RF
Rebecca Foster
MEd English — Essay Writing & Academic Composition Specialist
- Writing
- Essay Writing
- Academic Writing
4.9(142)$48/hr
Writing tutoring that transforms blank pages into powerful communication
Strong writing opens doors to university and careers. We teach the frameworks, revision strategies and grammar that turn anxious, reluctant writers into confident communicators.
- All genres and levels
- DBS-checked tutors
- Free assessment included
88%
of students improve their writing grade
Writing is the skill students find hardest. Strategy instruction is what works.
Recent data paints a concerning picture. But meta-analyses and randomised trials have identified what actually improves student writing.
- US 8th graders at proficient level
- 27%
- Only one-quarter of students can write competent academic essays.
- NAEP 2024
- Writing progress lost
- 4–6 months
- Lost during pandemic disruptions, with recovery far slower than in reading or maths.
- Stanford, 2024
- Effect of strategy instruction
- 0.82 SD
- Explicit teaching of planning, drafting and revising: one of the strongest effects in education research.
- Graham & Perin, 2007
- Evidence-based teaching practices
- 11
- Identified from over 400 experimental studies of writing instruction.
- Graham & Perin, 2007
and writing is the most demanding task they face: even eloquent talkers struggle on paper
Writing works best when combined with reading
Strong writing builds on strong reading. Explore our related literacy services to support your child's complete language development.
English
Literature analysis, reading comprehension, and essay writing for GCSE, A-Level, and IB.
Literature Analysis · Reading Comprehension · Essay Writing
See the guideReading
Evidence-based reading tutoring covering phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Phonics · Reading Fluency · Vocabulary
See the guide
Writing for exams
Need help with both reading and writing? We offer integrated literacy tutoring that addresses both skills together. Ask about your subject
Taught by writing specialists
Every writing tutor in our network is trained in evidence-based writing instruction and has proven results helping students improve their writing.
Exam board specialists
GCSE, A-Level, IB, SAT—we know your assessment criteria. If your child is taking GCSE English Language, they'll work with a tutor who knows the mark schemes, question styles, and common pitfalls specific to their exam board.
Genre expertise
Narrative, argumentative, literary analysis, research—we teach them all. Your child will learn genre-specific structures, evidence types, and analytical moves each writing type requires.
Personalised feedback
Detailed, actionable comments on every draft. Students learn that revision is re-vision—seeing the piece again with fresh eyes. We teach content revision, organization revision, style revision, and editing as separate processes.
TW
Thomas Wright
PhD Literature — Creative Writing & Literary Analysis Expert
- Writing
- Creative Writing
- Literary Analysis
4.8(98)$52/hr
LC
Lisa Chen
MA Education — Grammar & Composition Specialist
- Writing
- Grammar
- Primary Writing
4.9(115)$45/hr
JM
James Mitchell
MSc Education — Exam Writing & Revision Strategies
- Writing
- Exam Writing
- Revision Strategies
4.8(87)$50/hr
What parents and students say
Real results from writing students and their parents after working with our tutors.
- Students improve writing grade
- 88%
- Average parent satisfaction rating
- 4.8/5
- Writing students helped
- 950+
“My daughter's GCSE English Language writing went from a 4 to a 7 in just 5 months. Her tutor taught her actual frameworks for planning and structuring—not just 'write better.' The creative writing score was the biggest jump!”
Helen T.
Parent — Year 11 Student, Leeds
Verified
“The A-Level NEA was overwhelming—3,000 words on a book I chose myself? The tutor helped me narrow my topic, develop an original argument, and revise the entire draft three times. I got an A on the NEA, which secured my overall A in the subject.”
Aisha K.
A-Level Literature Student
Verified
“My son struggled with writing for years. He could talk about ideas brilliantly but couldn't get them onto paper. The tutor taught him planning strategies and sentence-combining techniques. Now he's writing multi-paragraph essays confidently.”
Robert P.
Parent — Year 8 Student
Verified
Getting started is simple
It starts with a free writing assessment. Here's what happens next.
- 1.
Book a free writing assessment
We'll review a recent writing sample to evaluate composition skills, organization, sentence-level skills, and process management. This diagnostic reveals exactly where support is needed.
- 2.
Get matched with a writing specialist
Your child will work with a tutor trained in evidence-based writing instruction — strategy instruction, revision techniques, and genre-specific frameworks. No generalists, only writing experts.
- 3.
Watch writing skills transform
Explicit strategy instruction builds skills step by step. You'll receive progress updates after every session, tracking improvements in organization, development, and sophistication.
Common questions about writing tutoring
Choosing a writing tutor is a big decision. Here are honest answers to the questions parents ask us most.
Ready to transform your child's writing?
Book a free writing assessment today. We'll review a recent writing sample, identify specific strengths and growth areas, and recommend a personalised tutoring plan, with no commitment required.
further reading, for parents who like the detail
The research on effective writing instruction
Show or hide the guide
further reading, for parents who like the detail
The research on effective writing instruction
From intuition to evidence
Unlike reading, where decades of cognitive science research have established clear evidence-based practices, writing instruction has historically relied more on tradition and intuition. However, recent meta-analyses and randomised controlled trials have identified what actually improves student writing.
The practices that work
Graham & Perin's landmark 2007 meta-analysis Writing Next examined over 400 experimental studies and identified 11 evidence-based instructional practices. Strategy instruction (explicitly teaching the steps of the writing process) produces an effect size of 0.82, making it one of the strongest effects in education research. Other highly effective practices include summarisation (0.82), peer collaboration (0.75), setting product goals (0.70), and sentence combining (0.50).
Why writing is so demanding
Writing is cognitively the most demanding academic task students face. Unlike reading (which can proceed somewhat automatically once skills are established), writing requires simultaneous attention to content generation, organization, transcription, audience awareness, and genre conventions. This cognitive load explains why even articulate students who speak eloquently produce disorganized, error-filled writing—their working memory is overwhelmed.
Step-by-step strategies
At RootsTutorServices, we teach explicit, step-by-step strategies for each genre and stage of the writing process. For example, TREE (a Self-Regulated Strategy Development framework for opinion/argument writing): Topic sentence, Reasons, Explain, Ending. Students learn the strategy, practice it with support, and gradually internalize it until it becomes automatic.
Revision is re-vision
We also teach that revision is re-vision—seeing the piece again with fresh eyes. Students learn to revise in multiple passes, focusing on different aspects each time: content revision, organization revision, style revision, and editing (last). This prevents cognitive overload and produces significantly better writing than single-pass editing.