14 Best Online Writing Tutoring Services for 2026 (50 Tutoring Services Reviewed)

Updated September 4, 2026

Writing is a core skill that is essential for success in high school and college, as well as many graduate programs and future careers.

However, many schools don’t teach students how to write effectively. Writing is a highly individual skill and the best way to learn is with one-on-one help.

When school classes assign essays, most students are left to flounder. The students who are the most successful tend to benefit from writing lessons at home from their parents. But this is challenging and time-consuming—not to mention, many parents might not have honed those writing skills themselves!

Families have been increasingly recognizing the immense benefit of private writing tutoring. Learning how to write early on will have a positive ripple effect throughout the student’s academic and professional career, and a little bit of improvement can go a long way!

How to Choose the Right Writing Tutoring Service

Not all writing tutoring services solve the same problem. Some focus on fundamental skills, others on essay coaching, and others on homework help. The “best” option depends on how much support you want, how long-term or short-term you want your tutoring journey to be, and what kind of guidance actually helps you learn

Instead of “Which service is best?,” the real question is: “Which service works for me for my specific goals and needs?”

What is the Best Online Writing Tutoring?

PrepMaven — best online writing tutoring overall
Wyzant — best alternative service for families on a budget
K12 Tutoring — best service with certified teachers
Learn to Be — best free writing tutoring (for qualifying families)
Boston Tutoring Service — best small group tutoring (with Special Ed options)

The best of the rest:

ArborBridge — pricey service with mystery tutors
Applerouth — less flexible service with in-person options
Club Z! Tutoring — tutoring franchise with (purported) writing curriculum
Sylvan Learning — tutoring franchise that includes Spanish-speaking staff
Varsity — uneven quality at higher prices
Chegg — lightweight essay review on a membership basis
Revolution Prep — decent rates but mystery tutors
Tutoring Service of New York — qualified tutors at a higher price point
Preply — lower-cost tutoring marketplace platform

Best Online Writing Tutoring in 2026

#1 – PrepMaven

Our Verdict — Best Online Writing Tutoring Overall

Price: $79–349/hour

PrepMaven offers high-quality one-on-one writing tutoring at an incredibly reasonable price, given the qualifications of its instructors.

Almost of PrepMaven’s tutors are Ivy-League grads, mostly from Princeton. (A few tutors are from other elite universities, like Stanford or Duke.) Many of PrepMaven’s writing tutors have won Ivy-League academic prizes for their written work. Not only do these tutors come from the most prestigious colleges in the US, but many also have professional writing experience.

What makes PrepMaven special is that they don’t just offer essay editing and support with school writing assignments — they also provide expert instruction in how to write, which is a foundational skill that will help students succeed throughout their lives. PrepMaven has developed an original writing curriculum through their sought-after Academic Writing Workshop and expanded this for students seeking individualized tutoring. Students can work with PrepMaven tutors to craft research papers, literary analysis essays, or creative writing projects that will teach them essential writing skills.

PrepMaven also offers specific coaching through the college essay writing process and has 15 years of experience helping students to gain acceptance to their dream schools. Read here for more specific information about college application essay help. Because PrepMaven’s tutors hail from the most elite universities, they’re uniquely positioned to coach students towards writing great school essays and papers.

To make high-quality tutoring accessible to more families, PrepMaven offers tutoring at several different price points. At the most affordable rate, students can work with current Ivy-League undergraduates who specialize in writing. At higher rates, students can work with coaches who are both Ivy-League grads and professional writers (screenwriters, journalists, editors), many who also hold advanced graduate degrees.

This is for you if:

You want one-on-one writing tutoring at any level
You’re working on your college essays
You want to build fundamental writing skills
You’re looking for tutoring to fit your budget

At a glance:

Cost: $79–349/hour, depending on tutor qualifications; minimum $450 package
Writing tutor qualifications: Mostly Princeton graduates and professional writers (or current Princeton students); all experienced and highly trained, some with master’s or doctoral degrees

What we like:

Experienced Ivy-League tutors — most of their writing tutors are Princeton grads or current students, with some from Harvard and other Ivies, and many tutors have won prestigious academic prizes for their writing
Professional writers — option to work with professional writers in nonfiction (journalism, published academic authors, academic book editing) or creative writing (screenwriters, playwrights, novelists, poets)
Different pricing options to meet different families’ circumstances
Smaller, boutique company offers more individualized approach customized for each student

What we don’t like:

Because they take the time to pair each student with the tutor that will be the best fit, sessions are not instantaneous and usually it takes 1–3 days to schedule with an Ivy-League tutor

#2 – Wyzant

Our Verdict — Alternative for Families on a Budget

Price: $20–600/hour

There are plenty of large platforms with large stables of part-time tutors and coaches available to work with students. Wyzant is one of the largest such platforms, with more than 65,000 tutors providing services through their website — including 4,260 online writing tutors. Students and families can pick individual tutors to work with from their roster and arrange tutoring services directly.

