Overview
Coaching starts with the essay type and the prompt. An argumentative essay needs a debatable claim and a fair treatment of the other side; a persuasive essay adds deliberate choices about audience and appeal; an expository essay explains without arguing; a narrative or descriptive essay is judged on shape, detail and meaning. Much lost credit comes from writing the wrong kind of essay for the prompt, so we check that first.
From there we work on your material. You send an outline or draft, and we return a critique that identifies the thesis, traces each paragraph's job, flags where evidence is asserted rather than explained, and suggests an order of revisions. Sessions can then walk through the comments and practice the specific skills involved, such as writing a warrant or turning a topic sentence into a claim.
When a demonstration is the quickest route to understanding, we write a short model paragraph on a parallel prompt and annotate each move. You see how a technique works without being handed text for your own assignment.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- High-school, foundation-year and undergraduate students writing essays for English, humanities and social science courses
- Students whose feedback repeatedly mentions a weak thesis, 'too descriptive', or poor structure
- Writers of English as an additional language who want argument and language feedback kept separate
- Students preparing for courses that assess persuasive or rhetorical writing, such as composition and rhetoric classes
Common problems we help with
- Your thesis restates the question or announces a topic instead of making a claim
- Paragraphs summarize sources but never explain how the evidence supports your point
- You don't know where to put the counterargument, or it ends up undermining your position
- Your expository essay drifts into opinion, or your persuasive essay reads like a list of facts
- Narrative essays feel like a sequence of events without a turning point or reflection
- Your conclusion repeats the introduction word for word
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Prompt analysis: directive verbs, scope, implied essay type and the marking criteria
- Thesis workshop using explicit tests: is it arguable, specific, answerable in the word count and supported by evidence you have?
- Outline critique with an argument map showing claims, reasons, evidence and where counterclaims sit
- Margin comments on one or more drafts, prioritized into a short revision plan
- Argumentative essays: claim/counterclaim structuring, rebuttal development and guidance on sourcing and evaluating evidence
- Persuasive essays: audience analysis, rhetorical strategy (ethos, pathos, logos, kairos) and tone
- Expository essays: definition, process, cause-and-effect and compare-and-contrast patterns and their signposting
- Narrative and descriptive essays: story arc, pacing, point of view, sensory detail and reflective framing
- Annotated model paragraphs on parallel prompts to demonstrate a technique
- Citation guidance for the style your course uses
Not included
- Writing essays, paragraphs or introductions for you to submit
- Completing graded assignments or take-home tests on a student's behalf
- Full copyediting of a final draft — that is a separate essay editing service
- Predicting or promising the grade an essay will receive
What you receive
- Thesis and outline critique
- A one-page response to your working thesis and plan, including an argument map and three to five concrete changes before you draft.
- Annotated draft
- Your draft returned with margin comments that name the problem, explain why it matters to a marker and suggest a type of fix — not replacement sentences.
- Revision priorities
- A short summary ranking the changes by impact, so you know what to do first if time is limited.
- Model paragraph with annotations
- Where useful, a paragraph on a different prompt with each move labeled (claim, evidence, analysis, link) to show a technique in action.
- Coaching session
- A live session to talk through comments, rework a paragraph together while you write, and set goals for the next essay.
How it works
Share the brief
Send the prompt, rubric or marking criteria, word count, due date and any previous feedback you received on similar essays.
Plan before prose
We review your thesis and outline, or help you build one from notes, and agree the essay's line of argument or organizing pattern.
Draft feedback
You write the draft; we return annotated comments and a ranked revision list within the agreed turnaround.
Coaching and second look
Optional session to work through the comments, then a lighter review of your revised draft focused on whether the priorities were addressed.
Frameworks we teach and use in feedback
- Toulmin model
- Breaks an argument into claim, grounds, warrant, backing, qualifier and rebuttal. Useful for finding the missing warrant — the unstated reason your evidence supports your claim.
- Rogerian and classical structures
- Rogerian argument opens with common ground and fits sensitive or polarized topics; the classical arrangement (introduction, narration, confirmation, refutation, conclusion) suits formal debate-style essays.
- PEEL / TEEL paragraphs
- Point (or Topic), Evidence, Explanation, Link. A scaffold for body paragraphs, which we teach as a starting point and then help you vary so writing does not become mechanical.
- Thesis statement tests
- Could a reasonable reader disagree? Does it answer the actual question? Is it narrow enough for the word count? Does it preview why, not only what?
- Counterargument placement
- Options include a dedicated paragraph before the conclusion, embedded concessions within paragraphs, or a Rogerian opening. We help you choose based on how strong the opposing view is.
- Evidence evaluation
- Checking sources for currency, relevance, authority, accuracy and purpose (the CRAAP test), and matching evidence type — statistics, examples, expert testimony — to the claim.
