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College Tutoring in Portland
Strengthen writing and research skills as you learn new discourses and undertake interdisciplinary projects in college.
Experienced English tutors
College is an extraordinary opportunity—and a major life transition. As a private tutor with a Ph.D. who has been both a high school teacher and a university professor, David Wolf is sensitive to the new academic, social, and logistical demands that students face in college. An English tutor in Portland with vast experience, David knows how to help them adapt for success at this level.
Suddenly, you are on your own to keep up with the extensive reading and break down complex assignments into steps. You’re learning the specialized language of scholarly disciplines and undertaking interdisciplinary projects. Having designed and taught many interdisciplinary courses for freshmen, your university tutor, David Wolf, can help you meet and surpass course expectations while becoming a more rigorous researcher and writer of argument papers.
Private tutors for research skills
In college you will take more than thirty courses, so it’s paramount you master the fundamental research skills. In every field of the Humanities and Social Sciences, these include:
- How to formulate a precise research question;
- How to determine your discourse community;
- How to use electronic databases to search for sources;
- How to evaluate the merit of each source;
- How to annotate sources and prepare an annotated bibliography;
- How to synthesize source information and present your results in the form of an argument.
As a Writing Instructor in Portland State University’s Honors College, David Wolf worked closely with hundreds of college seniors, supporting their research and writing for their honors theses. As your college tutor in Portland, David will use his successful teaching methods to help you learn how to research effectively.
Critical reading tutors
Without strong critical reading skills, you will struggle in college. As your reading tutor in Portland, David Wolf will teach you to become a strong critical reader so that you derive more from what you read. It is never too late to become an outstanding critical reader. You need a skilled reading tutor and a willingness to work hard.
David will also introduce you to some useful online tools for learning the best critical reading practices, such as this series of short videos designed by the English department at the University of Texas at Austin. Together with your English tutor, you’ll devise the best methods to improve as a critical reader and increase your understanding.
English tutors who teach
David Wolf has taught for ten years at the college level, both in English departments and general education programs. As a college tutor in Portland, he understands the learning goals, course requirements, and skill expectations for the 21st century college student.
During his years as a university professor, David,
- has taught hundreds of freshmen, helping them adapt to college intellectually and socially;
- has taught numerous writing classes to impart the critical thinking and communication skills needed for college success;
- has taught hundreds of upper level students, both English majors and seniors writing their honors theses;
- has designed and taught a breadth of English and general education courses, including,
- Literature and Ecology
- American Literature, 1865-1914
- The American Dream
- Introduction to Poetry
- Introduction to Critical Theory
- Race and Social Justice
- The Global City
- The History of U.S. Immigration
- What Are Great Books?
As a university tutor in Portland, David is patient and encouraging, always drawing you out on what you understand and where you still have questions. He concentrates on helping you develop and clearly express your ideas as you write a paper or meet the requirements of a course project.
Useful online resources
If you’re writing a paper or presenting research, here are some good resources. For more, check out the Resources page.
The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, providing these as a free service to help with writing projects.
Learn how to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and format style; also includes other MLA resources.
Learn how to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and format style; also includes other APA resources.
Learn how to use this free, online tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share research. It is easy to learn! David Wolf can help you.
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Contact us to learn more or arrange a one on one session in Portland.