One benefit of this model is that tutors can set their own rates, which vary hugely. Families on a budget can find online writing tutors as low as $20 per hour.

However, these tutors might not have any teaching experience or training, and they may not have graduated from a top school or have professional writing experience. Some tutors on Wyzant with more qualifications may have much higher rates — as high as $600 per hour!

This is for you if:

You’re on a budget and are willing to work with a freelance tutor directly

This may not be for you if:

You want a highly qualified tutor
You don’t have the time to select a tutor out of 4,000+ freelancers on the platform

At a glance:

Cost: $20–600/hour
Writing tutor qualifications: varies

What we like:

Marketplace platform means that some tutors list low rates for tutoring, which can make tutoring more affordable
Families can choose their own tutor directly out of over 4,000 writing tutors listed

What we don’t like:

No training for tutors — which leads to uneven quality of instruction
Families are hiring individual tutors, which means tutor qualifications vary enormously, and there are no guarantees
Choosing the right tutor out of 4,000+ is one more task for busy families

#3 – K12 Tutoring

Our Verdict — Best Service with Certified Teachers

Price: $34.99 for 30-minute session, $64.99 for 60-minute session

K12’s biggest selling point is that all tutors are state-certified teachers. That means that, while tutors may not have top degrees, families can count on trained educational professionals with experience in their field. On the other hand, this also means that tutors will generally be working on the side of a busy classroom career, raising the possibility of burnout and overwork.

K12 is also relatively affordable compared to pricey services like Tutoring Service of New York and ArborBridge, charging $65 per hour (although this is comparable to a service like PrepMaven, which exclusively hires tutors from top universities).

K12 tutoring sessions are conducted on the company’s own online platform, and reviews on their website mention students having technical difficulties, so families may need to ensure they’re around during sessions to help out in case of website crashes.

This is for you if:

You want the predictability that comes with working with a full-time teacher
You’re looking for a budget-friendly option

This may not be for you if:

You don’t want to deal with a buggy online tutoring platform

At a glance:

Cost: $34.99 for 30-minute session, $64.99 for 60-minute session
Tutor qualifications: Tutors are state-certified teachers

What we like:

Tutors are state-certified teachers

What we don’t like:

Student reviews note that the online teaching platform can be buggy
Tutors are, by definition, working on top of a busy teaching schedule

#4 – Learn to Be

Our Verdict — Best Free Writing Tutoring (for qualifying families)

Price: free (or voluntary contribution of $9–30 per month)

Learn to Be is a fantastic non-profit organization improving education for underserved youth in the US. Students work with the same tutor consistently, which allows them to build a strong relationship and allows for mentoring as well as learning.

Students working with Learn to Be have seen an average increase in test scores of 15.8% and an average GPA increase of 1.6 — nearly two full letter grades (for example from a C to an A-)! Tutors are volunteers who are passionate about educational equity, and range from current high school and college students to professionals or retirees.

The program works primarily with foster youth, homeless youth, and other lower-income families. Possible qualifications for free tutoring with Learn to Be include: student attends a Title 1 school, receives free or reduced lunch at school, comes from a single-parent home, is a foster child, is homeless, or qualifies for food stamps. It’s possible to work with a Spanish-speaking tutor through Learn to Be.

This is for you if:

You qualify for free tutoring (typically, you’re in foster care or from a lower-income family)

This may not be for you if:

You don’t meet the requirements to qualify for free tutoring

At a glance:

Cost: $0
Writing tutor qualifications: varies

What we like:

Non-profit helping underserved youth
Completely free tutoring for qualifying families
Students work with the same tutor consistently, which builds trust and leads to a better individualized educational experience

What we don’t like:

Volunteer tutor qualifications vary — some tutors are high school students as young as 14 years old
Only for qualifying youth in the US (low income or foster youth)

#5 – Boston Tutoring Service

Our Verdict – Best Small-Group Tutoring (with Special Ed Options)

Price: $95 per hour; 5 one-hour sessions for $475, 10 one-hour sessions for $950, or 20 one-hour sessions for $1,900

Boston Tutoring Service offers tutoring in person in various Massachusetts locations or online. Some of the company’s offerings reflect their regional focus, with specialized tutoring to prepare for admissions exams to selective Boston public schools. Still, their online services are accessible throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Many, though not all, tutors have backgrounds as state-qualified teachers – although they don’t necessarily have degrees from top universities. Tutors with Special Ed training are also available for students with specific needs.

