Writing is not a skill one must be born with. Writing is a learned skill. Becoming a better writer takes patience and dedication, but any student can learn the necessary skills to improve his or her writing while enjoying the process.

In a first session with a student, I take time to get to know the student's interests and strengths. I like to perform small, low-stakes assessments to gauge the best place to begin for that student’s learning needs.

A student becomes an independent learner when they are taught WHY a skill is important. Once a student understands what they are doing and why, they have the power to call on this knowledge when necessary independence from a tutor or teacher.

To keep students motivated, I practice student-centered learning, where the student has a large measure of control over the direction of their learning. I also utilize various learning styles, such as visual, aural, and kinesthetic learning to engage all of a student's senses.

To help students with reading comprehension, I teach a few basic skills: breaking words and sentences down into small parts, connecting the passage with the student's experiences or beliefs, and keeping a dictionary handy.

Getting to know a student and finding points of connection with him or her is important in the beginning. I like to set manageable goals, and it's important that the students know we can spend more time at any goal checkpoint when necessary. This way, the student feels he or she is always making steady progress, even though some goals may take longer to reach than others.

I would guide the student to make a connection between the subject and the student's life experiences or beliefs. For example, Moby-Dick may seem too out-of-touch for a lot of students, but at its core, the novel is about a character whose personal beliefs are challenged by people very different from him. This is something we all experience as we enter new experiences, like high school, college, and adult life.

To make sure a student understands the material, I would use a series of low-stakes assessments throughout the learning process, such as quizzes and brief written assignments. This helps to determine if there are areas in which the student struggles. Once any areas of difficulty are uncovered, we can focus on those particular skills or concepts before a high-stakes assessment, like a test or essay, is due.

Along with suggesting areas of improvement, it's important to let students know what they are doing right. Complimenting their strengths builds confidence and motivates them to further improve.

To evaluate a student's needs, I perform periodic diagnostics in the form of brief quizzes or informal written assignments, like journal entries or mind maps.

Getting to know a student and how he or she learns is most important when adapting tutoring to a student's needs. If a student is a visual learner, I will incorporate more graphics or photographs. If a student is a kinesthetic learner, I will incorporate more project-based assessments.

I prefer that a student be as active and involved as possible during a tutoring session. Open dialogue is important, as are taking notes, asking questions, utilizing flash cards, highlighters, or markers.