Academic writing shouldn’t feel like decoding a secret language. It shouldn’t be confusing or intimidating, but for many students, it is.
If you’ve ever stared at an essay prompt thinking “I don’t even know what they’re asking”, or lost marks without fully understanding why, this course is for you. Mastering Academic Writing is a step-by-step online course designed to take the mystery out of academic essays and replace it with clarity, structure, and confidence.
Ready to jump right in?
Regular Price
If you only want the course, you can grab all the lessons, resources and support here for $179.
Bundled offer
Bundle the course with Commonly Confused Words: A Dictionary, and instead of $199, you pay only $189.
University and high school students: Would you like to write brilliant better essays in a fraction of the time?
This is where you are right now...
✒️ You’re confused and second-guessing yourself. Essay prompts feel vague or overwhelming, and you aren’t sure what lecturers or markers are actually asking for.
✒️ Anxious every time an assignment is due. Writing essays feels stressful, time-consuming, and intimidating, often accompanied by procrastination or panic.
✒️ You’re losing marks without understanding why. Feedback feels unclear or frustrating, with comments like “needs more analysis” or “unclear argument” that don’t translate into actionable steps.
✒️ Relying on guesswork or last-minute fixes. You write essays without a solid plan, leading to weak structure, rushed conclusions, and patchy arguments.
✒️ You quietly doubt your academic ability. Even when you understand the content, you feel like you’re “bad at writing” and worry you’re just not cut out for academic work.
This is where you could be in 5 weeks time...
✒️ You’ll always be clear on exactly what each assignment is asking. You will confidently decode prompts and rubrics and know how to tailor your response to earn marks.
✒️ Calm and organised when starting essays. You’ll approach writing with a clear plan, realistic timelines, and a repeatable process instead of stress and avoidance.
✒️ You’ll write structured, analytical essays with purpose. Arguments are logical, paragraphs are focused, and ideas move beyond summary into real academic analysis.
✒️ Using sources confidently and ethically. Research, referencing, and paraphrasing will feel manageable.
✒️ Editing strategically instead of endlessly. You’ll know what to fix, in what order, and why, instead of tinkering blindly.
✒️ Understanding feedback and improving faster. Lecturer comments will finally make sense, and you will be able to apply them directly to future assignments.
✒️ You’ll feel confident, capable, and in control. Academic writing won't feel like a mystery. It’s a skill you’ll trust yourself to use across subjects and years of study.
What results can I expect?
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand assignment instructions and rubrics.
- Understand essay questions and lecturer expectations.
- Plan essays confidently, efficiently and logically.
- Write clear introductions, strong thesis statements, and conclusions.
- Write clear, logical and analytical body paragraphs.
- Move from summary to analysis.
- Build strong academic arguments using evidence.
- Use academic sources correctly and avoid plagiarism.
- Edit their own work for clarity, flow, and credibility.
- Edit and proofread strategically to ensure higher marks.
These are transferable skills students will use, across all subject, throughout high school and university.
Should I sign up for Mastering Academic Writing?
Who is this course ideal for?
This course is for you if you are:
- A high school or university student who knows the material but loses marks because your writing lacks structure, clarity, or academic polish.
- University undergraduates who want clearer structure, stronger arguments, and better marks
- A student who feels overwhelmed by assignment prompts and isn’t sure how to move from “What is this asking?” to a finished essay or paper.
- Someone who wants a repeatable system you can use for essays, theses, reports, and discussion posts, not one-off tips that don’t transfer.
- A capable student whose grades don’t reflect your effort, and you suspect your writing (not your intelligence) is the bottleneck.
- A student transitioning to higher levels of education (high school to university, or undergraduate to postgraduate) and needs to level up fast.
- Parents who want reliable, expert academic support for their child, not guesswork or shortcuts
- A parent looking for a practical, ethical alternative to tutoring or ghostwriting, who wants their child to become an independent, confident academic writer.
Who should not purchase this course?
This course is not for you if you are:
- A post graduate student who has already mastered academic and essay writing.
- Looking for someone to write your assignments for you or provide shortcuts that bypass learning (this course builds skill, not dependency).
- Unwilling to practise or apply feedback. Improvement requires active engagement, not passive watching.
- Only interested in creative or personal writing, such as fiction, poetry, or journaling (this course is strictly academic).
- Already consistently scoring at the very top of your cohort and looking for highly specialised, discipline-specific research supervision.
- Expecting instant results without changing your approach, habits, or workflow.
- Seeking a course focused solely on grammar rules rather than structure, argument, clarity, and academic thinking.
Course Features: what are you getting in this course?
Lessons
📖 4 structured modules released over 4 weeks.
📖 38 pre-recorded lessons (watch anytime, rewatch anytime)
📖 12 months’ full access
📖 Learn at your own pace. Rewatch anytime.
Resources
📖 18 cheat sheets and downloadable resources.
📖 Q&A portal with ongoing support to answer students’ questions.
Support
📖 Direct email access to the instructor for a full year.
📖 Weekly video meeting on Microoft Teams. These will be recorded and uploaded into the course portal for those who cannot attend live.