Families looking for tutoring for multiple students, or classmates or peers who want group tutoring, can book small-group sessions, with pricing information on request.

One major downside to this service is that tutoring hours are booked in pre-set packages of five, ten, or twenty hours, making it a less flexible option. Students whose needs fall in between these options may prefer a tutoring service that offers hourly tutoring or has a smaller minimum package. The company also recently raised their prices, making tutoring less accessible.

This is for you if:

You want to work with a Special Ed-certified tutor
You’re interested in small-group tutoring

This may not be for you if:

You don’t want to be tied to an inflexible, pre-set package of 5, 10, or 20 hours

At a glance:

Cost: $95 per hour; 5 one-hour sessions for $475, 10 one-hour sessions for $950, or 20 one-hour sessions for $1,900
Tutor qualifications: Many (but not all) tutors are state-qualified teachers

What we like:

Many tutors are Massachusetts state-qualified teachers
There are Special Ed-certified tutors available on request
Small-group tutoring can be booked for groups of siblings or peers

What we don’t like:

Tutoring hours must be booked as part of a standard package, making it difficult to tailor hours to the student’s specific needs

Best of the Rest for Online Writing Tutoring

#6 – ArborBridge

Our Verdict: Pricey Service with Mystery Tutors

Price: $165+/hour

Featuring crisp, minimalist visuals and a younger team, ArborBridge calls itself “the next generation of test prep.”

That said, their tutoring is quite expensive! Their rate is always at least $165 per hour. They also advertise a “concierge” tutoring service with a more customized experience — price upon request.

Is it worth the price? We’re not so sure.

ArborBridge claims to have hired the “best” tutors, but they do not list any specific qualifications for their tutors or provide any bios for their tutor roster. On their (slightly-defunct) Instagram page they have provided some fun facts about a few of their tutors, but they don’t list any educational background, years of experience, or relevant professional credentials, just favorite foods and television shows. There’s no indication that their tutors have graduated from top colleges, have teaching experience, or any other relevant qualifications — unlike services like PrepMaven or Tutoring Service of New York that only hire Ivy-League tutors. In fact, our sources have mentioned that their tutors don’t receive much training prior to teaching.

In the end, we’re not sure why ArborBridge has such high prices without offering particularly high-quality tutoring in return. Their website looks nice, though!

This is for you if:

You don’t mind paying a high rate

This may not be for you if:

You want information about your tutor’s qualifications before paying a hefty fee
You’re looking for a budget-friendly option

At a glance:

Cost: $165/hour; $2480 for 15 hours (+ 1 bonus hour); $4950 for 30 hours (+ 3 bonus hours); $7446 for 45 hours (+ 6 bonus hours) — or “concierge tutoring” with “highest level of hands-on care,” price upon request
Writing tutor qualifications: unknown

What we like:

Known for good customer service
Younger, more modern tutoring service that’s built with technology from the get-go

What we don’t like:

Expensive, with a base rate of $165/hour
No information about tutor qualifications provided
Seems more design than substance

#7 – Applerouth

Our Verdict – Less Flexible Service with In-Person Options

Price: $120 per hour, plus $150 “setup fee”

Applerouth is a franchise service that offers online and in-person tutoring at a range of locations. Although tutors are required to demonstrate that they can score highly on the SAT or ACT, they don’t necessarily have a writing background.

The inflexible rate of $120 is on the high end for less specialized tutoring, and it doesn’t vary by tutors’ qualification and experience level – meaning that families pay the same high fee even for beginning tutors who don’t hold writing qualifications. On top of that, families pay a $150 “setup fee” just to sign up for this service, with no guarantees of getting a good tutor match.

We’ve included Applerouth here anyway because of the strength of their resources. They make some sample pages of their writing guide available on their website (you can purchase the whole thing for $20), and it’s a solid introductory resource for students in elementary or middle school.

