Award-Winning PSAT Writing Skills
Tutors
Award-Winning
PSAT Writing Skills
Tutors
Private 1-on-1 tutoring, weekly live classes for academic support, test prep & enrichment, practice tests and diagnostics, and more to elevate grades and test scores.
Based on 3.4M Learner Ratings
UniversitiesSchools & Universities
DeliveredHours Delivered
ProficiencyGrowth in Proficiency
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I'm a huge Red Sox fan and love watching detective shows when I have free time.

The PSAT Writing Skills section tests a specific set of grammar and rhetoric rules that repeat predictably — subject-verb agreement buried in long sentences, comma splices, and transitions between paragraphs. Anna scored a 1590 on the SAT and teaches students to identify these patterns quickly so they can eliminate wrong answers with confidence. Rated 5.0 by her students.
I am currently a resident physician at Northwestern Hospital.
I am proud to be a part of Varsity Tutors! I am originally from San Antonio, TX; I completed my undergraduate education at Rice University in Houston where I received a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Currently, I am in my second year of medical school at Baylor College of Medicine.
I am an interdisciplinary educator with an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. from Dartmouth College. My background is primarily in integrated arts learning and museum education and I specialize in visual arts, history and art history, and object-based learning. In all subjects, I take a creative, inquiry-based and learner-centered approach, designing opportunities for each unique individual to meet their learning goals.
I am a recent graduate from a masters program in biostatistics at Columbia University. I received my Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences, with a focus in neurobiology at Northwestern University. In August, I will be starting a doctoral program in biostatistics at NYU. I was a teaching assistant at Columbia University in my department and also have tutored graduate students and undergraduates privately as well. My primary areas of tutoring are math and statistics coursework in addition to math sections on standardized tests such as the GRE and GMAT. I am very passionate about helping students feel more confident and excited about math. In my spare time, I enjoy running, playing piano, and spending time with friends and family.
I am a second year law student at the University of Chicago who hails from the San Francisco Bay Area! I tutor the SAT, ESL, and Spanish. I was an AVID tutor in high school, and after college I taught an ESL class and tutored a high school student in Spanish. In law school, I am involved with the Lawyers in the Classroom program. My tutoring philosophy is based on listening to students work through problems and helping them to spot their confusions or incorrect assumptions. I believe students learn much better when they aren't simply told the right answer or right reasoning; they need to get there on their own.
Neuroscience PhD work demands writing that's surgically precise — every clause tightened, every modifier anchored, every transition earning its place — which is the same skill set the PSAT Writing section quietly tests behind its grammar questions. Elliot scored a 1540 on the SAT and brings that firsthand command of standardized writing conventions to the rhetoric and concision questions students tend to rush through. Rated 5.0 by students.
Chemical engineering lab reports at Washington and Lee demanded the same ruthless concision the PSAT Writing section rewards — every sentence justified, every modifier in the right place, zero tolerance for wordiness. Alex pairs that training with a 1590 SAT and a 36 ACT, so he can pinpoint exactly which punctuation and sentence structure rules the test recycles and teach students to recognize them on sight. Rated 4.8 by students.
I am a first year medical student at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. I have been a private tutor in the past in subjects such as math, biology, chemistry, and the SATs and every single one of my more than twenty students have shown significant improvement. Most importantly, I have a passion for teaching, and your needs and preferences as the learner will always be paramount. I hope to help every one of my students reach every bit of their potential, and along the way, to utterly shatter any self-induced limitations that have been placed upon what they can accomplish.
I'm eager to teach students how to make connections and understand any part of the world they need!
Years of writing and peer-editing rigorous philosophy and religion papers at Pomona College trained Miranda to catch exactly the kinds of errors the PSAT Writing section recycles — awkward transitions, bloated phrasing, and punctuation choices that change an argument's meaning. Her 1560 SAT and 5.0 tutoring rating back up that instinct, and she teaches students to approach each question by identifying what rule is being tested before even glancing at the answer choices.
