AEM Academy

Academic English Mastery

Academic Writing Classes for Smart Kids

Proven system transforms students in grades 5-10 into advanced writers who get higher marks in all subjects.

Many smart students underperform on writing. Even if their ideas are good, they’re not able to effectively organize or communicate them. As a result, their marks don’t reflect their true potential. When students master the fundamentals of writing, their marks can change dramatically. Saheli’s story is one example:

Mr. Jan's teaching worked miracles on my language skills. All the advice and his teaching methods, especially the T.R.E.E.S. paragraph format, improved my writing skills significantly... Additionally, the grammar rules and the new words he taught us were incredibly helpful as well. I was able to score 95% in English this year, all thanks to him. 

Saheli J. came to Canada as a newcomer and began the AEM program while earning marks in the 60s in Grade 8 ESL. Saheli’s improvement was not magic. By Grade 9, after developing stronger paragraph structure, grammar control, vocabulary, and confidence, she earned 95% in English. She is now performing at the top of her class. 

Many students are capable of much stronger work than their marks suggest. Once they learn how to organize ideas, build stronger sentences, and express themselves with precision, the improvement can be tremendous.

Sign up for a complimentary writing assessment.

  1. We'll go over a sample of your child's writing in depth. This can be an assignment that was completed for school, or you can use one of the provided prompts so that we can see what your child can write without any teacher assistance.
  2. You'll see the level of feedback we provide using our unique colour-coding system and detailed comments. This helps us track issues related to content development, cohesion, vocabulary, and grammar. As a result, we often find that students have FEWER writing problems than teachers think - it's often the same few problems with a common root.
  3. I'll provide explanations, solutions, and resources that will result in immediate improvement. Often, students' low writing marks are the result of a fundamental misunderstanding about essay content or structural requirements, and the solution is straightforward.
  4. You'll be able to see exactly how the program works, so you can decide whether it would meet your needs.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

If you choose to enroll in the program, you are fully protected by our 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with our program for any reason, even if it's the last class of the month, you will receive a prompt and courteous refund of the entire month's tuition.

The writing assessment requires a short writing sample. This can be an assignment that was completed for school, but it is more accurate to see what your child can write without teacher help. Please complete this form to receive a list of writing prompts. The email will also include a link to my calendar so that you can book your assessment.

How the Program Works

Results Come from Focusing on Timeless Fundamentals

  • The complete program includes 5 levels. Each level includes 16 classes over 4 months. Most students only need 1-3 levels to achieve tremendous gains in writing skill. Sign up for a free writing assessment to find out your child's level and to get an in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of their writing.
  • Essay and report structures: Students master detailed paragraph, report, and essay frameworks that remove all guesswork about how to structure and develop ideas. Reading speed and comprehension also benefit when students understand how texts are structured, which makes it easy to find information and score higher on comprehension tasks.
  • Complex sentences mastery: Students learn over 20 commonly used sentence structures and how to assemble them like Legos. Reading speed and comprehension also improve when students finally see how ideas in long sentences are connected.
  • Grammar mastery: Grades increase on EVERY assignment when students avoid run-ons, fragments, and subject-verb agreement errors.
  • Writing workflows: Students follow a process-based approach to writing that ALWAYS leads to better results: Analyze, Brainstorm, Chunk - Check - Chuck, Develop, Edit. Pros don't just sit down and start writing. They know that what you do before you start writing is more important than what you do after you start writing.
  • Students attend a weekly online class. They learn the fundamentals of grammar, complex sentence structure, idea development, supporting ideas with evidence, and essay composition. We write a 5-paragraph essay over 3-4 classes, following our process-based approach to writing (this is how professionals approach writing tasks):
  • In the first class, we introduce a new writing topic. We brainstorm ideas, cover background information, examine evidence for both sides (especially data, which is the "gold standard" for proof in academic writing), and generate arguments (including counterarguments and refutations). 
  • In the second class, we structure our ideas by developing an outline. This step is crucial for making sure ideas flow clearly and avoiding gaps in our explanations. As well, we ensure that all ideas are supported by specific examples and evidence (this is the key difference between "casual" and "academic" writing).
  • In the third and fourth classes, we transform the outline into a draft, which is then revised several times. Here, the focus is on refining how ideas are expressed and connected.
  • We also cover the complete complex sentence curriculum. There are roughly two dozen sentence forms that appear frequently even in children's literature. We draw attention to these forms and students practice using them through unique, custom-designed exercises. This massively expands students' repertoire of complex sentence structures, allowing them to express their ideas with much greater flexibility.
  • Students complete 3 writing assignments per class, which they submit between classes through a user-friendly interface that keeps student writing and teacher feedback perfectly organized. 
  • Assignments include 1) detailed descriptive writing & summarizing and paraphrasing of key background information, which is 95% of what students need to do to be successful in school; 2) complex sentence combining, the "secret sauce" that makes the most difference to the quality of writing at the sentence level; 3) paragraph/essay composition (how to organize, develop, and extend ideas)
  • Learning to write requires timely feedback. Students receive their feedback the next day before 8 AM. This keeps writing concepts top-of-mind and prevents bad habits from taking hold.
  • Detailed comments are colour-coded by error type: content issues (development, detail, and clarity), cohesion issues (organization of ideas and use of transitions), word choice (accuracy and variety), grammar (accuracy and sentence structure range)
  • After students receive feedback, they revise their writing for additional rounds of feedback, corrections, and follow-up exercises to address skill gaps. There is no limit to revisions and feedback is provided 7 days per week.

