My name is Oliver. I'm a current student at Northwestern University and standardized test tutor. I've been tutoring for the past 3 years and have helped many students score well on the SAT, ACT, PSAT, and similar exams. I am also fluent in French.
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...I enjoy tutoring a wide range of subjects, some of my favorites include various levels of test prep (SAT, SSAT, ISEE, HSPT, etc.), college essay editing, AP English Literature and Language, AP U.S. History, and AP Music Theory. While at Dartmouth, I performed in theater and opera productions, sang in several choirs, took ballet and yoga classes, worked as a teaching assistant and stage manager in the Theater Department, and volunteered as an arts teacher in...
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...recently graduated with a master's degree in Urban Education Policy from Brown University after studying public policy as an undergraduate at Duke University. I hope to pursue a career in education policy in the future, but at present I want to be the best tutor that I can be. Given my passionate about education policy, I understand the important role that standardized tests play in allowing students to maximize their own educational potential. My goal...
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...am a recent graduate of St. Agnes Academy in Houston, Texas and a current sophomore at Vanderbilt University studying Economics and Human and Organizational Development. I was first introduced to Varsity Tutors when I received tutoring for the math section of the SAT during my junior year of high school. With hard work, perseverance, and a wonderful tutor I was able to raise my scores significantly and see the positive results that ensued. The experience...
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I have a passion for helping others set and exceed their personal goals. I believe learning is lifelong and is best achieved in an environment that is trusting, professional, and comfortable. I believe the right skills and confidences can change lives, and am ready to help contribute to that in any way possible!... Teaching is best accomplished in a setting that is supportive, engaging, and trusting. These attributes help build confidence and excitement about learning, and...
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...I attended high school at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, and recently graduated from the University of Virginia with a Distinguished Bachelor's in Neuroscience. As a medical student at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, I am excited to provide growing students with the unique perspectives on typically difficult STEM subjects that I have learned myself over the past few years. I am deeply passionate about mentorship and teaching, and am...
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...from sunny California, Grace is a teacher and performer currently working in Chicago. She graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University with a degree in English Literature and Theatre, with a concentration in Theatre for Young Audiences. You can find a portion of her honors thesis on Virginia Woolf's last novel published in the next issue of the Madison Journal of Literary Criticism! Grace loves working with young people and has been teaching drama and...
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...is a graduate of New York University, where she majored in Biochemistry and Art History in 2015, and a current graduate student at NYU's Institute of Fine Arts in Art Conservation; she enjoys both the quantitive side of science and the imaginative side of having history come alive through art, and art come alive through historical contexts. Though born and raised and still in NYC, Sherry loves traveling. Besides traveling, she loves reading, drawing, playing...
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...My name is Jake, I just graduated from Lehigh University with a B.A. in Computer Science and a minor in Theatre. In the fall, I'll be attending law school at Columbia Law, and I hope to pursue cybersecurity law while I'm there. I have a ton of experience tutoring in many different areas, however my specific specialty areas are Computer Science, Math (up to Calculus 2), and test prep. I love theatre, music, and video...
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I am a passionate educator and writer and have worked as a tutor and classroom teacher with students of all ages and backgrounds. I received my MFA in writing from Johns Hopkins University, where I taught undergraduates. My background as a teacher and tutor encompasses work with language arts in all its forms: creative and critical writing, reading and literary analysis, grammar and mechanics, college essays and language-focused test prep.
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...am a Stanford student who loves both learning and teaching. I have taught English at an elementary school in China and have provided writing and SAT tutoring over Skype for a non-profit. I have also volunteered extensively at a local non-profit that promotes literacy at schools in at-risk areas and have also read aloud to young students. Because of these experiences, I am a strong believer in the importance of education in changing lives and...
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The world is not going to end if you do not get a perfect score. A perfect score should simply be a goal to strive towards. I believe in making mistakes. The best way to learn is to correct and review mistakes. This ensures that fewer and fewer errors are made in subsequent performances. Practice and discipline will lead to perfection. Those who do not learn from their mistakes are destined to repeat them.... It's okay...
