Diane Moroff

Ph.D. in English Language and Literature; high school and college English teacher for 20+ years; published writer in multiple genres, including the personal essay; course developer and author for 12+ years

I love the process of helping someone find and effectively communicate the best of what they have to say. Part of my responsibility here is to help you determine your subject and then develop and clarify your thoughts, so that your essay represents the uniqueness and sophistication of those thoughts. I then strive to help you express yourself in succinct English in an essay constructed to engage your readers.

All of my professional work has been in the service of education: first for two decades as a teacher of high school and college English, when I was privileged to teach across genres and periods, in multiple contexts, and with diverse populations; and now when I use what I have learned about teaching and learning--both from my students and from my eight years engaged in the art and business of online education--as a freelance course developer, instructional designer, and course author.

For over two decades, I have helped students produce multiple kinds of writing required at various stages in their academic careers. I'm prepared to guide and support you while you write to gain entrance into programs and institutions, as well as while you pursue publication in academic journals. I'll help you wherever you need assistance, from finding the right word, to structuring a strong sentence, to building paragraphs into an essay. I'll also help you develop your ideas, to extend and deepen them, and then to present them in an illuminating and relevant statement, essay, or other document that distinguishes you from others.

As an essay-writer myself, I have taken a particular interest in teaching the essay to my students over the years. A personal essay is not only an important component of most applications; it’s also an opportunity to achieve more self-knowledge and to organize your experience into a coherent statement about who you are and what matters to you. In the context of an application, the personal essay should illustrate that you are a maturing, engaged citizen of the community in which you are aiming to participate. My goal will always be to help you realize that goal, to support you as you decide on content and then organize and express that content with eloquence and clarity.