Victor

Tutoring Experience

During my time at Cambridge I helped found the Clare College Literary and Writing society, where my primary responsibility was to lead biweekly tutoring classes for fellow students. I delivered group lectures on a range of subjects (Modernist authors of the 1920s, Victorian literature, Shakespeare’s Tragedies, 21st century Weird Fiction) while also providing one-to-one sessions and essay feedback. This often dealt with the topic of poetry analysis and practical criticism, a benchmark of the Cambridge English degree – I firmly believe the ability to close-read and interpret texts is the key to success with literature at every academic level, from the 11+ to university standards.

For my work over those three years I was awarded the Richard Gooder prize. My dedication to offering educational support began while I was still at school, working as Prefect to regularly help GCSE and fellow A-level students with English essays and exam preparation.

I also have experience assisting with university applications, and tutoring students at IB and undergraduate level. In the past I have been contacted by my school to help students applying to study at Oxbridge colleges. These hour-long sessions took place over Skype and covered the requirements of cover letters, writing tests and the Cambridge interview. To date two of these students have completed successful applications to study at Oxbridge – one studying English, the other MML.

Though English is my primary passion (I have written literary articles for websites such as Dog Door Cultural and Varsity Online), I am also offering services as an Italian tutor. I am a fluent speaker of the language after living in Florence for ten years. Having achieved A* at A-level, I am equipped to provide tutoring for students who want to learn Italian speaking/writing skills or have an interest in Italian literature. Likewise, I am also providing opportunities for Italian-speakers who wish to improve their English or are seeking assistance with university applications in Britain.

Tutoring Approach

I firmly believe it is a tutor’s responsibility to cater to the individual needs of a student. The first session will likely begin with an informal discussion to understand what the student or parent hopes to achieve – be this success in exams, improved literacy or entry to a Russell Group university. From this we will discuss the best strategy to pursue and determine the regularity of classes. My school and university experiences are still in recent memory, so I remember well the pressure of exams, essays and applications. In my personal experience the most useful help came from teachers whose enthusiasm was clear, and who balanced formality with a friendly, accommodating approach. It is this approach which has been the basis of my own practice.

Admissions tests: I would begin by asking to see any existing cover letter or academic CV as a basis from which to work – if the student has never written one, I will provide examples and strategies for how to begin. For applicants who wish to study English I will devise questions and work towards staging a mock-interview. Oxbridge applicants will practice analysing practical criticism texts under my supervision. Understanding the different ways to approach these texts are vital for successful applications.

Literature: The focus on English will be different depending on the student’s academic level. Working with 11+ or GCSE, I will ask about their school syllabus and key texts. From there I will aim to provide a more comprehensive contextual backdrop, delivering short lectures that would be useful for essays and exams. I will work through past papers step by step, exploring successful and unsuccessful responses to questions. I will also help with one of the most important aspects of any literature exam, at any level – memorising quotations. My process with A-level and university entry students will follow a similar shape, beginning with discussions over interests and disinterests within the required field, which I will then structure around course requirements. I believe finding those topics of personal interest are especially important with admission tests, where interviewers should clearly see an applicant’s passion.

English/Italian language tutoring: As the requirements of language-learning are more regulated, these lessons will by necessity take a different shape. Focus will be placed on teaching grammar and vocab, providing opportunities to write and converse. In the case of teaching Italian to absolute beginners, I will begin with basic introductory phrases before progressing onto discussions of school and holidays, introducing more useful vocab with each session. Languages cannot be taught by theory alone, so each lesson will have at least one section devoted to conversation. I will also make use of informal tests to map a student’s progression with vocab and grammar rules. I will tailor the degree of difficulty to match the students’ prior experience.