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...am an Arizona native. Upon graduating from Desert Mountain High School, I attended Rice University and I received my Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology with a business focus. At Rice I was a student/athlete representing the Division I Owls in track and field. After several years experience voluntarily tutoring friends and family members I became a professional private tutor my junior year of college. My senior year, I took advantage of the opportunity to reach...
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...am a recent graduate from The University of Chicago. I graduated with a degree in Political Science with much additional coursework in literature and philosophy. My favorite part about being a tutor is the moment of satisfaction that comes with seeing one of my students greatly improve after a lot of hard work. My favorite things to tutor are the GRE and the SAT, in part because I feel like a high score on these...
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...am a graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in Literature, including studies in modern fiction, comparative literature and communications. My professional sales and marketing background includes several decades in industries ranging from retail and hospitality to TV programming and distribution. Years of management experience taught me the importance of teaching, practice, sound strategy and motivation to improve any performance. I also have an advanced math aptitude that I put to use in business analysis,...
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...come from a family of teachers, as my mother was an elementary school music teacher for 35 years and her sister was a preschool teacher. I did very well in school, including college and graduate school, I wanted to help others learn how to study effectively and remember information. I have developed a desire to help people achieve their educational goals and succeed in an academic setting. I first began substitute teaching in the 1990s...
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...am a private tutor with over ten years of experience on the SATs, College Essays & Applications, English, History, Math, TOEFL, and the like. I have taught for over seven years, including at such prestigious institutions as Choate Rosemary Hall, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from Fordham University with a triple major in English, Philosophy, and American studies. I have two masters' degrees, and am a certified teacher in the State...
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...graduated from Rice University cum laude with a B.A. in Biological Sciences. My goal as a tutor is not to simply help students with their homework but to make sure that they get a complete grasp of the concepts they are trying to learn. I taylor my tutoring sessions based on the individual because each student has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. This allows me to use practice problems from trusted resources along...
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...name is Joubert and I have a degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT. My interests are science and math along with College prep (SAT/ACT). For two years in college, I was a lecturer for an AP Chemistry class that ran for the whole academic school year. I am currently a teacher for the SAT. I'm very excited to be a tutor for VarsityTutors. I have a very methodical approach to teaching. I want the students...
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...my experiences working with students of all ages, I developed a personalized approach for each individual. Students benefit the most when they hone skills both for the assignment at hand, and for long term success in efficient studying and improved reasoning. I have two years of experience as a full time professional in education, as a middle school teacher and a coordinator for an afterschool program. I tutored students throughout high school and college, in...
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Receive personally tailored PSAT Writing Skills lessons from exceptional tutors in a one-on-one setting. We help you connect with the best tutor for your particular needs while offering flexible scheduling to fit your busy life.
PSAT Writing Skills Tutoring FAQ
If your child has set their sights on becoming a National Merit Scholar, they will need to earn excellent scores on the PSAT, as this exam is also the NMSQT - the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Regardless of how your student scores, this free exam provides an opportunity to take an exam that mimics the real SAT, complete with proctors, time limits, and test-day anxiety. The way your child scores on the PSAT can thus provide them with an analysis of their current abilities in the three subjects that the SAT tests, which includes the Critical Reading section, the Mathematics section, and the Writing section.
Students who give stellar performances on the PSAT can also be nominated as National Merit Scholars, an honor that is often accompanied by merit-based financial aid during the college application process. If your child is ready to reach for this goal, but they know that their writing and editing abilities could use some support, Varsity Tutors can help by assisting you in connecting with a highly skilled and experienced private tutor.
Your child's classes are not going to help prepare them for the specific problem types they will face on the PSAT. Practice books cannot answer questions about the material they present, and online resources are often unreliable. Varsity Tutors can help you and your child connect with personal PSAT Writing tutors that avoid these pitfalls and can help them streamline their studying.
