"I help students excel in English, with a focus on writing and essay preparation for high-stakes exams and college admissions. For the past 20 years, my students have regularly earned 5s on AP English Language and AP English Literature exams, raised their SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores by 100+ points to 770+ and beyond (including perfect scores), and gained admission to Ivy League and other highly selective universities such as Yale, Duke, Columbia, and the University of Chicago.

As a Phi Beta Kappa graduate with training in Child Development at UCLA, I teach clear, step-by-step strategies for literary analysis and essay structure, including how to recognize and interpret rhetorical and literary elements, write an argumentative thesis, and support it with text-based evidence.

I also work extensively with students on personal narratives and application essays, helping them learn to shape their meaningful experiences into clear, compelling personal statements that are creative and authentic. Through this process, my students have gone on to highly competitive universities and prestigious pre-college enrichment programs at Harvard and Yale. I tailor my lessons to each student: some work with me on specific assignments or exams, while others continue working with me from middle school through college.

Reading and writing instruction is ultimately about learning how to think independently: to evaluate ideas, to make sense of complex texts, to communicate clearly. I help students understand why grappling with the deeper questions that writing and literature raise makes their work relevant, meaningful, rewarding, and even fun. Seeing students thrive is what makes my job the best job in the world!" less...