art stems from being a respectful listener, a clear, patient communicator, a passionate conveyor of the subject, a deep desire to see a student succeed, and a creative strategist. The skill arises from comfort with one's material, realizing when to challenge students, how to encourage them, and quickly identifying both students' current needs and productive ways to address them. If a tutor adheres to these principles, students will sense their dedication--and will respond with trust and enthusiasm