Wordsmith Writing Coaches

Our Story

Wordsmith Writing Coaches grew out of helping a friend we'll call Vilma. Vilma is fluent in English and had done very well in undergraduate and graduate programs in her field. She completed her doctoral coursework and wrote the first of four quals (or "qualifying exam", in this case a preliminary paper laying the groundwork for her dissertation) before beginning her dissertation. All seemed to be going well, until she learned that she was in danger of being dropped from the doctoral program if her writing skills did not improve greatly on the next qual.

Why? Because the higher one goes in academia, the more important writing skills become. In graduate programs, and even more so in doctoral programs, the quality of the school is judged by the excellence or mediocrity of the articles its graduates will be publishing in their field. Because of this, students can find themselves warmly accepted to a program and highly graded in their content-based coursework, only to run into real trouble in the major writing tasks required to graduate. This was Vilma's situation. She says,

"After completing my doctoral coursework I took my first qualifying exam. The head of my department called me into his office and told me my writing was not at the level it needs to be for his doctoral program. He gave me until January, when my next qual was due, to improve my writing or he would drop me from the program. My writing skills were good, but not excellent; it jeopardized my studies and my job too. I tried going to a writing group and even to a psychotherapist to help me deal with fear that came when I tried to write, but nothing helped until I started individual tutoring. You never panic, you keep me focused and organized. You didn't just help me improve my writing, you forced me to communicate wisely with my reader and my department head. I would not have done that on my own, and I am glad I did."

Why risk losing the years of work and thousands of dollars of investment in your degree program, only because you did not hone your writing skills to a keen edge? Or why muddle through your quals and dissertation when you can seize this opportunity to climb from good to great? Let us help you grow and excel. A Wordsmith coach is simply a friend you haven't met yet-- one who can help you think clearly and communicate excellently, in any written medium.

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