It is a great thrill for me to help a student find the perfect word to express a thought or feeling. I consider a well-written sentence to be a puzzle that has been tightly fitted together, each word and each form of punctuation chosen to serve clarity. We all put words together in our unique way, most often reflecting our personality.

I have taught classes in creative writing, served as a one-on-one tutor for college and high school students and have been a lecturer at a number of wri...