Program in
Writing and Rhetoric
Learn the skills of powerful, persuasive, and academic writing.
The Power of PWR
Effective communication is the skill that facilitates all others. After having taught writing and rhetoric at Stanford, I’ve developed a uniquely individualized program to teach students the secrets and skills of academic and persuasive composition.
Why PWR?
You can have all the talent in the world, but if you can’t communicate it, nobody’s going to hear about it. Students often struggle with sophisticated, academic composition because they don’t get individualized feedback on their writing. While you might teach trigonometry the same way to everyone, each student is going to have different strengths and weaknesses - and thus need different guidance - when it comes to writing. This program will teach you to write in a sophisticated manner, helping you earn better grades, compete for better colleges, and secure better jobs - both now and for years to come.
The PWR Process
In this program, students learn to write by doing. First, they’re introduced to the concepts and strategies of classical rhetoric, learning to tailor their unique argument to their specific audience. Next they focus on the complex process of integrating and synthesizing the ideas, evidence, and research of others into a framework of their own construction. Finally, students learn to build off previous texts to construct their own powerful and persuasive research-based argument. Along the way, students will develop the skills to elevate and professionalize the stylistic elements of composition: diction, sentence structure, rhetorical variation, paragraph organization, and logical argumentation.
Beyond PWR
In addition to the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, I offer a series of other specialized writing and editing services. If you’ve got a something specific you’re interested in learning or a particular piece of prose you need edited, just let me know, and we can come up with a plan tailored to your needs. Overall, these services include:
The Program in Writing and Rhetoric (PWR)
College essay editing and consulting
Academic article and dissertation editing
Standardized test essay tutoring
English class tutoring
Resume consulting and editing
“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”
— Octavia Butler
Find out more.
Dr. Robert Stephan
rstephan@alumni.stanford.edu
(650) 468-6645