Sam

Certified Tutor

I grew up in northeast Seattle and attended Nathan Hale High School. I went on to the University of Washington, where I graduated magna cum laude in 2009 with a double major in English and History, with a focus on history of ideas and history of science. After extensive traveling I returned to the University of Washington to pursue a doctoral degree in English literature. I began my doctoral studies in 2012 and received my master's degree in 2014.

I focus on poetry but study many forms of Anglophone literature, from drama to novels to contemporary experimental literature. My courses are interdisciplinary by design and emphasize the skills of careful reading, precise analysis, and logical inference through grammar instruction, vocabulary development, research skills, and composition.

This year I received the Joan Webber Prize for Outstanding Teaching. My research is integral to my teaching and I enjoy making literature relevant to my student's lives and ambitions. Helping students work through challenging material individually, whether during office hours or in mid-quarter conferences, is the most valuable and enriching aspect of teaching at the University of Washington.

In addition to extensive teaching experience, I have also worked as an assistant editor at Modern Language Quarterly: A Journal of Literary History. My job duties included copyediting for grammar and style and managing the day-to-day operations of the journal. As a consequence I am a skilled editor and proofreader, with an ability to facilitate a writer's own expression and assist them in developing their written materials. I have also worked as a freelance academic editor, and edited materials that are now in print.

My background in teaching and editing have prepared me to tutor in all areas pertaining to literature and culture. MLQ publishes essays on literature from around the world and across history, that draw on diverse intellectual and philosophical traditions. My focus on style, vocabulary, grammar, and inferential argumentation make me an excellent tutor in reading comprehension and analytical writing. Standardized test preparation involves the sequential development and mastery of the skills I have developed through doctoral education, research, teaching and editing.

I love teaching and imparting a life-long interest in reading, literature, philosophy, and scientific inquiry. The first principle of my teaching philosophy is eduction: I want to draw forth what you are passionate about and help you to make your goals a reality.