Private Classes
Small Group IEW® Classes
Academic Essay Support
Creative Writing Support
IEW® Essay Grading
Workshops & Seminars
Private Classes
Private classes are recommended for students seeking one-on-one hands-on instruction with a curriculum tailored uniquely to their needs. IEW material is often incorporated into private classes. Students learn from lesson plans customized to their strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Private classes are typically held at a frequency of two classes/week and there is often light weekly homework (1 hour) to ensure that the independent practice necessary for growth takes place regularly.
Small Group IEW® Classes
Small group classes using The Institute for Excellence in Writing’s theme-based books are offered each semester, typically with no more than five students per session. These classes are highly interactive and optimal for students who enjoy learning in a social environment and making connections with peers of a similar age. Each course is designed for a particular age group. Students are assigned 1-2 hours of weekly homework and receive extensive feedback on their writing. Courses are typically broken into Part I (Fall), Part II (Spring), and Continuing Education (Summer).
Academic Essay Support
This offering is ideal for undergraduate and graduate level students seeking assistance with a particular university writing assignment. Support includes high-level, developmental feedback along with sentence-level edits. Sessions focus on providing insight, teaching any necessary writing concepts and grammar principles, and empowering students to complete the bulk of the editing work independently. On average, students with average writing skills require 2-3 sessions to achieved a polished piece that they are proud to submit.
Such academic writing pieces may include: Lab Reports, Research Papers, Philosophy Essays, Comparative Literature Essays, Narrative Essays, Business School Reports, Personal Statements.
Creative Writing Support
Writers of creative projects of all ages often find it beneficial to work with an engaged critical reader who can identify the literary devices and analyze the ideas within their work. For a creative writer, watching how a reader digests and understands their piece can provide them with insights otherwise unavailable to them. In these sessions, your tutor will read as an unbiased third-party and narrate their comprehension for you.
Such creative pieces may include: Short Stories, Novels, Poems, Blog Posts, Plays, Speeches, Memoirs, Movie and Television Scripts, Comic Strips.
IEW® Essay Grading
Students of the IEW method need clear, structured feedback on their writing assignments in order to develop into truly excellent writers. This offering is designed for homeschooling students who are learning from the IEW videos but do not have a parent or tutor to grade/edit their essays.
Essay grading involves evaluating the writer’s use of their learned stylistic techniques and checking basic writing mechanics such as grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Graders use the writer’s unique IEW Composition Checklist to ensure that they grade the essay according to what the writer is expected to know. Though graders may provide a brief explanation of a particular mistake or may direct the writer to review a particular IEW resource, this offering does not include a formal lesson on IEW writing concepts.
Workshops & Seminars
This offering is coming soon! Such workshops and seminars may focus on:
Brainstorming and Generating Ideas
Creating a Thesis Statement
Outlining and Structuring Your Writing
Voice and Tone: Assessing and Targeting Your Audience
Sentence Fluency & Principles of Grammar
Vocabulary and Word Choice
Stylistic Techniques to Enhance Your Writing
Strategies for Effective Revisions
Citations and Engagement with Other Texts
In 2013, Ms. Lauren Bridgeford graduated with a BA in Languages, Literature, and Criticism from Hunter College. She has also obtained her DELTA (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification from Cambridge University. Currently, Ms. Bridgeford is a Registered Instructor accredited by the Institute for Excellence in Writing, and she is pursuing her master’s degree in Secondary Education.
Deanna Heikkinen has been privately teaching writing as well as history, literature, and art history to students grades 2-12 for over six years. Prior to that, she was a tenured professor of humanities at Los Angeles Valley College with a focus on teaching the Great Books of Western Civilization. Additionally, she taught world history, western civilization, Native American history, and anthropology at the college level. Whether teaching elementary, middle, or high schoolers for Rose Writing Center, Deanna's diverse background allows her to serve as our test prep, academic support, and custom lesson specialist.