This is for you if:

You want a large franchise service with in-person options

This may not be for you if:

You don’t want to pay a high enrollment fee before being able to see any tutor information

At a glance:

Cost: $120/hour, plus $150 “enrollment fee”
Tutor qualifications: no specific background stated

What we like:

Tutors are required to be able to score in the 99th percentile on the SAT or ACT
In addition to online tutoring, in-person is offered in a variety of franchise locations (Atlanta, New York, Seattle, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.)

What we don’t like:

The inflexible rate of $120 per hour is on the high end, and it doesn’t vary depending on tutor qualification and experience level
Families must pay a $150 “enrollment fee” before even being matched with a tutor

#8 – Club Z! Tutoring

Our Verdict — Tutoring Franchise with (Purported) Writing Curriculum

Price: varies by location (franchise)

Club Z! is a tutoring franchise, so pricing and other details vary by location. Tutors with Club Z! do not have any specific qualifications.

We’ve included them on this list because they claim to have developed a writing tutoring program, The Power of Words ©, which helps students write more effectively and efficiently for writing assignments and timed essays. Their website emphasizes writing fundamentals like parts of speech and grammar, suggesting that they’re focused on younger students in elementary or middle school (though they also offer high school and college tutoring).

However, our sources have mentioned that they do not actually provide much tutor training or teaching resources, so it’s unclear to what extent this writing tutoring program has actually been implemented.

They offer both online and in-home tutoring.

This is for you if:

You want a choice between in-person and online tutoring
You’re looking for tutoring for a younger student

This is not for you if:

You want a highly-qualified and trained tutor

At a glance:

Cost: varies depending on franchise location
Writing tutor qualifications: not specified

What we like:

(Supposed) writing curriculum, The Power of Words ©

What we don’t like:

No specific qualifications for tutors — so unclear if tutors are college graduates, come from strong educational backgrounds, or have teaching experience
No training or teaching resources for tutors, leading to uneven quality

#9 – Sylvan Learning

Our Verdict — Tutoring Franchise that Includes Spanish-Speaking Staff

Price: varies by location (franchise); usually $45-55/hour

Like Club Z! Tutoring, Sylvan Learning is a franchise, so pricing and other details vary by location.

While previously Sylvan Learning was entirely in-person, they have more recently pivoted to offer online tutoring as well via their “MySylvanMarketplace” platform. Families can find online writing tutoring via this platform.

Tutors with Sylvan Learning do not have any specific credentials like college degrees, elite educational backgrounds, or teaching experience. However, we like that many Sylvan Learning centers do have Spanish-speaking staff, which may be helpful for some families and students.

On the whole, we found their website and platform a bit challenging to navigate, and it was difficult to get answers to our questions. Since each of the Sylvan centers is locally owned and operated, the customer service experience can vary significantly.

This is for you if:

You want a Spanish-speaking tutor
You’re looking for a budget-friendly option

This may not be for you if:

You want a tutor with extensive experience and strong qualifications

At a glance:

Cost: varies depending on franchise location
Writing tutor qualifications: none specified

What we like:

Some staff at Sylvan Learning centers may speak Spanish

What we don’t like:

No specific qualifications for tutors — so unclear if tutors are college graduates (let alone come from strong educational backgrounds) or have teaching experience
Confusing website and online tutoring platform

#10 – Varsity Tutors

Our Verdict — Uneven Quality Without Budget Pricing

Price: $60–95/hour

Varsity Tutors is an enormous tutoring platform offering online instruction in all academic subjects and test prep. The huge number of tutors means that families can usually find a stats tutor quickly.

However, Varsity Tutors’ size has many downsides — most notably, very uneven quality of teaching.

Tutors at Varsity need only a high school degree, and there is no requirement for tutors to have a college degree or teaching experience, let alone a top-tier educational background or a specialization in math.

Tutors can join the Varsity team very quickly and are paid lower rates than nearly any other tutoring company (just $12–15 for sessions that cost families up to $95), so it’s difficult for Varsity to attract and retain good talent. Lucky families might get assigned a good tutor, but that’s not at all assured.

Varsity Tutors also does not provide any tutor materials, curriculum, or training, so it’s up to individual tutors to create everything from scratch, contributing further to the unevenness of quality.

