BA, Philosophy and BA, Political Science, Williams College
English specialist focusing on both academic and creative writing at the high school level.
Areas of focus
ISEE - Lower / Middle / Upper Level - all sections
SAT – All Levels – all sections
High School English
AP Lang & AP Lit – individual and small-group classes and test prep
Academic Reading – Middle / High School / University Levels
Academic Writing – Middle / High School / University Levels
College Application Essay Writing
Background
BA, Philosophy / BA, Political Science, Williams College
MFA, Fiction Writing, University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop
Taught English, Composition, and Creative Writing at Southern Connecticut State University, Western State University, and Santa Barbara City College, 2006-2016
10 years tutoring students of all ages in person and online
Recent outcomes
English | Harvard-Westlake and Crystal Springs (multiple students) | Grade: B’s → A’s
AP Lang and AP Lit | Harvard-Westlake students | AP Score: 5
College Admissions Essays | Accepted to UC Berkeley, Rutgers, Boston College, and Colgate
Approach
My belief, honed in high-school and university classrooms as well as in working as a tutor, is that reading, writing, and thinking are all deeply interdependent. The process of reading requires the ability to understand an idea being presented by someone else, the process of writing requires the ability to articulate one’s own idea, and the basis of most academic thought involves understanding ideas and responding with one’s own. When working with students in English, Creative Writing, or any area of the humanities, I take an integrated approach that involves learning to understand the structure, content, and prose approach of the text at hand, and as well as learning to use these same categories – structure, content, and prose – to articulate ideas that are compelling, unique to the student, and match the specific expectations of the teacher.
Q&A
A resource you’d hand a curious student?
Any well-written novel.
The mistake you see most often?
Writing according to a pre-defined format rather than shaping a piece of writing to articulate an idea.
What you look for in a good-fit student?
Curiosity, willingness to work hard.
What parents or students get wrong about prep?
Reading and writing well are not innate abilities but are akin to learning to play a sport or an instrument – practice is essential.