Writing Services
Below is a timeline of the ElevatEd Essay Tutoring program, which features all of our writing services.
Our long-term approach and modular formula ensures that every student who learns with us over a one year period will win a writing prize - or your money back!
About the Program
Below is a timeline of the ElevatEd Essay Tutoring program, which features all of our writing services. The tutoring program is designed to help students achieve the following three objectives:
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Develop critical thinking skills
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Clearly articulate expository and persuasive arguments
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Win creative writing awards at national competitions
In addition to offering unflinching but compassionate feedback, we will give you our endless curiosity about what you're reading, what you're assigned, and perhaps most importantly, what you are thinking. We promise to ask critical questions to help you dig deeper and help you improve your writing cognition: your awareness of why you make the choices you make when putting words on the page.
Most essay tutoring classes are typically taught in groups of 2, although we do offer private sessions as well.
Regarding groups of 2, we do not pair students — they must sign up with another student or friend they already know. This is because after years of experience, we have found that students work best when they have a partner they’re familiar with!
Please note that the ElevatEd Essay Tutoring program is just one out of many journeys you can take with us! We support a wide range of students with varying writing goals. For example, some students take only our creative writing courses while others want to improve their overall writing skills. See our FAQ section for more information.
All tutoring sessions are held over Zoom and typically meet once a week.
Pricing
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Pricing for hourly 1-on-1 writing sessions is $150 USD/50 min.
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If your student has a partner, they can split this rate so that each student pays $75 USD/50 min.
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For students in grades 8 and below, we also offer 3-person groups for $50 USD/50 min (however, this option is not recommended for high schoolers since writing assistance at this stage often requires a more personalized approach).
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Typically students pay for 5 or 10 sessions at a time, but if you prefer to pay for 1-2 trial lessons before committing, we totally understand and can arrange this option for you!
Phase 1: Intro to Analytical Writing
This course is designed in a way such that, on average, students read one novel every two weeks. As they read, students are expected to write 200-250 word persuasive arguments analyzing the author’s style, language and intentions. Students will also learn about ElevatEd's important analytical writing techniques, such as Red vs. Blue and the Logical Chain.
Because most students have not experienced this kind of training, mastering analytical paragraphs (in other words, completing both Phase 1 and 2) can take anywhere from six months to a year. By the end of this course, students will have a strong foundation of analytical writing skills. We find it most helpful for students to begin Phase 1 during the spring so they are on track with submitting to analytical essay competitions in the summer if they wish. They will also be prepared for the creative writing courses and competitions like the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in the fall and winter.
Phase 2: Advanced Analytical Writing
This course introduces students to writing longer-form essays that tackle a controversial question and/or conducting original and personal analyses of an issue. Students will learn how to avoid narrating an issue and instead take an active position on it. They will also learn topics such as researching, critiquing arguments, logical fallacies, and writing critical analyses for specific subjects (e.g. humanities and social sciences).
By the end of this course, students will be thoroughly prepared for analytical writing competitions.
We find it most helpful for students to begin Phase 2 in the summer as this is when most analytical writing competitions are held.
Phase 3: Intro to Creative Writing
In this course, students will complete a series of “Picture Paragraphs” which consist of describing a photo in as much detail as possible while avoiding “telling” language. While doing the picture assignments, students will learn about ElevatEd's many creative writing techniques such as Domino Transitions, the Lens Technique, and Pattern Stacking. By the end of this course, students should be well-equipped to begin writing personal narratives and original stories.
We find it most helpful for students to begin Phase 3 during the summer/fall to prepare for the many creative writing competitions and summer program deadlines in the winter.
Phase 4: Advanced Creative Writing
In this course, students will take their skills with intuition and descriptive language and use them to write full-fledged stories that are well-structured and beautiful in meaning. Students will study masterworks of fiction and nonfiction and learn to identify elements of structure that they can use for their own stories. They will also learn new skills including revision, framing, subject, exposition, and plotting.
By the end of this course, students will have a diverse skill set of creating writing knowledge, along with a portfolio of works they can submit to competitions.
We find it most helpful for students to begin Phase 4 during the winter which is when most creative writing competitions and summer programs/schools have deadlines.