With rates higher than the competition with similar types of tutors (no specific qualifications beyond a college degree), Varsity is significantly overpriced. We’d recommend that families either consider a more budget-friendly option that offers the same quality as Varsity in a lower price range (like Wyzant), or, if they’re looking for high-quality tutoring, consider a service like PrepMaven (starting at $66/hour) or Tutoring Service of New York (starting at $110/hour) that pairs students with highly-qualified tutors with advanced degrees and Ivy-League backgrounds.

This is for you if:

You want to work with one of the biggest tutoring companies

This may not be for you if:

You want a qualified, trained tutor

At a glance:

Cost: $60–95/hour
Tutor qualifications: high school graduates

What we like:

Large number of tutors, so you can be certain to find a tutor to fit your schedule

What we don’t like:

No education or training requirements for tutors, along with low pay rates for instructors, means tutors are less-qualified than alternative math tutoring services
Uneven teaching quality due to lack of resources for instruction
Overpriced given the lack of required qualifications for tutors

#11 – Chegg

Our Verdict — Lightweight Essay Review on a Membership Basis

Price: $9.95 per month

Chegg is one of the biggest tutoring platforms, so families may be familiar with their name already. We should note that they’ve pivoted several times in the past few years, so their service may have changed from what families have read.

Whereas previously (first as InstaEDU, then as Chegg Tutors) Chegg offered live tutoring instruction online, Chegg no longer offers one-on-one tutoring.

Instead, they now offer two subscription levels that allow students to view instructional videos, access answer keys for common textbooks, and receive asynchronous written feedback to homework questions. These questions are primarily answered by “subject matter experts” located in India.

We’ve kept Chegg on our list for online writing tutoring because the higher subscription tier, their “Chegg Study Pack,” does include the option to submit papers for limited written feedback with a 48-hour turnaround time. Students can submit up to 30 short papers per month, up to 3000 words each (about 6 pages double-spaced).

That said, this is not the same as active writing tutoring with live discussion and exercises directly with a tutor. The written feedback provided by Chegg’s essay review service is limited. Moreover, the essay reviews are done by different tutors every time, so there’s no opportunity to grow through working with one tutor consistently.

This service might work for students who want merely a quick check of their grammar or other small details on school assignments and don’t care about long-term improvements as a writer. With the advent of ChatGPT and similar tools to check grammar, it’s hard to see what makes Chegg worth it.

They also throw in an online tool to scan for plagiarism. Even if you didn’t intend to plagiarize, this tool can check for well-meaning “paraphrasing errors or missing citations.”

However, we don’t think it’s a good way to learn how to write. For the best educational experience, families should look for online writing tutoring services that provide one-on-one video sessions with a consistent tutor each time.

This is for you if:

You don’t want to work on your writing skills and just want feedback on individual assignments
You’re mainly concerned about grammar edits

This may not be for you if:

You want to work with a tutor live
You want to improve your writing, not just get feedback on individual papers

At a glance:

Cost: $9.95 per month
Writing tutor qualifications: none specified

What we like:

Large number of written essay reviews per month, up to 30 short essays

What we don’t like:

Asynchronous, written feedback is not an effective way to learn
No education or training requirements for tutors, and no information about who the writing reviewers are
No option to work with the same writing tutor for each review, so no chance to grow with an individual tutor

#12 – Revolution Prep

Our Verdict — Individual Tutoring Online with Full-Time Staff

Price: $116/hour individual tutoring, minimum $948 for 12 hours

Revolution Prep is a larger platform providing online tutoring with a focus on interactive learning.

Their individual tutoring rate of $116/hour is quite high, especially given the backgrounds of their instructors. While we like that all of their tutors are full-time staff, versus tutoring part-time alongside another career, their tutors do not have any specific qualifications. These rates are comparable or higher than other services that provide more customized learning with Ivy-League tutors, like PrepMaven, or allow you to select your tutor, like Wyzant.

This is for you if:

You want to work with a full-time tutor

This may not be for you if:

You want to work with a tutor with strong qualifications

At a glance:

Cost: individual tutoring $116/hour, minimum $948 for 12 hours
Writing tutor qualifications: none specified

What we like:

All tutors are full-time staff
Small-group tutoring provides lower prices

What we don’t like:

No specific qualifications for tutors
Tutoring rates are high for the type of service

#13 – Tutoring Service of New York

Our Verdict — Qualified Tutors at a Higher Price Point

Price: $110–145/hour

Founded by a former tutor with the now-defunct Ivy Global tutoring service, the Tutoring Service of New York offers tutoring online or in person.