I am currently studying chemical engineering at the University of Michigan. I have always helped out my fellow students with schoolwork, and I have tutored in the National Honor Society for three years. My tutoring strengths include my abilities to stay calm, be patient, and offer different perspectives on the learning process. I do not just help my students learn the material, but I also teach them how to learn it. I tutor math and test prep courses. Outside of school and tutoring, I play the piano. I have played classical piano for 13 years and jazz piano for 7.
I am a graduate from Georgetown University, where I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics with a minor in Music. I'm currently pursuing a Master's of Science in Business Analytics at Carnegie Mellon University. I've been tutoring since I started high school, focusing on mathematics and writing. Throughout my college career I was employed both privately and by Georgetown University to tutor peers and high school students in the Washington, D.C. area. I worked with students taking classes in all levels of mathematics falling under Algebra, Calculus, Combinatorics, and Problem Solving.
I am a junior studying Writing for Screen and Television at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. For the past two spring semesters I worked as a CollegeSpring Mentor, tutoring Green Dot Charter high school juniors for the SAT and teaching them predatory skills for college. In addition to my experience tutoring for the SAT, as a screenwriting major I most enjoy teaching my favorite subject, English. I love showing students the power language endows upon them to communicate their ideas and beliefs with others. I believe every student deserves the chance to succeed and to try to capitalize on their strengths while encouraging them to improve in areas they may traditionally find challenging. Endowing a student with confidence in themselves through patience and support is the best way not only to improve academic performance, but also transform them into lifelong learners. I try to share not only my passion for knowledge with students, but also my love of sports (football, baseball, and softball), action films, and global affairs. Seeing students not only improve academically but also show improved confidence and happiness is the most rewarding part of my job.
I am a member of the Brown Class of 2018, pursuing a bachelors degree in mathematics. I graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 2014. (I am able to help anyone with the boarding school admissions process.) Outside of academia, I pursue my passions in dance, travel, volunteering, reading and art. My tutoring subjects are mathematics (from elementary school to college level) and standardized testing (SAT, SAT subject tests, PSAT, and SSAT). I have tutored mainly high school students in the New York State Regents exams and AP Calculus, although I also have experience with students in middle and elementary school. Since I have been through many school systems, including public, private, studying abroad, and boarding school, I have learned many different techniques and can attack a problem from various angles. Ultimately, my teaching style is full of tips and tricks to break down complicated topics into simple, more understandable ideas.
I am an incoming medical student at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. I graduated from Rice University in 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology with minors in Medical Humanities and Business.
I am a graduate of the University of Chicago, with a bachelor's degree in psychology and linguistics. Currently, I am pursuing a master's degree in speech-language pathology at Teachers College, Columbia University. In the past, I have worked as a teacher's aide in a public school classroom, a mentor to middle school girls, an instructor and tutor at the literacy education organization 826, and a summer camp counselor. I tutor a diverse range of subjects, and I find that I especially enjoy tutoring language arts, reading, and writing at all levels, from elementary school all the way up to college/grad school test prep. As a tutor, I am committed to helping students reach their full potential as learners. Throughout my years as an educator, I have seen firsthand the remarkable academic growth that can occur when tutors provide students with the individualized support that they need. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, journaling, and learning about other languages and cultures.
I am a graduate of Columbia University with a degree in Drama and Theatre Arts. I taught math and essay writing to my peers in high school and college, and have tutored a close friend in her mathematics courses since junior year of high school. I am most comfortable and passionate about tutoring SAT prep, particularly the Math section and subject tests. I believe in supporting and encouraging my students and making material as accessible as possible, breaking down what may be difficult subject matter into terms and concepts that they already understand. I firmly believe in the potential of every student to grasp material that they may think is out of reach, and aim to reduce the stress factor of studying as much as possible. Outside of tutoring, I am a professional actor and playwright, and in my free time (a rare, mystical thing these days) I enjoy playing guitar and mandolin, practicing yoga, and my PS4.
