What Is an Academic Writing Coach?
- Melchior Antoine
- Dec 12
- 6 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
An academic writing coach is a qualified writer who advises younger or less experienced writers in academic writing. A writing coach satisfies many different roles, such as acting as a developmental editor, a job that involves editing an academic project even before the writing is completed by the author.
Other roles include helping academic scholars achieve educational milestones, such as completing a dissertation or thesis or completing a degree or providing emotional motivation and support for writers. In addition, they also help prepare younger students in high school for higher education by providing training for advanced placement exams.
Apart from major achievements such as completing a thesis, an academic writing coach may also help undergraduate students to gain mastery in academic writing. In this article, I discuss when and for whom academic writing coaches may be appropriate.
Who needs one?
Nothing is worse than the feeling of staring at a blank screen and not knowing what to write. An academic writing coach will help provide you with the strategies, methods, and processes that can result in a productive academic writer.
There is a wide range of professionals who may need academic coaching for various reasons at different stages of their careers. Academic life can be difficult to navigate.
This is true for both young scholars trying to complete a dissertation thesis and more experienced academics who are looking to progress in their careers or make a pivot.
Often, a scholar who has the appropriate experience, knowledge, skill, or perspective may be in a position to help push you closer to achieving your academic goals.
Here’s a list of academic professionals who may need professional academic coaching services:
Students preparing for undergraduate studies
Students trying to complete a master’s or dissertation thesis
Academic researchers looking to gain promotions or publish more
Academics who want to make a pivot from academics to another industry
Even within a single category, authors may have a wide range of needs. Academic coaching is about learning what an author is motivated by in terms of intrinsic goals and aspirations.
This means it will be complicated and challenging for the academic writer or author to understand what is expected from each other.
An academic writing coach focuses on responding to the intrinsic motivation of academic writers and authors. Therefore, it would make sense to think of this relationship in the light of Maslow’s famous Hierarchy of needs.
This is a motivational theory or concept demonstrating what motivates individuals. It’s a five-tier model divided into the most basic to the most elevated needs.
They are as follows:
Tier 1. Physiological needs: Food, water, shelter, and clothing
Tier 2. Safety and security: Health, employment, family and social ability
Tier 3. Self-Esteem: Confidence
Tier 4. Self-Actualization: Creativity, meaning & purpose, and inner potential
So, when looking for an academic coach, you should ask yourself where you are on this pyramid of needs. If you are an academic writing coach, you should similarly try to determine where your potential client is regarding this hierarchy.
A PhD student looking to graduate on time by completing their dissertation would probably fall within Tier 2, Safety and Security. This person would be preoccupied with how a PhD could help secure him employment after graduation.
A tenured professor, on the other hand, could fall anywhere from Tier 2 to Tier 4. Such a person could have goals that include getting promoted to a prominent position within their department, such as a distinguished professor or dean of the department.
In short, different individuals will have different goals before hiring an academic writing coach. Let’s look at the reasons why specific individuals might want to hire the services of an academic writing coach.
1. Students preparing for college and in college
Before high school students enter the college of their choice, they need to qualify through several preparatory stages or programs. This includes advanced placement exams, such as AP Lang and SATs. In addition, they also have to write their college admission essay, a short but vital document in terms of qualifying students for entry into university.
For international students, things can get even more complicated. International students who don't speak English as their first language typically have to write and pass English proficiency tests and exams, such as the TOEFL (or Test of English as a Foreign Language)and IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Advanced placement tests and English proficiency tests to study abroad require intensive study and training in academic writing.
An academic writing coach would help prepare students for these tests. In addition, an academic writing coach would also help advise students on what to write for their college essay to increase their chances of being accepted. This is before students enter college. After entering university, students may require an academic writing coach to prepare them for university courses that require advanced skills and knowledge in academic writing.
Remember, at this stage, students may not be able to keep up with lessons on advanced academic writing topics in a crowded classroom. An academic writing coach or tutor providing personalized help would be able to provide the assistance they need to gain a higher level of skill or mastery of the subject. This type of academic writing can include literary analysis, rhetorical analysis, or research paper writing.
2. Students writing a dissertation
Students writing their master’s thesis or dissertation may be frustrated with the process. The frustration may stem from a wide variety of factors. Perhaps, they may feel that the direction provided by the advisor is not helpful.
Maybe their writing skills are not up to scratch. They might be a wiz in the lab; however, at the desktop when the time comes to write, they are faced with a mental block or simply don’t have enough experience or skill with the writing process.
An academic writing coach would help such a person by providing them with tutoring on how to write. This could include developmental editing help, where the developmental editor demonstrates how to write a specific section of the thesis as a model for the candidate to follow.
However, it could even begin before that. The academic writing coach can help with the proposal. A proper proposal for a thesis or scientific paper meant for publication can go a long way in deciding how the final product turns out.
3. Academic promotion
Promotion is essential for academics who are keen on making progress within their field. The goal is to be a tenured professor or move from assistant professor to associate professor and so on.
An academic coach in such circumstances could be a more experienced scholar who can give advice on the relationships to establish and the actions to take that would bring them closer to that goal.
In addition to being a senior scholar, this could be a professional with the perspective to help you move forward in your career. For example, it could be someone with a professional background or training in human resource management.
This person can help you file something like a professional development plan. This is a document that maps out your skills, strengths, and weaknesses and a method showing how to move toward ultimate career goals.
4. Academics looking to pivot
Academia can be overwhelming, boring, or not well-paying enough for many professional academics. As a result, they might want to either supplement their income or change industries by adopting a different type of writing.
Perhaps, you wish to write a book that appeals to the wider public as opposed to a narrow group of academics. You also may wish to write regularly for prominent science-based magazines or newspapers. This would be called science journalism.
In that case, you might need more than an academic editor. A writing coach with experience in popular writing would train you how to write more “popular” literature.
While literature meant for the general public might seem easy to read, most academics would struggle to make the transition from technical academic writing to it. An academic writing coach would help make that transition smoother.
How much does an academic writing coach cost?
According to the EFA, the fees for academic writing coaches range from $70–$90 per hour. However, this is not clear-cut. There are instances where an academic writing coach may have to take on the role of a developmental editor.
In this case, developmental editing rates would apply in addition to academic coaching. The proper cost or fee for an academic writing coach is whatever rate is decided between you and your academic writing coach.
An academic writing coach has one major advantage over a developmental editor. A developmental editor focuses on improving an individual document or project within a specific period. However, with an academic writing coach, you’re able to learn specific writing techniques and strategies that could serve you throughout your career.
Contact us for help in editing and proofreading your academic writing project |
How EminentEdit can help as an academic writing coach
EminentEdit provides academic writing coaching assistance at all levels for students. This includes help in learning the basics of rhetorical and literary analysis, as well as help in completing major academic tasks or milestones such as your master's thesis or PhD dissertation. This includes help in the following areas:
Choosing an appropriate topic for your thesis
Writing a proper thesis proposal
Developmental editing of your thesis
Helping transform your thesis into a journal paper
In addition, for students preparing to enter college, we offer assistance in writing your college or scholarship essays. We also cover tutoring for preparatory courses such as IELTS and TOEFL. To see how we can help, get in touch to learn more.
Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2025, December 12). What Is an Academic Writing Coach? EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/what-is-an-academic-writing-coach |
