Ishani

Certified Tutor

I graduated from Southern Methodist University with a major in English and minors in biology and medical anthropology. While my goal is to become a veterinarian, literature is my passion. I believe that the skills cultivated through literature such as reading comprehension, analysis, critical thinking, broadening of perspective, and the deepening of empathy and understanding prepare a student for a variety of challenges. As an English tutor, I will help students develop these skills so they can utilize them in all facets of their education. As a college student, I volunteered with the ESL organization which helps college students understand texts from a variety of classes, improve English grammar and sentence structure, and plan and write essays. I have also tutored several students through college English courses and reviewed theses for distinction.

I mold my teaching methods to accommodate my students, and I implement my creativity and problem solving abilities to construct a unique and functional learning arrangement for each student. I start off gaging a student's learning style, their academic preferences, reading comprehension, and writing skills. Then, I lay down a foundation for annotation, analysis and comprehending a novel and its context. I facilitate discussions about the novel where I encourage them to identify figurative language, motifs, symbols, themes, tone and tone shifts, and character development. Cultivating an understanding of the text will translate into being able to discuss the work in a paper and in a classroom setting.

My knowledge base spans classic and modern literature. I have read, analyzed, and written about Shakespeare's plays, Greek and Roman literature, Chaucer, the Romantic era, Victorian literature, the Gothic, African American literature, American literature, British literature, modern literature, and poetry. I was selected for earning a distinction in English at SMU and I completed a research thesis on racial identity in Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. In addition to teaching literary analysis, I am adept at research, citations, and editing essays.