PSAT Writing questions test a narrow set of grammar and rhetoric rules — subject-verb agreement buried in long sentences, comma usage with nonessential clauses, logical transitions between paragraphs. As a National Merit Scholar who qualified on the strength of these same skills, Emily walks students through each rule with real test passages so they learn to spot errors quickly under timed conditions.
I am currently attending New York University where I am pursuing a degree in Finance and Statistics. I have previous experience tutoring individuals in math, a subject I have always excelled at academically. My knowledge and interest in mathematics, makes it easy for me to frame and deconstruct seemingly complicated concepts and theories in ways students will be able to understand and remember. Outside of academia I enjoy playing tennis, going to movies, and spending time with friends and family.
I'm a rising junior at Brown University studying biomedical engineering. I have lots of experience in middle school through college level instruction in STEM and SAT/ACT prep. My goal is to provide a fun and productive learning environment by only teaching subjects that I am passionate about.
I am available to tutor a range of middle school and high school subjects, but I am most excited about tutoring test prep. I remember how stressful preparing for college can be and I am eager to do my part in helping students fulfill their college goals. I believe that learning is a collaborative process and I am committed to being as actively involved in the student's learning as I can. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, going to the movies (I try to see each Oscar nominee before the ceremony every year.), and am a huge Michigan sports fan.
I am a rising sophomore at Cornell University, studying Human Biology, Health and Society. I am on the premed track and am pursuing a minor in South Asian Studies. I was born in India and grew up in Singapore and Buffalo, NY, where I currently live. This past semester, I tutored middle and high school students in math, biology, and chemistry in Ithaca. I also particularly enjoy tutoring for standardized tests such as the ACT, as I feel it is where students are able to make a lot of progress quickly, and it also tends to be the most rewarding for both the students and for me! As someone who loves making organized and detailed plans, I believe having a clear set of goals for one's future is the key to success, and this can be applied to anything, from a single test to one's entire career. I would love to help my students with setting goals and making plans in their high school and/or college careers, in addition to tutoring a specific subject! In college, I am most involved with Cornell's Hindu Student Council and SPICMACAY, an Indian classical music and dance organization. Outside of academia, I sing South Indian classical music and play many different genres of the piano.
I'm currently a student at Northeastern University. Originally from Tennessee, I attended an all-male boarding and day school for high school, and was given a lot of opportunities to pursue advanced coursework and opportunities that weren't available to 99% of students in the area. As a result, I've joined Varsity Tutors as an effort to give back and try to help students get excited about learning various subjects, employing many of the methods that allowed me to succeed. While I tutor a wide range of subjects, I am most passionate about standardized test prep, math (all levels), writing, and economics.
I am a recent college graduate currently pursuing a career in publishing in New York City. My interest in tutoring and the publishing industry stem from the same source: I want to help instill in others the same love of learning I have felt throughout my life. Whether it's getting lost in a good book or feeling the thrill of excitement at finally solving a difficult math problem, I feel that learning should be fun and viewed as a challenge, not a chore. Throughout my academic career, I have been a well-rounded student, excelling in math as well as language and literature. I am a notoriously good test-taker, a skill developed from solid study habits that I hope to pass on to future students. For me, tutoring is my way of giving back to my community and paying forward the help I've gotten from teachers, mentors, and fellow students throughout my life.
Cassandra's comparative literature background means she lives inside sentence structure, and PSAT Writing Skills is essentially a test of whether students can spot grammatical errors and improve passages quickly. She drills the specific conventions the exam targets — subject-verb agreement traps, misplaced modifiers, parallel structure — so students recognize patterns instead of second-guessing every answer.
I am currently studying molecular biology and I hope to work at a pediatric hospital after graduating from medical school. As an undergraduate, I am involved in volunteering organizations, photography, dance companies, and Asian-American political organizations.
