English Tutoring

I was an English major with a Creative Writing emphasis in college. Aside from my literature and writing studies, I frequently edited and gave feedback on my classmates' work. I myself had to write many, many essays, sometimes up to twenty pages, which allowed me to thoroughly enhance my writing skills: grammar, vocabulary, sentence structuring, thesis structuring, clarity, and supporting my arguments. I rarely received errors on my essays in those areas, which reaffirmed my belief that I have a strong command of the English language.

History Tutoring

I was a History minor and took classes on a wide variety of topics, including The Civil War, Race and Politics in 20th Century America, Modern Iran, Later Middle Ages, Roman Civilization, and Modern World Revolutions. I also took non-history classes that heavily involved historical contexts, such as a survey class on the history of the five major world religions and a theater class on the history of western theater. I never earned below a B+ in any of those classes, conducted numerous semester-long research projects, and found my minor to be a strong supplement to my English degree.

Literature Tutoring

For my major, I had to take at least two literature courses in each time period category: pre-1700, 1700-1900, and post-1900. I aimed to study a variety of different subjects within those categories, including 20th Century Short Fiction, Race in 19th Century American Literature, Shakespeare, Chaucer, George Elliot's Middlemarch, Modern Pacific Islands Literature, Modern World Fiction, and the Evolution of Western Comedy. I never earned below an A- in any of those classes, frequently participated in class discussions, and frequently wrote analysis essays for each class.

Reading Comprehension Tutoring

My college courses revolved heavily around text analysis. I regularly found myself closely reading texts on all kinds of subjects, from all different cultures and time periods, and then creating persuasive arguments based on my discoveries. Analyzing these texts meant sharpening life-long skills like connecting themes, determining subtext, examining literary devices (metaphors, analogies, narrative points of view, story framing, etc), and contextualizing overall bodies of work, to the level of a grade A student at highly competitive liberal arts college.

Writing Tutoring

As you can tell, writing was a critical element of my major and overall college studies. My degree included an emphasis in Creative Writing, which allowed me to regularly write and study creative storytelling on top of all the essay writing I conducted in my English literature courses. I took Intro to Fiction Writing, Advanced Fiction Writing, Intro to Poetry Writing, Screenwriting, Playwriting, and Senior Seminar in Fiction Writing, and never received below an A in any of those classes. I also often attended workshops from visiting reputable writers and performed original work with my college's slam poetry team.

AP English Tutoring

I scored 4s on both the AP Literature and AP Language exams, frequently earned A- or above scores on in-class essays, and often participated in class discussions. I read books such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Hamlet, Heart of Darkness, and In Cold Blood. I even wrote an essay on the history and morality of the patent system, as a way of examining the idea of ownership, and my AP Language teacher said it was one of the best high school essays he had ever read! In those classes, I nailed down strategies for how to write a forty minute essay and prioritize structure and clarity instead of trying to sound "fancy" or over explain a point.

AP History Tutoring

I took AP World History, AP European History, and AP US History, earning two 4s and a 5 respectively. I was very passionate about studying history and enjoyed viewing the events as stories with actions and consequences, rather than just as facts and dates to memorize. Similar to the AP English exams, I learned how to create and structure essays in forty minutes, including strategies about how to budget your time for analyzing documents, figuring out a thesis, and outlining the essay.

SAT English Tutoring

As someone who often struggled with standardized test taking, I was very consistent in practicing for the SAT English sections, because even though I was confident in my English language skills, I knew that having an interest in a subject and being able to apply it under pressure were two very different mindsets. My consistent studying, along with advice from my own SAT tutor at the time, helped me learn how to identify patterns and tricks for the grammatical and structural rules that I already knew, patterns that both helped me cut down my test time and increased my overall understanding of what effective writing looks like. In the three times that I took the actual SAT exam, I never scored below a 1400 on either of the English sections.

SAT Reading Tutoring

The SAT reading section tends to be more difficult for students in terms of time constraints rather than skill level, and as someone with ADHD, I was far from being an exception. I pushed myself to practice time-saving strategies like underlining key works and taking notes in the margins while I was reading each literary piece, as well as reading each piece's corresponding questions first so that I could know which ideas to look out for. I aim to help my clients learn how to work with these time-saving strategies and be able identify analytical patterns in the literary pieces themselves that will help them ground their ability to answer each question.

SAT Verbal/Writing Tutoring

Compared to many of my classmates, I always did exceptionally well with identifying grammatical and structural rules because I was lucky enough that, aside from being an avid reader, both of my parents were career journalists and editors. There are a lot of rules with grammar and structure that many students unfortunately forget or are not aware of, especially since grammar itself isn't usually taught as isolated lessons past elementary school. I help students learn the simple tricks that my parents taught me for how to understand and then remember the grammatical and structural rules that they will find in the SAT Verbal/Writing section, such as when to use "I" or "me" and how to correctly identify the modified version of a subject in a sentence or paragraph.

Study Skills Tutoring

Studying is, of course, one of the key components in helping a student achieve the academic standard that they're aiming for, but learning how to maximize studying efforts can be the difference between a student who might earn good grades and a student who can understand and apply certain subjects in future settings. In other words, I emphasize the importance of quality over quantity, which is especially important for kids with learning disabilities and those with a low interest in or aptitude for a particular subject. I help students discover which quality-inducing strategies work for them, like how to solidly absorb information from a text without having to read it five times or how to make flashcards that are oriented towards their way of learning information. Studying takes a lot of patience, but it shouldn't be frustrating or annoying; it should be encouraging and helpful.