We like that this service gives you the option to book individual sessions — price upon request — if their packages don’t work for you. They also offer flexibility in the session format — sessions are typically 90 minutes, but you can divide your time into longer or shorter sessions if you want.

The link to see tutors on the website wasn’t working last we checked, so it’s not possible to see information about the team. Although the company says tutors are “rigorously trained,” it’s not clear what that means. They also take on just “a few clients at a time,” which might make it hard to get a tutor match.

This is for you if:

You want the flexibility to book tutoring hours without a minimum package

This may not be for you if:

You want a guarantee that your tutor is highly qualified or experienced
You want a wide range of availability when scheduling

At a glance:

Cost: $975 (online) or $1160 (in-person) for 7.5 hours; $1800 or $2175 for 15 hours; $3300 or $4050 for 30 hours
Tutor qualifications: college graduates

What we like:

Flexible scheduling
No minimum package

What we don’t like:

Newer service, so client reviews are still limited
Limited information about tutor backgrounds and training

#14 – Preply

Our Verdict — Lower-Cost Tutoring Marketplace Platform

Price: $10–40/hour

Preply is a lower-cost marketplace platform. It’s significantly smaller than Wyzant, and currently there are only 40 academic writing tutors listed on the platform (compared with over 4,000 writing tutors listed on Wyzant).

Among those writing tutors listed, most don’t have high educational backgrounds. We spotted a number of grammar and punctuation mistakes on some of the tutor bios, which doesn’t bode well for their abilities as writing instructors.

One benefit of Preply’s platform is that rates are very low, ranging from $10/hour to $40/hour. These rates are actually comparable or higher than the pay rates for most of the larger platforms on our list, so don’t necessarily take these numbers on their own as indications of lower quality — just that tutors are earning a larger share. That said, the writing tutoring available through Preply does appear to be lower-quality than other options.

Preply is a more international platform, and some of the tutors are from other countries or located outside the US. That can be useful for families outside the US who want to schedule with a tutor in their own time zone.

This is for you if:

You want an ultra-low budget option
You’re outside the US and want an option in your time zone

This may not be for you if:

You want help with US standardized test prep
You want a qualified tutor
You don’t have time to search through dozens of tutors to select the best fit

At a glance:

Cost: $10–40/hour, depending on rates set by individual tutors
Writing tutor qualifications: varies

What we like:

Families can choose individual tutors on their marketplace platform

What we don’t like:

No specific qualifications for tutors and no quality control
Task of choosing the right tutor can be stressful

student studying for SAT with online tutor

Why is writing tutoring important?

According to research done by the US Department of Education, effective academic tutoring is linked to increased content mastery and even higher graduation rates. Out of all the academic disciplines, writing is one of the most important tom aster before college.

Writing is a core skill that is essential for success in high school and college, as well as many graduate programs and future careers.

Consider the following:

AP tests that require short answers and essays: AP English Literature, AP English Language, AP US History, AP European History
College admissions essays
Scholarship essays
Writing samples for college applications
Exams and papers for college classes
Internship applications
Grant applications
Fellowship applications (Fulbright, Rhodes, Gates, NIH, etc)
Graduate school applications (medical school, law school, business school, etc)
Research paper samples for graduate school applications
Master’s and doctoral theses
Coverletters and resumes for job applications
Networking with potential mentors
Written updates for your supervisor
Quarterly and annual reports for your job
Advertising for your freelance business
Letter for your mortgage application
Instructions to your direct supervisee
Speeches for your best friends’ weddings
Emails to your boss asking for a raise

Effective writing is at the heart of nearly every life hurdle!

The skills that you build when you’re writing school assignments will be incredibly useful throughout your life. They’re applicable in nearly any job that you can imagine! Even for STEM jobs like doctors or computer engineers, clear writing is a highly-valued skill — one that becomes increasingly important as one aims at higher roles.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 72.7 % of employers want a candidate with strong written communication skills. According to the College Board’s National Commission on Writing, two-thirds of salaried workers in large US companies have jobs that require writing.

“Writing skills are fundamental in business,” a survey respondent in the College Board report said. “It’s increasingly important to be able to convey content in a tight logical direct manner particularly in a fast-paced technological environment.”

A recent publication from the Harvard Business School agreed, noting that “companies will waste lots of time and effort if their executives and employees can’t communicate clearly.”

However, many people lack the writing skills to succeed in their careers. The College Board’s study found that a majority of US employers said that a third of workers fail to meet the writing requirements of their positions.