I am currently a fourth year medical student in Indianapolis. I completed my undergraduate education at Indiana University Bloomington, where I majored in Biology and Spanish. I also completed two minors in Mathematics and Chemistry. While at IU, I worked for the Department of Mathematics and Department of Spanish. I also worked as a Peer Tutor for the IU Athletics Department, tutoring in several subjects including statistics, chemistry, physics, and Spanish. I graduated from college with a 4.0, and I entered medical school shortly thereafter. Since coming to medical school, I have excelled in all of my pre-clinical coursework, and I currently rank in the Top 20% of my class. I feel very comfortable and confident tutoring other students in a variety of subjects from math and science to Spanish. I like to think that the same techniques I have used to excel in all phases of my education can be easily adapted to other students and help you achieve your academic goals, just as I have!
Scoring 1560 on the SAT gave Keith firsthand fluency with the grammar and rhetoric conventions the PSAT Writing section tests — subject-verb agreement, modifier placement, and transitions between ideas. He teaches students to read each passage strategically, identifying what the question is really asking before evaluating answer choices.
I'm experienced in and passionate about (especially computer skills, Python, and math) with others. I try to convey the principles and thought process that are the basis of my own understanding of the subject, not just rules to follow or things to memorize. Being able to explain your answer is even more important than simply getting it right! My tutoring style is personalized, with plenty of examples and frequent knowledge checks to ensure I and my student(s) are in sync. In my spare time I enjoy cycling, skiing, woodworking, reading, and vacationing to Lake Superior.
After scoring a 1530 on the SAT and a 35 on the ACT, Asta turned around and spent years coaching students through the same tests — so she knows exactly which Writing Skills patterns trip people up, from misplaced modifiers to the tricky rhetoric questions about adding or deleting sentences. Her University of Chicago political science training, which demanded tight, argument-driven prose, built the kind of sentence-level precision the PSAT Writing section rewards. Rated 5.0 by students.
I am comfortable, however, with upper level math classes (such as calculus), and science courses (biology, chemistry, and physics). I am in the process of applying to medical school as well. I have been fortunate to have already been accepted into a couple of schools. I would love to help you prepare for the MCATs and get a head start on your medical school application. I think this one-on-one tutoring model can be a powerful study method in preparing you for success in both the classroom and on standardized tests. In my spare time, I enjoy skiing, running, playing board games, and performing/learning magic tricks!
Scoring a perfect 1600 on the SAT means Ezra has already mastered the grammar and rhetoric conventions that the PSAT Writing Skills section tests. He teaches students to spot parallelism errors, misplaced modifiers, and weak transitions quickly by reading sentences for structure rather than just meaning.
I'm Dennis. I study physics, math, and computer science. I have done research about cosmic ray acceleration at supernova shock fronts in the Princeton University Department of Astrophysics, simulating how the turbulent plasmas push protons and ions. I have also worked at the Norfolk State University Department of Engineering, designing, simulating, optimizing, and building light filters for wavelength-division optical-electronic multiplexers. Another field I study is the mathematics of quasicrystals and aperiodic tilings, such as the Penrose tiling of rhombuses.
Scoring a 1560 on the SAT gave Daniela firsthand knowledge of the grammar conventions and rhetorical choices the PSAT Writing Skills section tests. She digs into the logic behind each question type — subject-verb agreement buried in complex sentences, transitions between paragraphs, concision edits — so students learn to spot errors by ear and by rule.
I am currently pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I am also a graduate of the high school International Baccalaureate Program. I have informal experience tutoring high school physics, but am most passionate about tutoring students for the ACT standardized test, having had extensive experience preparing for standardized tests throughout high school. I am eager to aid students in boosting their scores before their upcoming college applications, an important milestone in many students' lives. In my free time, I also enjoy playing tennis.
