ENGLISH and WRITING
Tutoring English is about sharing a love of literature and instilling a life-long writing practice.
ENGLISH LITERATURE
Encouraging curiosity and connection with literature gets my student digging deeper into the prose. We read novels in tandem so I can be an informed sounding board for each student. Discussions identify and analyze recurring themes, tone, diction, literary devices, and more. These conversations develop the student's internal dialogue with literature, preparing them for class participation, assessments and essays. Some of the classics I review regularly are: Animal Farm, Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Jane Eyre, The Odyssey, Pride and Prejudice and the works of Shakespeare, among many others.
Customized lists of books for leisure reading along with pen-pal opportunities keep my students reading during down time, like vacation and summer break.
Test prep includes: AP English Literature Exam - NY State English Language Arts Regents Exam (Common Core).
WRITING
My experience as a writer, editor and foreign language teacher gives me many tools for coaching writing. I provide concrete structures for students who struggle with the writing stages and connecting the details with the big picture.
Teaching French developed my skills in explaining language's basic elements and grammatical rules. That experience informs how I teach students to write with diverse but simple syntax, clarify their prose, and edit out mistakes.
As an editor, I help my students to tighten their work by making small, simple changes to improve the overall piece while not sacrificing the student's voice or meaning.
FIND A GROOVE
Inspired approach: I encourage ongoing habits for successful writing. A good essay starts with active reading, including annotations and detailed in-class notes that facilitate the brainstorming and development of an argument when the essay is assigned. Students get in the groove by starting their essay early in order to get feedback on multiple drafts. Additionally, I encourage independent writing - journaling, blogging and fan fiction - which gives consistent practice at the craft and instills life-long writing habits. Meet Paul.
