English Studies and Tutoring

Classes are designed to offer support, enrichment, and/or a personalized study plan. Driven by what is most helpful for each student, lessons include any or all of the following:

I. Study skills
II. Reading and literature
     A. Higher-level literacy skills
     B. Study and expansion of vocabulary
          1. In context
          2. By concept
          3. Greek roots
          4. Latin roots
          5. Writing applications
    C. Literary analysis
          1. Classics and their authors
          2. Award winners
          3. Core curriculum selections
          4. Supplementary curriculum selections
          5. Drama
                a. Greek
                b. William Shakespeare
                c. Modern
          6. Poetry
          7. Short story
          8. Non-fiction
          9. Fiction
          10. Scholarly articles
III. Grammar
     A. The mastery of all the parts of speech and their standard usage enhances effective expression.
     B. The art and logic of sentence diagramming     
     C. Punctuation – from the basics to the “sophisticated”   
     D. Phrases
          1. Prepositional
               a. Adjectival
               b. Adverbial
          2. Appositive
          3. Verbal
               a. Participial
               b. Gerund
               c. Infinitive
          4. Essential vs. non-essential
     E. Sentences
           1. Structures
           2. Purposes
           3. Combining skills
      F. Agreement
           1. Parallel structures
           2. Positive, comparative, and superlative modifiers
           3. PAA (pronoun-antecedent agreement)
           4. SVA (subject-verb agreement)
           5. VTA (verb tense agreement)
      G. Clauses
            1. Independent
            2. Subordinate
                a. Noun clause
                b. Adjective clause
                c. Adverbial clause
                d. Restrictive vs. nonrestrictive
IV. Composition
      A. All steps of the writing process: brainstorming, outlining, drafting, editing, revising, proofreading, publishing
      B. All levels: upper elementary, junior high, high school, college/undergrad, graduate
     C. Essay writing
          1. Structuring the essay’s introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs
          2. The thesis statement
          3. Topic sentences
          4. Properly embedded quotes
          5. MLA citations
     D. Essay writing by purpose
          1. Expository / informational
          2. Argumentative / compelling,, cogent persuasion
          3. Analysis (literary, rhetorical, thematic)
          4. Summative
          5. Evaluative
          6. Synthesis
          7. Research
     E. Common essay assignments
          1. Senior research projects
          2. IB Extended Essays
          3. IB Internal Assessments (IA)
          4. Thesis papers
          5. AP English Language and Composition 
               a. synthesis
               b. rhetorical analysis
               c. argument 
          6. AP Literature
               a. poetry analysis
               b. prose analysis
               c. literary argument
          7. AP-USH (U.S. History)
               a. long essay
               b. short answer
               c. DBQ
     F. Other writing ventures
          1. Creative writing
               a. Narratives
                    i. Plot development
                    ii. Character development
           2. Poetry: any, all
           3. Development and editing of articles and manuscripts destined for submission
                a. Publication submissions
                b. Essay contests
                c. Writing competitions
          4. Applications
               a. Summer programs
               b. Internships
               c. Research opportunities
           5. Resumés, cover letters, contact emails 

I just love to write and to help others find joy and confidence in effectively expressing their ideas with writing that is marked with clarity, precision, purpose, and impact.

Write on!