Celia

I have over two years’ experience helping students aged 16-18 with university choices, applications, entrance and personal statement writing. I have helped students secure places on History of Art, Media, Culture and Creative Industries degrees at prestigious universities including the University of Edinburgh, The University of St Andrews, UCL, The Courtauld Institute, The University of York and King’s College London.

GCSE English Literature (AQA)

I tutor this Year 9 student in preparation for GCSE English Literature. I have been working with the student for a year so far to help them gain the confidence and skills needed for the inevitable step up in Year 10. The student’s main problem area is close reading and quote selection, especially with poetry and Shakespeare, so our key focus has been on textual analysis, argumentation and essay writing skills. The student achieved one of the highest marks in their end of year exam and is now going into Year 10 feeling prepared and confident to apply these new skills.

GCSE English Language (AQA)

I am helping this student prepare for AQA English Language, with a particular focus on Paper 2 non-fiction comprehension and persuasive writing. The student’s main struggle is with rushing through tasks and not evaluating their own work accurately. During sessions, we are working on how to slow down and how to take time over each question, using skills such as checklist questions based on assessment objectives which help with self-evaluation. The student is already making noticeable improvements in their ability to work independently and is starting to take pride in producing thorough, considered answers. These skills in attention to detail are also having a positive impact on his persuasive writing.

Essay writing technique, Undergraduate students

I conduct 1:1 tutorials with university students at the University of Reading, UCL and Goldsmiths, University of London to provide support with close reading analysis, critical context and structuring original arguments in essay form – all of which are essential to achieving first class work according to the mark scheme criteria. When students begin the first year of university, they can struggle forming clear and convincing arguments in written form and often feel daunted about the prospect of writing regular 2000+ word essays. This results in having trouble formulating original responses to set questions and feeling overwhelmed with selecting suitable quotations from set texts and critical texts. Over the course of our sessions, I look at their essay drafts and give constructive feedback on how to introduce more of their own critical voice and how to back this up with informed quotations. I have received consistently good feedback from students in module evaluation.

History of Art BA (Hons)

I supported this student over a five month period with her university choices and UCAS application, particularly the writing of her personal statement. As an international student who wanted to study in the UK, we worked together to choose a suitable degree programme and the right universities for her. As English is not her native language, I supported her in writing the strongest and most convincing personal statement. She had not studied History of Art at school, so I helped draw out her passion for the subject in ways that would convince the admissions team of her abilities. She received offers from St Andrews, the University of York, the University of Edinburgh, and UCL, some of the UK’s top universities for History of Art.

Media BA (Hons)

I supported this student with her applications to UK universities over an eight month period. She had a very busy extra-curricular life and struggled with workload, time management and knowing how to communicate clearly and convincingly in writing. Together, we built a work schedule and reading list and then worked through how she could structure her written work and articulate her ideas through writing. She received offers from UCL, the University of Manchester, City University London and her first choice, King’s College London, which is rated as world class in this subject.

Hobbies