Instructional Strategy Is Based on the Science of Learning

"I finished with an 80 all thanks to you, sir!"

Mohammed S. from Mississauga went from 62% in grade 9 English to 80% in grade 10 English after completing ONE LEVEL in the AEM writing program.

One of the main goals of the course is mastery of grammar and increasing students' repertoire of complex sentences. This is necessary to resolve serious grammar problems like run-on sentences, sentence fragments, and subject-verb agreement issues and to give students the flexibility to precisely express their ideas.

1. Direct Instruction: Most students have never been taught the rules of grammar and even fewer
have been taught how to write a wide variety of complex sentence forms. This course bridges that enormous
gap in their understanding of grammar and writing.

2. Practice Testing: Students need to practice skills and have their work assessed. Every one of the
sentence forms taught in this course will feel familiar to students since they all appear even in books for
young children. However, that does not mean that students will be able to produce these forms. They have
to practice, and the teacher needs to check their work. Otherwise, neither the teacher nor the students will
know whether they can apply these sentence forms.

3. Spaced Repetition of Key Concepts: It is not effective to teach a concept once and then move on to the next concept without reviewing those that came previously. The brain is not a computer – it requires repeated
exposure to concepts and a great deal of practice before new learning gets into long term memory permanently. It is only at this point that knowledge is instantly accessible, which is the goal of education.

4. Interleaving: Our custom-designed complex sentences exercises are very different from traditional worksheets, which tend to focus on one single learning goal (like a worksheet that has students change all the sentences from present tense to past tense). The problem with such blocked practice worksheets is that the student will figure out the pattern after the first couple practice questions, and then their brain will go into autopilot mode as they complete the rest of the questions in the same way. In contrast, our exercises check students’ understanding of the complex sentence concept currently being taught, and they review those taught before since each exercise requires multiple sentence forms.

Lessons Are Designed to Make Students Think

Essay writing lessons are designed to make students think and prepare them for the high expectations of high school and university writing. I recently spoke with a Toronto student whose culminating assignment in grade 8 English was to write a one-paragraph story about a snowman. This will NOT prepare her for high school writing. Our lessons cover a broad range of social science and humanities topics and give students insights into how the world really works.

Thank you so much for your extraordinary writing classes! Andrew enjoys them very much. I am very grateful to you for making lessons engaging and high quality. I can see already how much improvement Andrew has in his way of thinking and writing.

Andrew Y. from Toronto, who is far ahead of elementary expectations, was bored at school. He is now taking his writing to the next level by learning how to brainstorm and plan effectively, incorporate rhetorical principles to make his writing more persuasive, support his arguments with evidence, and express his ideas more eloquently with a greater variety of sentence structures.

