"Hello, I’m Laura! Thank you for visiting my page! Everyone can learn to write well, but it’s a skill that takes practice. Before I begin with any tutoring assignment, I like to assess where the student needs to focus--I can do that in a phone call or by looking at an example of current written work. Some students need to concentrate on their mechanics; others need to work on their organization and clarity. Whatever the challenge, we’ll figure out the best way to tackle it and try to take the stress out of the process!

While most of my students need help writing essays for high school and college classes, I also work with others on creative writing (one of my students earned a National Gold Medal in the 2022 Scholastic Writing Awards for a flash fiction piece). In the past two years, I’ve also worked with students to craft their Common App and supplemental essays for college. I have even coached working journalists who need assistance with writing scripts and articles.

As for my background, I worked for over a dozen years as a broadcast journalist (at both PBS and CBS) and also spent a year writing a freelance column for my local paper, The Journal News of Rockland County, NY. I obtained a master’s degree in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University, where I also taught an introductory creative writing course to undergraduates. Before that, I earned my B.A. from Yale. Finally, I’ve written a novel that a literary agent is submitting to editors for publication.

Having spent decades working as a writer, I am anxious to pass along my knowledge about expository/analytical writing, journalism, creative writing and essays for college applications. I look forward to meeting you and tackling your challenges!" less...