How can a Writing Coach help?
A few scenarios I can help with:
Click ‘About’ and ‘Services’ above to learn more about who I am and what I do
Click ‘Contact Me’ to make an appointment or to discuss prices
Click ‘Blog’ to read some of my own writing about current issues on my mind
Scenario 1:
You are a university student who has been asked to write an essay analyzing a topic in your subject area:
Regardless of your subject matter, if you don’t feel confident that you know what to do when asked to write an essay, write a paper, or write some coursework, I can help you interpret the writing task and help you figure out how to start. I am a specialist in creating a text - even if I don’t know much at all about the topic. I can help you find the guideposts that tell you what to do and can assist by ensuring you are getting your points across clearly.
Scenario 2:
You are a sixth-form student who has been asked to write coursework in a class, but when you were told, ‘write an essay arguing…’ you did not IMMEDIATELY know where to start:
This website and business came about because when I moved to the UK in 2017, I was asked over and over what I did for my career in the States, or when I told them I had been a professor, they would ask what I taught. I would tell them I taught writing, provide a bit of context for that, and immediately be told - ‘Wow! I wish we’d had that when I was in school!’
CBGMA: Your bridge to better writing
Example:
This is a real-life example. A young woman studying for a first degree in psychology/sociology contacted me to help her with her coursework at university - she was new to university work and wanted a bit of help to make sure her writing made sense. I know a little about psych/soc having a liberal education, but mainly what I did for her was to read the assignment brief and the source material (when that was available), which she provided to me.
If she had already written a draft, I would read it and make corrections in the writing, but the most important thing I did was to alert her if something did not make sense or did not answer the question that was asked. (Rule 1 in academic writing: always read the brief carefully and answer the question that is asked!)
I worked with her over the three years of her degree - she would call on me a few times each year when she was feeling particularly stuck or in need of a confidence boost with her writing. Eventually, she asked me to read her dissertation and make comments on that. Even without knowing much about her topic (in the ASD area), I was able to correct grammatical errors (of which there were not very many) and ask her for clarification whenever something did not make sense or when her argument felt weak. This gave her the confidence to submit the dissertation, for which she won a First and a number of awards for her work.
Scenario 3:
You are part of a leadership team and your meetings are not always as smooth as you would like them to be. You’re not always sure about what it means to be ‘a leader,’ and you are eager for your team to work together toward its common goals - if only they could figure out what those are!
As a team leader and faculty advisor to a leadership group back in the States, I led my teams (along with my co-advisor) in an onboarding workshop every year. We set our common goals, taught the group what they would need to be doing as a team, and built the team spirit through teambuilding activities (nobody had to catch their falling team-mate, but yes, along that vein).
I have built many winning teams and led or participated in dozens of leadership and teambuilding workshops, conferences and activities at the local, regional and national levels. If you need hep with teambuilding and leadership training - call me. I know what to do and I’m sure I can help.