- Rhetorical analysis tools
- Audience profiling, appeals (ethos, pathos, logos), kairos and stylistic choices for persuasive writing.
Argumentative and persuasive essays: similar shape, different aims
Argumentative essays are judged mainly on reasoning: a debatable claim, credible evidence and a fair response to counterclaims. We work on the claim/counterclaim structure, on writing rebuttals that concede what is true before showing why your position still holds, and on sourcing evidence you can defend — peer-reviewed studies, official statistics, primary texts — rather than whatever appears first in a search.
Persuasive essays share that skeleton but are also judged on how well they move a particular audience. We help you define the reader, decide which appeals will work on them, and adjust tone, examples and ordering. A common fix is moving the strongest point from the middle to the end, where it lands with more force.
- Concession: "Critics are right that…"
- Rebuttal: "However, this overlooks…" followed by evidence
- Qualifier: limit the claim ("in urban schools", "in most cases") so it survives the counterexample
Expository essays: explaining without arguing
Expository writing informs. Its four common patterns each need different organization and signposting: definition essays move from a working definition to examples and boundary cases; process essays sequence steps and explain why order matters; cause-and-effect essays distinguish immediate from underlying causes and avoid assuming correlation is causation; compare-and-contrast essays choose between block and point-by-point structure and end with what the comparison reveals.
We check that your thesis sets up an explanation rather than an opinion, and that transitions ('as a result', 'by contrast', 'the next stage') tell the reader which pattern they are in.
Narrative and descriptive essays
Narrative essays need a shape — a situation, a complication, a turning point and a reflection on what changed. Descriptive essays need concrete, sensory detail chosen for a purpose rather than piled on. Feedback here focuses on pacing (where to slow down and where to summarize), point of view, dialogue, and showing rather than telling.
These essays are often the most personal, which makes it especially important that the voice stays yours. We ask questions and mark moments to expand or cut; we do not supply the story.
How feedback is written
Each comment names the issue, explains its effect on a reader or marker, and points toward a type of revision. For example: 'This paragraph quotes the study but doesn't say what the result shows about your claim that remote work lowers turnover. Add one or two sentences of explanation after the quotation.' That style of comment teaches the principle so you can apply it on the next essay without us.
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Sample feedback excerpt: tightening an argumentative thesis
A first-year student drafted a 1,500-word argumentative essay on whether cities should ban cars from their centers. The text and comments below are invented to illustrate our feedback style.
Student's working thesis
"Car bans in city centers have advantages and disadvantages, and this essay will discuss both."
Comment
This announces a topic but makes no claim — a reader cannot disagree with it. Try the 'so what' test: which side does your evidence actually support? Your paragraphs on air quality and retail footfall both point one way. Also narrow the scope: 'city centers' is broad for 1,500 words. Could you limit it to mid-sized European cities, where most of your sources come from?
Counterargument note
Your paragraph on delivery access is currently the second body paragraph, which interrupts your momentum. Consider moving it to just before the conclusion, conceding the problem, then rebutting with your evidence on timed loading zones.
Illustrative example with an invented essay and comments. Real feedback responds to your prompt, draft and marking criteria.
What you’ll need to provide
- The essay prompt and any rubric, marking criteria or exemplar provided by your instructor
- Your outline, notes or draft (partial drafts are fine)
- Required citation style and any sources you have already chosen
- Previous feedback from your instructor, if you have it
- Your deadline and whether you want written comments, live sessions or both
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Essay length and how many drafts you want reviewed
- Written feedback only, live coaching sessions, or a combination
- Whether we start from an outline or a full draft
- Level and complexity of the course or prompt
- Turnaround time requested
Turnaround depends on
- Draft length and the depth of comments requested
- Whether a session needs to be scheduled across time zones
- How close your deadline is — outline feedback early saves the most time overall
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Will you draft or rewrite the essay for me?
No. You write every draft. We comment, ask questions, map your argument and demonstrate techniques with model paragraphs on parallel prompts. This keeps the essay yours and builds a skill you will use on every later assignment.
Can you look at an essay that's already been graded?
Yes, and it's one of the most useful places to start. We read the essay alongside the instructor's comments, explain what they mean in practice and help you set goals for the next assignment.
I have only notes and a prompt. Is it too early?
Not at all. We can help you turn notes into a thesis and outline, which is often where the biggest gains are. You then draft from your own plan.
Do you check citations and references?
We point out missing or inconsistent citations in context and explain the rules of your required style. A full reference-list audit is available separately under citation and referencing support.
What should I do if your advice conflicts with my teacher's?
Follow your teacher — they set and mark the assignment. Tell us what they said and we'll adapt our feedback to their expectations and help you understand the reasoning behind them.
Are my drafts kept confidential?
Yes. Drafts are used only to provide your feedback, are not shared or published, and can be deleted on request once the work is complete.