About
I enjoy helping students who are confused become confident and comptetent writers.
I'm autistic and academic writing is my special focus, so it's all effortless to me.
Reviews
Nishi D.
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
It varies. For papers, I like to get the assignment before the student writes anything and create a structural outline (an outline that makes visible the embedded or expected outline in the assignment). Oftentimes that's all a client needs.
For copyediting, clinets can just send me the documents and let me know what they want and I take care of it, but I'm also happy to discuss what they need (which I don't charge for).
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I hold an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in American Studies, have taught at the university level (from freshman seminar to graduate theory and methodology courses) for 30 years, worked in writing centers for 20 years, and edited dissertations for 12 years. I have read, graded, edited, or provided feedback for 3000+ students on over 15,000 papers and copyedited 200+ dissertations. I've taught or worked at around 15 universities, taught dozens of classes, created hundreds of assignments, and graded thousands of papers.
I'm also autistic, and my special focus is academic writing, so my brain just understands how academic writing works. It's like a superpower.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
Generally, I charge $55/hour for any of the work I do (editing, copyediting, assignment literacy, writing structural assignments, etc.), but I have flexibility, especially if someone has COVID-19 related income loss or has other income issues (I generally don't care about money). I don't charge for phone calls (unless the consulting work is primarily via phone calls).
How did you get started teaching?
As a graduate student at Kent State University I was put in charge of a writing center that didn't exist. So I brought that into existence. Then I was a teaching assistant at Bowling Green State University, then Michigan State University, and I adjuncted at a number of schools in Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, and Missouri. I got into tutoring at Kent State, but also worked in the Academic Skills Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and then in the Academic Resources Center at Webster University and Fontbonne University, and now I run the Communication Lab at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis working with graduate and doctoral students.
What types of students have you worked with?
I have worked with high school students in bridge programs, all levels of undergraduate students (I like teaching freshman seminar), and both master's and doctoral students. I understand the academic discourse community because I am a native speaker (my dad was a geology professor and I grew up in a college town).
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
I'm always fond of Comic-Con. I've been attending Comic-Con since 1991, and since 1992 I have co-organized the Comics Arts Conference, the largest and longest running academic conference on comics. I'm looking forward to the November 2021 edition of Comic-Con.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Get proof of their work. Ask to see papers they've worked on. Ask for my APA test and use it to evaluate any tutor's APA kung fu (my APA kung fu is strong).
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
With me? Nothing. I'll quickly assess your needs. I already know all the problems you have. With teachers, they should focus on how well they understand assignments. Assignment literacy (how to properly read assignments) is crucial. The most important reading you do in school is assignment reading. If you understand assignments, you generally do well (or well enough), but if you don't understand the assignments, you cannot do very well. I can help with that.