Bonuses
📖 Bonus module with 5 extra lessons and 2 extra resources
📖 50% off the price of Commonly Confused Words: A Dictionary if you buy it with the course.
📖 Audio files of all lessons.
Course Curriculum
Module 1: Foundations of academic writing, tone and style
✏️ What academic writing is (and what it is not)
✏️ Writing for an academic audience
✏️ Academic tone, style, and clarity
✏️ Decoding rubrics and assignment prompts
✏️ The 3 Cs: clarity, conciseness, and correctness
Module 2: Essay panning and writing, creating arguments
✏️ All major academic essay types
✏️ Moving from description to analysis
✏️ Building strong, logical arguments
✏️ Paragraph structure that earns marks
✏️ Writing introductions, thesis statements, and conclusions that work
Module 3: Research, sources, and referencing
✏️ Scholarly vs non-scholarly sources
✏️ Finding and evaluating academic research
✏️ Quoting, paraphrasing, and synthesising correctly
✏️ Avoiding plagiarism
✏️ APA and MLA formatting and citation
✏️ Ethical and effective use of AI in academic work
Module 4: Editing, feedback, and mprovement
✏️ Understanding lecturer feedback
✏️ Revising for clarity and coherence
✏️ Editing and proofreading
✏️ Common grammar and sentence errors
✏️ Active vs passive voice
✏️ Final essay checklists to prevent easy mark losses
Academic Writing - Regular Price
$179
The full Mastering Academic Writing course for students who want a clear, step-by-step system for tackling essays, assignments, and academic papers with confidence. You’ll get all the tools, guidance, and strategies you need to write clearly, coherently, and convincingly without second-guessing yourself.
Academic Writing + Precision Bundle
$189
Everything in Mastering Academic Writing, plus my Commonly Confused Words: A Dictionary, a practical, plain-English guide to the words students mix up most often. This bundle sharpens both your structure and your sentence-level accuracy, saving you 50% on the dictionary and helping you write with real polish.
FAQs
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Yes. The course is designed to support Grades 10–12 students and help them transition smoothly into university-level writing.
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No. The skills taught apply across humanities, social sciences, business, education, and many science-based subjects where essays and written assignments are required.
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Absolutely. Grammar and sentence clarity are covered in a practical, easy-to-understand way — always linked to improving marks.
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No. It complements formal education by explaining expectations clearly and teaching practical skills students can apply immediately.
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This course provides structured instruction and ongoing support, but students can work through it independently and at their own pace. Students may still enjoy the benefits of tutoring if they need intense one-on-one assistance.
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No. The course focuses on ethical, legitimate academic writing skills. AI is discussed only in terms of acceptable academic use of AI in academic writing, including what to do if work is flagged by AI detectors.
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Yes. The course is particularly helpful for students writing in English as an additional language.
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Yes. Students can submit questions through the Q&A portal and email the instructor directly for guidance.
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No. All lessons are pre-recorded and available on demand.
This is what university students have said...
Samantha is an excellent writing coach who provided high quality advice which I will be able to use in all future assignments. I have learned more from Samantha in a 50-minute session than I learned in the entire 10-week MBA course.
— Trevor
I greatly appreciate the constructive feedback for my assignment. In addition to feedback I could action in my work, Samantha provided wonderful resources that further demonstrated concepts I was struggling with and helped in my essay writing process.
— Stacey
Samantha is a dependable tutor who is always brilliant. I trust this tutor to give me correct and actionable feedback. She is a valuable tutor if you're looking for professional help and quality service. Samantha is the best and I would recommend her.
— Steven
Meet Samantha Keogh
I’m an experienced educator, academic writing tutor, editor, and journalist with over 25 years of professional experience in writing, editing, proofreading, and teaching.
Over the years, I’ve worked with and tutored:
- High school and university students.
- International learners and ESL students.
- Master’s and doctoral candidates.
- Journalists and marketing and public relations writers.
I hold a Master’s degree in Journalism and Media Studies, an Honours degree in Psychology and multiple TEFL and IELTS teaching qualifications.
I’ve edited everything from first-year essays to full doctoral theses, which means I know exactly where students lose marks, why it happens, and how to fix it. Not in theory, not in vague advice, but in ways that actually improve grades.
This course brings that expertise directly to you in a clear, structured, and supportive way. No shortcuts. No guesswork. Just practical guidance based on what assessors are really looking for and how to deliver it with confidence.
If your work is being graded, I’ve almost certainly seen (and fixed) those issues and can help you offer a more powerful paper to ensure a better final mark.
Academic Writing - Regular Price
$179
The full Mastering Academic Writing course for students who want a clear, step-by-step system for tackling essays, assignments, and academic papers with confidence. You’ll get all the tools, guidance, and strategies you need to write clearly, coherently, and convincingly without second-guessing yourself.
Academic Writing + Precision Bundle
$189
Everything in Mastering Academic Writing, plus my Commonly Confused Words: A Dictionary, a practical, plain-English guide to the words students mix up most often. This bundle sharpens both your structure and your sentence-level accuracy, saving you 50% on the dictionary and helping you write with real polish.
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