I have been a professional writer for about forty years even though I only got my bachelor's degree in English in 2005. I will complete my master's degree this year.
My writing experience includes journalism, business, and politics/government, and my literature experience includes bachelor's and master's courses, including my master's thesis, which I am working on now.
My teaching experience is limited to tutoring at the college level. However, I am confident I can work with primary and secondary students one on one, too. I have been a tutor in my college's writing center for five years. I can work intensively with a student on basic English style and grammar, including help with all levels of writing from middle and high school to college and adults who have been away from the classroom. (I do not "write papers for" students; I help them learn the writing process and write their papers and documents themselves.)
Are you having trouble learning to appreciate the great pieces of American and English literature? I love to discuss fiction, poetry, and essays, and I can steer you to the best research sites and show you how to produce your own research paper without needing to plagiarize. It's not a mystery that can't be done; it's a skill you can learn.
In college I have had a lot of experience working with students whose native language is not English (such as learning when and when not to use those maddening indefinite and definite articles, "a" and "the", as opposed to their use in the student's native language). But please note that I am NOT technically an ESL/ESOL instructor. I have NOT been trained in ESL, and I do not have a certificate in ESL/ESOL. I have, however, been working as a tutor informally and successfully with students and adults who are learning English "as a second language."
I particularly like to work with older students, both natives and immigrants, who struggle with the special challenges of having been out of school for many years, sometimes learning on their own now and sometimes learning in an alien-feeling institution. I know what it is like to be the oldest person in a classroom, sometimes older than the teacher, and to feel as though you can't "do it." With a little tutoring help where you need it, you can join your classmates in the classroom experience, be confident, and even enjoy the experience. Older students have something special to give younger students, who definitely appreciate the more experienced perspective.
Usually I meet with someone I'm tutoring at the nearby Northshore Mall here in Peabody or in another local mall (Saugus, Danvers) or in a local library here on the North Shore. If you think I might help you, I would love to work with you.
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