In terms of how [K.D.] is doing at school, I have definitely seen a remarkable improvement in her grades since taking your writing class, not just in ELA but in many other subjects. Not sure if she mentioned to you but she received honours in Grade 8 last school year, and this year in Grade 9 she has a really good chance to get highest honours (she is aiming to boost her core subject average to 90 or above). In ELA, they only do limited writing (so far they've done business letter and short stories) but I think the writing class really helped her with communicating clearly and concisely. Doing research for your essays and discussing a variety of topics with you during class I think has also helped her improve her reading comprehension, organizing her thoughts and developing interest in many subjects! So my husband and I are very grateful and appreciative of your guidance and support.

K.D. from Alberta started the program in 2023 in Level 3 at the beginning of grade 8. After a break, she completed Level 5 in late 2024 in grade 9. During the course, we did not work on any school assignments. The skills she learned during the course were 100% transferrable to her schoolwork.

In grade 9, K.D. is now writing at a higher level than most university students.

Congratulations, K.D.!

Course Levels and Program Admission

The goal of the program is to help students master academic writing as quickly as possible. The complete program has 5 levels, but most students only need 1-3 levels to become excellent writers. In fact, many students will see a complete transformation in their writing skills after 1 level.

To find out your child's level, please sign up for a free in-depth diagnostic assessment of your child's writing. 

AEM Level 1 Outcomes

Students master the essentials of sentence structure and paragraph development. Students who complete this level...

  • Understand grammar foundations: parts of speech, the verb time (tense) system, active and passive voice
  • Understand sentence structure essentials: simple, compound, and complex sentences up to Level 3 in the complex sentence system
  • Understand T.R.E.E.S. paragraph structure, which is a detailed framework for cohesive writing and idea development
  • Can write a detailed and precise summary without plagiarism: lifecycle, weather phenomenon, before and after comparison, geographic location, physical structure, historical event
  • Can write a short essay or STEM report: creature lifecycle, before-and-after comparison, simple five-paragraph argument essay

AEM Level 2 Outcomes

Students master the essentials of complex sentence structure and can write a short essay for a wide variety of purposes. Students who complete this level...

  • Understand grammar foundations: parts of speech, the verb time (tense) system, active and passive voice
  • Understand sentence structure essentials: simple, compound, and complex sentences up to Level 5 in the complex sentence system
  • Can write a detailed and precise summary without plagiarism: weather phenomenon, before and after comparison, geographic features, historical event, simple graphs and data
  • Understand H.O.T. T.R.E.E.S. T.O.P.S. essay structure, which is a detailed framework for cohesive writing and idea development
  • Can write a short essay or report for a variety of purposes: biography, comparison, cause-effect, story summary, argument essay with counterarguments and refutations

AEM Level 3 Outcomes

Students master a wide variety of sentence structures and can write a 5-paragraph essay for a variety of purposes. Students who complete this level...

  • Understand grammar foundations: parts of speech, the verb time (tense) system, active and passive voice
  • Understand a wide variety of complex sentence structures up to Level 6 in the complex sentence system
  • Understand H.O.T. T.R.E.E.S. T.O.P.S. essay structure
  • Can write a detailed and precise summary without plagiarism: simple statistics and graphs, scientific processes, cause-effect explanations
  • Can support ideas using evidence, including statistics, and provide references
  • Can write a 5-paragraph essay for a variety of purposes: comparison, cause-effect, argument essay with counterarguments and refutations, reader response

AEM Level 4 Outcomes

Students complete the sentence structure system and can write a well-developed 5-paragraph essay for a variety of purposes. Students who complete this level...

  • Understand the full range of complex sentence structures up to Level 8 in the complex sentence system
  • Understand H.O.T. T.R.E.E.S. T.O.P.S. essay structure, including introduction and conclusion development
  • Can write a detailed and precise summary without plagiarism: complex statistics and graphs, scientific and mechanical processes, industrial lifecycle comparison, complex cause-effect explanations
  • Can write a well-developed 5-paragraph essay for a variety of purposes: argument essay with counterarguments and refutations, cause-effect, problem-solution, reader response, unintended consequences
  • Can support ideas using a variety of evidence, including statistics, and provide in-text citations and a Works Cited section

AEM Level 5 Outcomes

Students develop greater flexibility with the sentence structure system using writing techniques borrowed from literature, and they apply rhetorical techniques to enhance different components of their essays. Students who complete this level...