I'm a senior at Brown University in the Program of Liberal Medical Education (PLME). I have over three years of experience working with college application consulting with a specialty in BS/MD programs and experience in tutoring with the SAT, having scored a 2400. I'm excited to work with you and your family on making the most out of the time you have to prepare for test taking, and am also open to conversations about the university application experience.
Testimonials
Because the right PSAT Writing Skills tutor makes all the difference.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Score improvement depends on your starting point and current skill level, but students typically see meaningful gains within 4-8 weeks of focused tutoring. If you're struggling with grammar fundamentals, you might improve 50-100+ points. If you're already scoring well and aiming for excellence, improvements may be smaller but still valuable—even 10-20 points can impact your percentile rank significantly.
The key is identifying exactly which writing skills are holding you back—whether that's comma usage, verb tense, sentence structure, or strategy on timed questions—and then targeting those specific areas with deliberate practice.
Most students find these areas challenging:
- Grammar rules application—Knowing the rule is one thing; applying it under time pressure is another, especially with comma splices, modifier placement, and pronoun-antecedent agreement
- Sentence structure and wordiness—Recognizing redundancy or unnecessarily complex sentences that could be more concise
- Verb tense and agreement—Keeping tense consistent and ensuring subjects and verbs match, particularly in longer sentences
- Pacing—Spending too much time on difficult questions and not leaving enough time to review or finish the section
- Question format confusion—Misunderstanding what certain question types (like "which revision") are actually asking you to do
A strong strategy balances accuracy with efficiency. Start by reading the passage and question carefully—many errors become obvious once you understand the context. For grammar-focused questions, identify what's being tested before looking at answer choices; this prevents you from being distracted by answers that "sound right" but don't fix the actual error.
Use process of elimination actively: eliminate obviously wrong answers first, then compare the remaining options. On timed sections, aim to spend about 45 seconds per question, flagging anything that takes longer and returning to it if time allows. Finally, review your answers in the last 1-2 minutes if possible—even a quick scan catches careless errors.
Accuracy and speed aren't mutually exclusive—they reinforce each other. The faster you recognize common grammar patterns and errors, the quicker you'll answer. Start by mastering the top 10-12 grammar rules that appear most frequently on the PSAT (commas, verb tense, pronouns, modifiers, etc.) through targeted practice. Once these feel automatic, you'll naturally work faster.
Practice with timed drills on specific rules, then move to full practice passages. Track which rule categories slow you down, and spend extra time on those. Over time, you'll develop pattern recognition that lets you spot errors quickly without sacrificing accuracy.
Take a full practice test every 2-3 weeks to track progress, but focus most of your prep on targeted drills between tests. Full tests are valuable for assessing overall pacing and identifying weak areas, but they're not the most efficient use of study time if you're just starting out.
Once you've diagnosed your specific weaknesses, spend time on focused practice sets for those areas—you'll improve faster this way. Then use practice tests to confirm improvement and build test-day confidence. If test anxiety is a concern, more frequent practice tests can help you get comfortable with the format and build confidence under timed conditions.
Look for a tutor who understands the specific format and demands of the PSAT Writing section and can diagnose your exact weak spots—not just your overall score. The best tutors teach grammar and conventions in the context of how they appear on the test, explain why common answer choices are distractors, and teach you to think strategically about questions rather than relying on "gut feel."
You want someone who can explain rules clearly, provide ample practice with timely feedback, and help you build both skill and confidence. Experience with test prep and familiarity with common student misconceptions makes a real difference in how quickly you improve.
Confidence comes from two things: understanding the rules deeply and practicing consistently. When you truly understand why an answer is correct—not just that it is—you'll second-guess yourself less. Spend time learning the grammar rules behind the questions, not just memorizing answers.
Next, practice in conditions that mirror test day: timed, with full sections, without immediately checking your answers. When you see that your method works repeatedly, confidence grows naturally. If you're still uncertain on test day, trust your strategy: eliminate wrong answers, compare remaining options methodically, and move on. You don't need to feel 100% certain on every question to do well overall.
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