Initially, we will identify individual interests, current levels of proficiency, areas of difficulty, and preferred learning techniques. From all this, together we will structure a programme of learning which is customised to the individual student, at a pace and intensity which is just right for you.
This could involve compiling and discussing a bank of quotations together, writing or going over paragraphs to prepare for exams, or simply discussing ideas about a text, from which we can gather revision material. In each tutorial I will go over an unseen passage of poetry or prose. Not only is this an integral component of any English exam, but it will improve your critical faculties and vocabulary, and increase your confidence at deciphering the meanings of a text. Additionally, I will take each student beyond the set-texts into the contextual world of the books or poems being studied.
By introducing carefully selected passages from critical, biographical and historical materials and related texts, I will expand the horizons through which we study English. By these means, every lesson we will be pushing to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the set-texts themselves, giving you a broader insight than many other students. This will take very little time and effort, but can yield invaluable results.
Progress will be measured by means the close reading, practice exam-style essays, and evaluative conversations.