  • Understand the full range of complex sentence structures up to Level 9 in the complex sentence system, where students explore the rhetorical effects of syntax changes
  • Thoroughly understand H.O.T. T.R.E.E.S. T.O.P.S. essay structure, including complementary introduction and conclusion development, and how to use a variety of rhetorical strategies in argument development 
  • Can write a detailed and precise summary without plagiarism: complex statistics and graphs, basic economic principles, basic legal concepts, complex cause-effect explanations, descriptions of art and style
  • Can support ideas using several sources of evidence, including statistics, and provide in-text citations and a Works Cited section
  • Can write a well-developed 5-paragraph essay for a variety of purposes: comparison, cause-effect, definition, problem-solution, argument essay with counterarguments and refutations, media critique

Tuition Options

Instance 1
Small Group Program 
(Most Popular)

$960 CAD / $700USD

Monthly tuition is available at no extra charge: $240 CAD / $175 USD x 4 months

  • Weekly online class with 2-6 closely matched students
  • 16 classes over 4 months
  • 3 skill-building writing assignments per week with 1:1 feedback from the teacher & unlimited revision opportunities (48 assignments in total)
  • Teacher feedback is provided 7 days per week
  • No tax, no additional fees
  • Grammar and writing textbooks are included and sent to you by courier
  • Class recordings are provided
1:1 Coaching 
(Limited Availability)

$1920 CAD / approx. $1400 USD

Monthly tuition available at no extra charge: $480 CAD / approx. $350 USD x 4 months

  • Weekly 1:1 private class
  • Custom curriculum for coursework or exam preparation
  • 16 classes over 4 months
  • 3 skill-building writing assignments per week with 1:1 feedback from the teacher & unlimited revision opportunities (48 assignments in total)
  • Teacher feedback is provided 7 days per week
  • No tax, no additional fees
  • Textbooks are included and sent to you by courier

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

You are fully protected by our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If you are not happy with the program for any reason, just let us know and we'll send you a prompt and courteous refund of the entire month's tuition, even if it's after the last class of the month.

Class Schedule

The AEM Academic Writing Program has 5 levels. Each level includes 16 one-hour classes over 4 months. Each class includes three writing assignments that students submit throughout the week. Detailed, individualized teacher feedback is provided 7 days per week. To find out your child's level and determine if this program would work for you, sign up for a complimentary writing assessment.

  • Start times for students across North America range from 4:30 PM EST to 8:30 PM EST. 
  • Classes for students on the west coast of North America start at 4:30 PM PST and 5:30 PM PST.
  • 1:1 classes are available during the day for students learning from home.

The times below are approximate. Whenever possible, we keep students in the same time slot when they progress to the next level. Get in touch to find out exact class times for your child.

Complimentary Writing Assessment

If you're not sure whether this program would be a good fit, sign up for a complimentary writing assessment. 

During your Zoom call, we'll go over your child's writing in depth, and you'll receive a personal demonstration of how our unique writing and feedback system helps students quickly develop better writing skills. We'll discuss:

  • Content issues (development, detail, and clarity)
  • Cohesion issues (organization of ideas and use of transitions)
  • Word choice (accuracy and variety)
  • Grammar (accuracy and sentence structure range)

There is no obligation to buy anything, and you'll learn several powerful strategies and techniques that your child can use right away to improve their writing.

For the writing assessment, I'll need to see an example of your child's writing. You can share an assignment that was completed for school, but it is more accurate to see what your child can produce without any help. When you complete the form, you will receive a link to my calendar and a short list of prompts. You can choose your meeting time right away. Just send in the writing sample no later than the night before the meeting so that I can assess it ahead of time.

Please use the form below, email me at janw@aemacademy.ca, or call 416-822-2637.

Instance 1

Book your child’s free writing assessment and see if this program is right for you. Give your child the competitive edge so they can get where they need to go.