All tutoring takes place in a one-on-one setting, where your instructor can answer your child's questions as they arise, providing specific guidance about the section's content and real-time feedback on their work. We understand that every student is a unique learner with different strengths and weaknesses. Your child's tutor can create a review plan just for them, custom tailored to focus on helping them develop the knowledge and skills they most need for success on test day.
No matter whether they struggle with picking out subtle grammatical inconsistencies in questions for identifying sentence errors, picking out the best way to rephrase a sentence in questions for improving sentences, or employing the passage-based logic tested by questions on improving paragraphs, your child's tutor can provide them with practice materials and instruction to help them master any and all of these writing section question types.
Is your child afraid of running out of time when they take the actual PSAT? Not sure how to strategically approach the section based on the tests scoring system? Your child's tutor can help address these issues well before test day in order to help the student give their best performance at that time. Your private tutor can help your child develop effective time management skills, which will make sure that your child has at least a chance of answering every exam question. Your child's tutor can also help them identify where exactly their strengths and weaknesses lie in terms of learning style. That way, they can develop a study plan that will help them make the most out of their strengths, while trying to minimize their weaknesses as much as possible. PSAT Writing tutoring does not just offer benefits leading up to the PSAT. The English and writing skills that it can help your child internalize can benefit them in future classes as well.
Varsity Tutors is focused on flexibility and convenience. Our live learning platform enables you and your child to meet with a private tutor either in person or face-to-face online. This allows you and your child to pick a time and place that works best for both of you.
Contact Varsity Tutors today to learn more about how PSAT Writing tutoring can help your child prepare for the PSAT efficiently and effectively. Let us help you and your child connect with a highly skilled and experienced private tutor that can make all the difference on test day.
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Recent PSAT Writing Skills Tutoring Session Notes
Reviewed the Correcting Sentence Errors and Improving Sentences portions of the Critical Reading section. Covered basic grammar mechanics and idiomatic use of English, as well as multiple-choice strategies relevant to the PSAT/SAT. Student is a quick study, and clearly very motivated (took notes on unfamiliar material). Will continue with the verbal section next session.
The student and I began by discussing her questions from the practice test sections she took during the week. Then we moved onto to work through a writing practice section together, and ended by working through a math section. The student is noticeably improving and applying techniques we have worked on to her practice tests.
The student and I continued to work on the Improving Sentences section, with a specific concentration on Identifying Sentence Errors. Towards the end of the session we moved on to working on the Improving Paragraphs section.
Today we continued with PSAT studying. We did a bit of a math section and determined that he could answer all of them so we moved on. We worked most on grammar and I taught him some easy tricks that I learned from SAT prep and he seems to feel better about his English skills. I think he just needed a little more self-confidence.
We focused on the Writing section during today's session. I started by reviewing the writing section on a practice test the student had completed prior to our session. We then worked through some tips and strategies for Improving Sentences questions, Identifying Sentence Errors questions, and Improving Paragraphs questions, looking at examples of the application of each strategy. Then we reviewed the list of common grammar and usage errors often used by the test. Finally, we went over the Writing section of a practice test, working through each question and the answer choices together. I asked him to review a list of common diction errors as well as the list of grammar errors and complete another Writing section test before our next session.
Reviewed last week's work on writing the PSAT essay and how to break down the 25-minute time block accordingly. Encouraged client to spend 10 minutes planning essay (choosing stance on prompt, coming up with arguments for/against, and coming up with good examples from literature/history/current events/personal experiences).
We reviewed an example prompt from the student's test prep book and came up with arguments for/against together. I reminded student to take a definite, clear stance on the prompt. We also reviewed essays that scored a 6 (highest score) and a 4, and we read the graders' rationale for each score.
We also reviewed part of the sentence revision portion of the grammar review. We reviewed 4 of the 16 different types of errors that this section reviews. Lastly, we completed 10 sample sentence completion questions and we reviewed the ones he got wrong (5 out of 10) and why, cross-referencing aforementioned types of errors.