Writing Advance Tutoring

Although it may be a difficult or boring subject for some students, knowing how to properly write is an essential part of finding success in any subject or job that they might pursue in the future. That's because learning how to write effectively is the same as learning how to communicate effectively, which is just as important of a skill for an author to know as it is for a biologist who's trying to publish their discoveries, or a store manager who's trying to organize their team. Helping students understand that line of thinking is critical to my ethos as a tutor, and I enjoy tailoring each student's writing lessons towards their particular interests as a way of increasing their motivation to learn how to write. I focus on helping students master skills such as identifying and organizing their ideas, ensuring their points consistently reflect the main argument or idea that they are trying to convey, and figuring out how to express their ideas succinctly.

Arts Tutoring

I was always very passionate about helping students find their creative outlets in music and performing arts. Aside from playing the violin in my middle school orchestra, I independently learned how to play the guitar when I was twelve and have taught lessons in it before. I have been involved in theater— as either an actor, director, stage manager, or crew member— since I was eight years old, and I now work in professional theater alongside my film work. I took every theater class that my public school offered, took classes at Kenyon College, and studied at the National Theater Institute during my junior year of college. I know how intimidating it can be for students, especially in middle school, to perform or feel confident in their abilities as artists, whether it be performing a Shakespeare monologue in English class, nailing down a chord progression, or even playing the lead role in the school play.

French Tutoring

I studied French for seven years— all three years of middle school and all four in high school— and participated in my high school's two-week French exchange program. I took the AP French exam, which I did only score a 3 on unfortunately, but I always earned A's in my French classes, and I still feel confident in my ability to work with middle school students on their French skills. Learning French follows the same mindset as learning English— grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, etc— and therefore can lean on the same strategies (thank you DR MRS VANDERTRAMP !!)

Reading Tutoring

Reading in middle school usually involves bridging the gap between learning the fundamental skill itself in elementary school and learning how to analyze complex texts in high school. Using their teacher's assignments, I help middle school students learn how to start interpreting a text beyond its surface level meaning. For example, looking into how certain passages fit within the theme of the overall narrative, how to pick out the important details in a story, and what it means to write a story within a particular genre. Of course, I know that different students learn at different paces, so I always approach tutoring lessons with patience and consideration of a student's reading level.

Elementary Math Tutoring

Math was always the trickiest subject for me, and I actually had a math tutor myself for a few years. I learned from those tutors that just because it took me longer to understand math didn't mean I was bad it, and that's a message I always like to pass on now to any students I work with who are struggling with math. I took that extra time to study, to find strategies of learning that worked for me, and I ended up getting As on nearly all of my math state tests in elementary school.

Homework Coach Tutoring

Homework can be just as difficult, boring, stressful, or scary for a third grader as it is for a college student, but if you start building good homework habits early on, then it doesn't have to be any of those things. As with every subject I teach, I take the time to figure out what interests each student and what learning styles work best for them. Then, I can work with each student to create specific strategies based on their interests and learning styles, whether it be making a daily list of assignments to help create structure or coming up with a fun song to help a student remember an idea.

Social Studies Tutoring

I've had a strong interest in history since elementary school, because even back then, I thought of it as just a bunch of stories about real people and places, rather than a list of dates and names. Helping students to think about history as stories can allow them to see how all of the little parts— the dates, the people, the places— fit together, which in turn can help them create patterns to connect those pieces in their memories. What's more, I believe that helping a student to see how history influences their own lives can make the subject feel more accessible and interesting to them.

ACT English Tutoring

I took several practice ACT exams and one official exam, scoring a 33 on the English section and ranking in the 98th percentile for the essay section. Like the SAT, the ACT English section seems like recipe for memory-cramming a bunch of grammar rules that most students haven't had a proper lesson in since elementary school. I believe that helping students understand why each choice is correct and how that correct choice affects the overall passage will push them to process and store the information as patterns to recognize rather than rules to memorize. It may seem like a tedious process to some students, but taking the time to rethink the way they understand grammar and structure will allow students to identify the correct choices much more quickly and easily.

ACT Reading Tutoring

I scored a 31 on the Reading section when I took the ACT. Especially since the ACT allots less time for each section than the SAT, I encourage students to push past common, time-wasting tendencies like overthinking the questions and skimming through the texts. Practicing techniques such as underlining key ideas and taking notes in the margins can help students register the information and then locate the answers much more efficiently. Many students I have worked with also find it helpful to read the questions first, so they can see what kind of information to be on the look out for. I work with my students to practice these strategies— and others, depending on their learning style— so that they can feel confident when approaching the ACT Reading section and practice their critical thinking skills in general.

Regents Tutoring

Like with other standardized tests, I focus on creating good study habits with each student, based on their learning style, in order to help them optimize their time preparing for the regents exams. For instance, if a student is having trouble staying focused while reading their history textbook, then maybe creating flashcards could be a more effective method to study the information. Another student might struggle to organize their thoughts when approaching a math question— maybe jotting down their thoughts in the margins could help them structure the way they solve the problem.

Basic Computer Skills Tutoring

I took computer classes all throughout elementary and middle school, and have become an exceptional typer because of all my essay writing in college. I have also gained a lot of experience using Apple, Google, and Microsoft applications through my school work and my film jobs. In terms of conveying those ideas in an accessible way, I have gained a lot of practice through helping my 93-year-old grandmother navigate her computer— printing pictures, searching websites, saving documents, sending emails, organizing applications, and everything in between.