Paul A.
Private tutor in Thousand Oaks, CA
Education
University of California, Santa Barbara. B.A. 1996 University of Wisconsin, Madison. M.A. (English) 1999
Experience
Welcome to my profile. By hiring me, you can take advantage of extensive academic and professional experience that serves a wide variety of educational needs. I have over 10 years experience teaching at the college level. Additionally, I have close to 20 years experience tutoring students of all ages and grade levels from elementary through graduate studies. I can assist in every type of reading and writing assignment. In addition to general school work assistance, I specialize in the following areas of tutoring: 1) Long horizon SAT Verbal prep: I work with students up to more than a year in advance of the intended test date, bolstering vocabulary acquisition, rudimentary test-taking strategies, close reading skills, and argument analysis. This basic framework is further grounded in foundational work in advanced fluency in argument, idea development, and evidence based critical thinking. I do not do a rushed, last minute prep, so please do not contact me if the student is within a month of taking the SAT and has not had any previous test prep training. 2) AP English literature exam: I have several years experience working with what constitutes a successful AP English lit essay. This is a twofold process where I work with students to develop insightful literary analyses that stand out rather than the ordinary formulaic essays that students are often steered toward generating. Next, I work closely with students to elevate basic composition skills, teaching them how to master a skillful command of language and sentence structures that can often result in a higher essay score. 3) Academic rescue: I also specialize in intense one-on-one "rescue" work with students who are on academic probation, in danger of failing, or in danger of not graduating. In these cases it is imperative to work closely with students to reconstruct effective study habits, recalibrate attitude toward academic success, and simply catch up with subject deficiencies. My method, structured around accountability, is most successful when students are cooperative and willing to dedicate the time and energy necessary to resurrect poor performance.
Availability
Weekdays at any time, Weekends at any time
Can Meet
Up to 20 minutes away for no additional charge
Hobbies
My primary hobbies are learning (I take a lot of online courses from MOOCs) and nature photography.
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