Patricia: Merrillville tutor

Certified Tutor

For parents of K-12 English Language Arts students:

Does your child have a writing assignment due? When students see that reading provides a model for their writing, they begin to see the structure of how ideas are presented. Kids are expected to produce simple paragraphs in second grade, so they must master basic reading comprehension first to know how to have a clear topic sentence and main idea. Syntax, grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, spelling, and handwriting are also important at this stage. By the time they finish fifth grade, they should be able to do basic research and reports, write narratives, make persuasive arguments in compare/contrast essays, and develop ideas in a clear way. In middle school, they are introduced to writing for specific topics and audiences. They learn how to make persuasive arguments using the appeals (pathos, ethos, and logos), preparing for the critical thinking that takes place in high schools and universities. In high school, reading comprehension goes beyond identifying main idea, point of view, and purpose to connecting themes, motifs, and events, sometimes tying in historical events.

In the past two years, I have been helping students from kindergarten to eleventh grade make sense of the different types of writing and how they can approach their reading and writing assignments. This includes study skills like planning and prioritizing as well as how to read for gist and for specific information. I am familiar with the state English standards for DC, MD, and VA and explain to students what they will be studying that school year and why it is relevant. I will keep your student on task, I am always patient and encouraging, and I keep my sense of humor at all times. I am committed to your child's success!

For university students:

Have you got a research paper due? Do you have to use MLA or APA style? I'll show you how to do it from planning to final draft. What about your first-year English class? Have you got to write a Rogerian argument? Maybe you have to analyze how someone used pathos, ethos, or logos to influence an audience; maybe you have to make a rhetorical argument to persuade your audience. No matter what kind of writing you encounter, the author's purpose should be clear. I will help you to plan and organize your work, including how to make sure your grammar and punctuation are on point. In the last three years, I have been working with university students to write clear and concise papers. Let me help you do your best work!

For ESL students of any age:

I have ten years of experience teaching English, including classroom and one-to-one tutoring. I have been teaching English to adult immigrants at a local college since January 2017 and tutoring through Varsity for two years. I received my CELTA (Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English) in Budapest in 2004. From there, I spent four years at a British language school in Kiev, Ukraine, where I taught all ages and all levels, including absolute beginners and Cambridge certificate courses. I also tutored individuals and pairs, adults and children, in my free time. Upon returning to the U.S., I completed a master's degree in nonprofit management. I got a second master's in European and Eurasian studies at George Washington University, where I also tutored Kazakh exchange fellows for the Central Asia Program at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. My bachelor's degree in international relations is from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. I am an English teacher, but also a language learner. I have taken university-level French, Russian, and German, studied Latin and Spanish in school, and have taken classes in Persian and Arabic. I understand how it is for language learners, so I assess the needs of the student and go from there. I want my students to set the pace for their learning. We can tailor lessons to your needs, addressing your strengths and weaknesses, keeping in mind your individual learning style, whether you prefer learning by doing, listening, writing, reading, or speaking. I can help you make sense of all the grammar, pronunciation, and spelling so that you can speak English confidently!