Tutoring

Working With Children Check no: WWC1293942E

Jump to:

1. Group Workshops
2. One-on-One: Creative Writing Opportunities
3. One-on-One: Exam & Assessment Guidance
Is My Child Ready For Tutoring
My Qualifications & Hourly Rate
Testimonials

Thank you for considering me as a tutor for your young writer or learner! I offer a friendly, child-safe, nurturing space within which to develop their creative thinking and appreciation. As a multi-award-winning author, I love empowering students with greater confidence in their current abilities, arming them with enhanced literacy skills, and enabling them to cultivate their own unique form of self-expression. As a mum of two STEM kids, I also love helping those who struggle with English (or even hate the subject!), yet need good marks to facilitate their future careers. Either way, my tutoring is all about advancing imaginative thinking, creative engagement, and new technical skills.

My only requirement is that students have to want a tutor. Whether it’s to improve their creative writing, essay writing, or literary analysis abilities, I can help them improve their performance – but only if they want to be there. See ‘Is My Child Ready For Tutoring?’ below.

1. Group Workshops

For tutoring in groups, please see my Talks page. I teach all kinds of workshops in schools, libraries, writing groups and other venues. Sessions can be face-to-face or virtual (delivered via online video conferencing such as FaceTime, Teams or Zoom). If you’d like me to teach your group, for a few hours or a full day, please send your organisation contact this link and ask them to get in touch for a quote: http://zenashapter.com/talks/.

2. One-on-One: Creative Writing Opportunities

Whether your young writer already has a passion for words or simply needs to develop their skills for exams or assignments, my creative writing opportunities are all about expanding and enhancing individual creativity with words.

Tutoring: A tutoring session with me will allow your young writer to extend themselves outside of the classroom. By video conferencing over FaceTime, Teams or Zoom, and using Google docs, we identify personal goals and how we’ll achieve them, enhance technical skills, self-authenticity, originality, fluency and expression, and work at developing a personal stylistic form and evoking divergent thinking. Please note that scheduled video conferencing sessions are charged on a non-refundable time basis, because I will set aside time for your booked slot and refuse other work for that period, so if you cancel a session for any reason I am unable to refund or reschedule. In the highly unlikely event that I have to cancel a pre-booked video conferencing session for any reason, however, I will of course refund the full cost of that cancelled session.

Activity: For young writers who are already writing their own stories, I will challenge their passion by sending them a personalised creative writing activity completely tailored to their specific interests and current abilities. Once you tell me what they like to do at home and/or at school, I will devise a variety of bespoke writing challenges, from which they pick one and write a response. I then review their work and send them detailed but easy-to-understand feedback, telling them what they’re doing right and what they need to do to take their writing to the next level. Writers can also have the additional opportunity to revise their work and resend to me for another round of feedback. In fact, we can do rounds of feedback until it’s perfect if you like! These activities are perfect for school holidays or over the weekend.

Editing: For young writers who would like to polish their work for exams or publication, I edit their words structurally and line-by-line, acting as a ‘translator’ between what they intend to say and the meaning readers actually receive. We look at exam or industry-standard formatting and styles, and whatever else needs to be done to produce a high-mark or professional result. As an award-winning editor, book creator, and experienced tutored, I have many practical solutions and considerations to share. There are testimonials and more details about my extensive editorial experience on my Editing Services page.

How to Book (for everyone): If your young writer would enjoy or benefit from any of the above options, please get in touch with their age, school year, interests, and writing intentions. Sessions are booked on a casual basis according to your child’s goals and needs. My hourly rates are below.

3. One-on-One: Exam & Assessment Guidance

PLEASE NOTE: Due to high demand, I am currently fully booked for *regular* tutoring sessions, but am still available for *casual* exam and assessment guidance, as set out below.

For young learners who need guidance with school exams or assessments, I can help them focus on their comprehension, textual analysis, clarity of expression, use of sophisticated phraseology, ability to tackle more advanced texts, predict possible exam curve-balls, and bridge any gaps in classroom learning, enabling them to achieve higher marks. As required, I can assist with:

• creating imaginative, discursive or persuasive writing,
• preparing students for unseen reading section questions, or
• polishing draft essays ready for assessments or exams.

Your young learner can either send me work they’ve already completed for a deeper individualised review, or I can send them an essay question, creative writing stimulus, or reading section questions, which they then attempt and submit (via ‘marked up’ documents exchanged by email or Google docs) for detailed commentary and further expert guidance. The turnaround for this guidance is usually a few working days. If you’d like to give your young learner this extra help, please get in touch with their age, school year, and assistance required. My hourly rates are below.

Is My Child Ready For Tutoring?

Students are ready for tutoring when they look forward to their developmental sessions, receiving and completing assignments, and are disappointed if they have to miss out. They want all the help they can get to progress themselves and they value tutoring as a tool to get them where they know they want or need to be. If this doesn’t sound like your child, consider pressing pause on tutoring for now – you’d be welcome to come back to me later when they’re more ready. Otherwise there’s a risk that they will start to see tutoring as a drag and, when they need it the most, they won’t be receptive to it. I have plenty of students who come to me in their final years of high school, or just before a desired publication date, and I can help get them up to speed in the time available if they’re hungry for it. Hunger is the key – it’s important not to underestimate it!

My Qualifications & Hourly Rate

I went to a selective high school in England (Bournemouth Grammar School for Girls), where I achieved three ‘A’ grades in English, Biology, and History A-Levels, as well as a distinction in RSA Information Technology. Australians, please note that an ‘A’ was the highest grade in England at that time, and students generally only took three subjects. I then went to the University of Birmingham where I read English Literature, as well as taking two minors in Psychology and Media & Cultural Studies, awarding me a 2:1 Bachelor of Arts with General Honours. I also have two postgraduate UK legal diplomas, am a fully qualified UK solicitor (specialising in intellectual property), have an Australian postgraduate certificate in trade mark law, and I am a fully qualified Australian trade mark attorney. However, I left my legal career to dedicate my life to an innate and soulful love of words. Over the years, I have taken a bazillion creative writing courses, won over a dozen national creative writing competitions, had creative work published commercially all over the world, and I am award-winning editor and writing mentor. I now judge writing competitions for both adults and young writers. My hourly rates are as follows:

Years 9-10: $135 per hour
Year 11: $140 per hour
Year 12: $145 per hour