Phase 5: Summer Program Applications
In addition to analytical and creative writing, we also help students apply to summer programs! By this point, students should be ready to combine personal narratives with analytical reflection to write applications that demand admission into the program of their choice. In the past, our students have been accepted to the Brown Pre-College programs, the Global Citizens Initiative, the Iowa Young Writers Studio, and more! If applicable, experienced students may opt to enroll in only the summer program service.
The best time to begin preparing for summer program applications is in December-February, as most summer program deadlines typically fall around March. The number of sessions required for each application varies, although it is recommended students typically book a minimum of 3 hours with an ElevatEd tutor.
Writing Services FAQs
What grades does ElevatEd teach?
Our students range from 5th graders to college undergraduates, although the most common age range we teach at this time are 7th-10th graders. Unfortunately, we do not teach students younger than 5th grade. We sometimes teach juniors and seniors (11th and 12th graders), but in the past, we have encountered some difficulty scheduling routine sessions since students at this phase of high school are incredibly busy with AP/IB coursework, extracurriculars, testing and college preparation.
What if I don't know which phase is right for me?
Generally speaking, students should start with analytical writing.* Our analytical-first, creative-second method is the very same approach that Kevin learned to improve from a B- student to winning writing prizes at Exeter. After teaching writing students from a variety of backgrounds for nearly 1000 hours, he's found that this is the most effective way to win national awards at competitions such as Scholastic as well as greatly improve in a relatively short amount of time (1 year).
*The main exception to this would be if students are specifically preparing for creative writing competitions between the months of October - December.
How do I find a partner?
Currently, Elevated does not pair students with partners. This is because we have found it is very difficult to coordinate across time zones and also because random partners often have varying levels of ability. If you would like to enroll in a 2-person or 3-person small group, we kindly ask that you search for a partner yourself. Some parents have found great success in obtaining partners in our WeChat group, so if you’d like to be added to that, please friend Kevin (WeChat ID: kzhen1998) and he can invite you to the ZhenEd group chat!
Why are each of the phases so long?
The estimated time to complete each phase is determined based on our past tutoring experiences with students. With that being said, we have a broad estimate of phase lengths because we understand that analytical and creative writing journeys are different for everyone. If you would like to accelerate the program for whatever reason, please let us know and we can arrange that for you! It's also worth mentioning that older students can usually complete the same curriculum in less time. For example, the Picture Paragraph Intro to Creative Writing unit may take 7th graders 15 sessions, but could take a 10th grader just 7 or 8 sessions.
How long does it take to complete all phases?
In general, it takes approximately one year to complete all the phases. After that, students can choose an area of focus to hone in on. Some students may want specific help applying for research opportunities, while others may discover a love for poetry and desire to create a portfolio. Whether you’re interested in writing about humor, international relations, screenplays or short stories, we’ve got you covered!
Do you assist with school essays, applications to summer programs, or special kinds of research projects?
Yes we do! We assist with all of the above and more. Our program is acutely personalized and tailored to meet your student’s specific needs.
What books do you use to teach?
The books we use can vary from student to student, but we often start with classics such as The Monkey's Paw, The Giver, 1984, Animal Farm, The Old Man and the Sea, Life of Pi, The Hobbit, All the Light We Cannot See, and more. Each book list is personalized, and we review it with students during their first or second session. If a student is reading a specific book in school, we may incorporate that material into our sessions to help them manage their workload and excel in their essays and assignments. Additionally, if you have a particular book or genre in mind for your student, please discuss it with your tutor, and we will happily accommodate your request.
What curriculum do you use?
After half a dozen years of tutoring and extensive research, we at ElevatEd have created and refined our own year-long analytical and creative writing curriculum. It is very long and detailed (over 20 pages). If you would like to see a copy of our teaching materials, please contact us using the "Get Started" page and we would be more than happy to share these documents with you!
Can I request a specific instructor?
Yes! Each of our instructors has unique strengths ranging from analytical writing to creative writing to grant applications. Feel free to request or mention a specific instructor when filling out the Get Started form and we will do our best to make it happen!
Do you have examples of previous student work?
Dozens of successful pieces written by our students can be accessed on the ElevatEd Medium blog (www.medium.com/zhened)! There you will find award-winning stories in a wide array of categories, ranging from flash fiction to personal essay/memoir to even humor and science fiction + fantasy!