Who Is the Teacher?

Jan Waginski, Director & Head Teacher

Jan Waginski is a certified Ontario teacher with over 25 years of experience teaching academic writing at the elementary, high school, college, university, and corporate levels. He helps students unlock the secrets of great writing and get FAR ahead of their peers in every subject, even if they are currently struggling with writing. 

Jan Waginski is the author of "Cracking the Code on Complex Sentences."

This is the companion textbook used in class. It is available on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

Big doors open for those with outstanding writing skills. 

"I'm happy to share with you that Deliza has been selected as the class Valedictorian this year. We thank you for the support she’s received through this class that we believe has contributed to her growth."

Deliza, a Grade 8 student in Brampton, Ontario, started the AEM Level 3 program in 2024 and completed Level 4 in early 2025. During the course, we did not work on any school assignments. We focused on core essay skills, resolved a variety of grammar problems, and expanded her range of sentence structures. The skills she learned during the course were 100% transferrable to her schoolwork.
Congratulations, Deliza!

Our program is proven to work. Hundreds of students from around the world have been trained using this system to quickly improve their writing skills. 

As a result, our students achieve extraordinary levels of success. They jump to the head of the class, and they get into the post-secondary programs they want.

Fast transformations from intermediate to advanced level writing are easily achievable.

When students master grammar fundamentals, the complex sentence system, and essay structures, they achieve extraordinary levels of success in any field.

I am just sending a message because I thought about you when I got an offer from Ryerson University. I really want to say thank you! All of this could happen because of your kindness and help. It did give me a strength to live in Canada… It’s really hard to contain my appreciation to you in a text but I am trying to ha ha. I was really afraid of confronting different people but your support helped me to overcome it. So thank you again 🙂

MJ needed a writing tutor to help pass IELTS and prepare for university

MJ S. from Markham was accepted to Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University. Congratulations, MJ!

All the practice that she did with you does help her a lot in English. I can see that in English class because she's helping other students to do the work. She's so strong that the teacher made her an assistant. After like fifteen minutes, she's finished her homework and most of her marks in English are like 100% every time, and the teacher said, ‘okay, in the meantime, can you help other students?’ Here in Montreal in private schools, they're very tough with a lot of homework. I know that English for her is a piece of cake. It was fantastic.

Mia, a grade 5 student who lives in Quebec and receives nearly ZERO English writing instruction, mastered advanced writing skills. For Mia, school has become easy and fun, and being a strong communicator has already led to leadership roles.

Mr. Jan's teaching worked miracles on my language skills. All the advice and his teaching methods, especially the T.R.E.E.S. paragraph format, improved my writing skills significantly.

Additionally, the grammar rules and the new words he taught us were incredibly helpful as well. I was able to score 95% in English this year, all thanks to him.

Saheli J. from Mississauga went from 60s in grade 8 ESL to 90s in grade 9 after her mom enrolled her in the AEM Academy Advanced Writing program. She now gets higher grades than most of her classmates.

Congratulations, Saheli!

Jan not only helped me refine my essays but also changed the way I write. I owe him so much!

After completing his PhD at Rotman School of Business at University of Toronto, Jaewoo J. from Toronto is now a professor at a prestigious Korean university.

Congratulations, Jaewoo!

My writing has greatly improved since I started learning from Mr. Waginski. He taught me how to properly structure my essays and improved my sentence structure.

Michael L. from Toronto graduated from Computer Science at UCLA and is now working at Microsoft.

Congratulations, Michael!

I had Jan Waginski as a tutor when I was in high school. Mr. Waginski helped me refine my grammar and essay writing skills dramatically and helped fill the gaps left by my previous teachers.

Barbara W. studied Criminology and Fine Art History at the University of Toronto. She is now a business development manager at a top auction house.

Congratulations, Barbara!

I am excited to tell you that I got 94% in grade 10 English. I just received the marks and I want to thank you for teaching me English and helping me improve.

Risari J. from Mississauga jumped from 80s to 90s after fixing several minor but persistent grammar issues, improving idea development, and learning a wider variety of sentence structures.
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