When I was teaching college students at the University of Notre Dame, many of my students (especially freshmen and sophomores) had brilliant ideas, but were not able to communicate those ideas clearly in writing.

If writing is such a key skill for success in education, career, and life, why do so many people lack this skill?

Unfortunately, many schools don’t teach students how to write effectively. Classes assign essays and leave students to flounder, especially in larger classes where well-meaning teachers might not have enough time to help each student individually.

The students who are the most successful tend to benefit from informal writing guidance at home from their parents or other mentors. But this is challenging and time-consuming — not to mention, many parents might not have honed those writing skills themselves!

Learning to Write for College Admissions Essays

Because they’re one of the most consequential writing assignments students face, let’s focus on college application essays for a moment.

Can a great college essay alone get you into Harvard?

No. You’ll need your grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities (as well as letters of recommendation and interview) to be outstanding.

But can a mediocre essay be the reason you didn’t get into Harvard?

Yes. There are thousands of amazingly-qualified students who graduate from high school each year. Great grades and test scores might be a prerequisite for admission to a competitive college, but they alone aren’t enough.

College essays are a key component of a student’s application. When done well, they transform a collection of numbers — GPA, class rank, SAT scores or ACT scores, number of AP classes taken, AP scores — into a picture of a real, individual person.

Essays do many things. Good college essays can highlight extracurricular achievements which otherwise would be overlooked in a sterile list. Strong essays often indicate the student’s future plans — how they plan to leave a mark on their college campus and on the world. They can shine a light on unique challenges that a student may have had to face on their journey.

Princeton University (Image Credit: Joshua Jen @jjen.photography)

College admissions officers only have a few minutes to spend on each application. College essays need to be original, interesting, and memorable. They need to grab the attention of the admissions officer and persuade them that this is the student out of hundreds or thousands of other similarly-qualified applicants who should be admitted.

College admissions essays are usually unlike any other kind of writing that students have done before. They’re a combination of memoir and marketing pitch, and they need to be creative but also highly strategic. That’s a tough assignment!

A great writing tutor can help students learn the essential skills that underpin this unique kind of writing.

Why work with a writing tutor?

You may want to consider working with a writing tutor if:

You want to improve your grades in your school essays and papers
You want to improve your performance on the writing portion of exams (like many APs)
You don’t know how to make an outline before writing an essay
You don’t know how to write a thesis statement
You’re not sure how to improve your writing based on feedback from your teachers
You’re not sure how to edit and refine what you’ve written
You have a hard time keeping yourself on track for your writing assignments and want an external structure to hold you accountable
You have no idea where to start in order to write your college application essays
You don’t know how to craft a compelling story for your college application essays
You feel overwhelmed by all of the different ideas you have and don’t know what would be the most strategic for college admissions—and what topics to definitely avoid for college essays
You’re tired of conflict between students and parents about college essays
You’re aiming at a competitive college (not just the Ivy League!) and know that you need your essays to be outstanding
Your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars aren’t exceptional, so you need your college essays to make your essay stand out from the pack
You’re unfamiliar with the US college admissions process (a common situation for international students and first-generation families in the US)
You want to learn to write so you can succeed in your later career
You know that if you learn to write well now, you’ll do better on every class, exam, assignment, and application for the rest of your life!

Any of these are good reasons to consider working with a writing tutor.

A good writing tutor should not only provide students feedback on writing assignments (comments like “your thesis statement should be clearer” or “your introductory paragraph needs a better hook”) — they’ll teach students how to effect those changes.

A good writing tutor can provide lots of examples of good student writing and model how to improve the specific areas that need improvement for each individual student.

Remember, writing is an essential skill for most degrees and most careers — even in STEM! Learning to write well early on will make each subsequent education and career step easier and more successful.

What makes a good writing tutor?

Of course, a good writing tutor should be someone who understands how to write well!

But in addition to that sine qua non, a good writing tutor should be an amazing teacher with experience, a strong educational background, and the ability to plan appropriate enrichment assignments.

Good writing has two components:

a micro level: good grammar, a rich vocabulary, correct punctuation, and the other nuts and bolts of writing “correctly”
a macro level: being able to organize your ideas clearly and communicate them effectively — figuring out what you want to say, in what order to present your ideas, and how to connect them

Both are crucial to written communication, and a good writing tutor will teach both the micro level and the macro level.

It can be surprisingly challenging to find a good instructor who can teach both sides of writing.

Look for experienced tutors with strong educational backgrounds (i.e. who attended top universities) who have taught writing previously.

Writing is a highly individualized activity — learning to write is, after all, learning how to communicate. This means that individual tutoring is particularly effective for learning how to write more effectively.

The personal nature of writing also means that students will learn better when they can establish a relationship with their writing tutor. Look for a tutoring service where students can continue with the same tutor and build a sense of rapport.

A good writing tutor can help students to succeed on any writing assignments they may have for school. They can teach students how to work through the entire process of brainstorming, researching, planning, outlining, writing, and revising an essay.

An experienced writing tutor can also create additional assignments for students that will teach them key writing skills for the future and enrich their education.

These enrichment assignments might include research papers, literary analysis papers, or creative writing projects appropriate to their grade level. This can be a great opportunity to challenge high-achieving students and develop their skills beyond what is offered by their school.

Summary

Best overall: The one-on-one writing tutoring from PrepMaven is the best out there both in terms of tutor quality and price. While PrepMaven’s tutors can certainly help with school assignments, they can also offer educational enrichment and coach students through creative writing projects. Starting at $75/hour, students can work with current undergraduates at Princeton, Harvard, and other Ivy-League universities to improve their writing skills. Families can also work with experienced, professional educators and Ivy-League graduates at $149/hour. As a boutique tutoring service, PrepMaven offers careful attention to each student and boasts amazing customer reviews. Unique among the tutoring services we surveyed, PrepMaven doesn’t just offer assignment support — they can also teach students how to write.

Best small-group tutoring: Boston Tutoring Service is one of the few services to offer small-group tutoring. They also have Special Ed-trained tutors available on request, which could be helpful for some families.

Best alternative for families on a budget: For families on a tighter budget, we’d suggest looking for an independent tutor on Wyzant. It’s a tutoring marketplace platform, so the quality varies hugely and there’s no oversight or qualification requirements, but you might find a decent tutor under $40/hour.

However, in our experience a good tutor can accomplish more with a student in one hour than an average tutor can do in five hours. With that in mind, it might be more effective to choose fewer hours of reliably high-quality tutoring.

Best tutoring with state-certified teachers: K12 Tutoring is one of the few services to employ state-certified teachers. While this could mean that your tutor is juggling freelance tutoring with a busy teaching schedule, it does give a certain quality guarantee — and it’s relatively affordable.

Best free writing tutoring (for qualifying families): For qualifying lower-income families and students, Learn to Be is a fantastic option for free tutoring. Students can work with the same tutor consistently, which provides a good environment for learning. Tutors are volunteers with a wide range of backgrounds and experience levels, from current high school students to retired professionals.

University of Chicago (Image Credit: Rick Seidel Creative Commons CC BY 2.0)

Next steps

Ready to learn to write with one of our experienced tutors? Schedule a free tutoring consultation with Jessica (Director of Tutoring) or one of our founders to see what would be the best fit for your family.

Regardless of your current writing abilities and planned career path, learning how to write well is a skill that will pay dividends throughout your life.

Remember that essays can be used to earn scholarships as well as college admission, so a few months of writing coaching now can pay off with up to $300,000 in tuition saved later.

Writing is also a highly-valued skill in the workplace, and employers are looking for graduates who are strong writers.

To start working with an Ivy-League writing coach today, set up a quick free consultation with our team.

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Emily

Emily graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and holds an MA from the University of Notre Dame. She was a National Merit Scholar and has won numerous academic prizes and fellowships. A veteran of the publishing industry, she has helped professors at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton revise their books and articles. Over the last decade, Emily has successfully mentored hundreds of students in all aspects of the college admissions process, including the SAT, ACT, and college application essay.

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#1 – PrepMaven

#2 – Wyzant

#3 – K12 Tutoring

#4 – Learn to Be

#5 – Boston Tutoring Service

Best of the Rest for Online Writing Tutoring

#6 – ArborBridge

#7 – Applerouth

#8 – Club Z! Tutoring

#9 – Sylvan Learning

#10 – Varsity Tutors

#11 – Chegg

#12 – Revolution Prep

#13 – Tutoring Service of New York

#14 – Preply

Top 50 Online Writing Tutoring Services Considered

Why is writing tutoring important?

Learning to Write for College Admissions Essays

Why work with a writing tutor?

What makes a good writing tutor?

Summary

Next steps