Aleksandra

I am about to conclude a PhD in English at the University of Cambridge, where I have for the past almost four years also provided instruction and dissertation supervision to undergraduate students, as well as assessed applicant entrance examinations. I now continue to research and teach across Cambridge and privately.

I specialised in English literature and language at the University of Cambridge, where I undertook both a PhD and an MPhil ('with Distinction'). Prior, I obtained a broader background across European, especially Germanic and Slavonic, literatures, linguistics, languages, and related histories and philosophies, completing a BA Hons at Utrecht University ('summa cum laude', upon conversion equivalent to 'Double Class I with Distinction') and concluding my earlier school education in Slovenia (with results equivalent to '6A*s' at A-Level and '14A*s' at GCSE/IGCSE level), after having lived across a number of European regions. Throughout, I have been fully funded through a selection of competitive academic scholarships (including awards from the Cambridge Trust, Le Bas Fund, Utrecht Fund, and others).

As my experience and education have always been very interdisciplinary, I can teach within a number of subjects in the arts and humanities, most of all English (up to MA level, including also BA, IB, A-Level, GCSE/IGCSE and comparable educational stages) but also comparative literatures, languages, linguistics, philosophy, history, and philosophy and history of art (all usually up to BA level). At the same time, I can also offer help with applications (including to postgraduate, undergraduate, school and scholarship programmes) as well as with examination and interview preparation (including for Oxbridge, RG, LERU, Ivy League, and other competitive institutions).

Tutoring Experience

I have taught extensively through a combination of higher educational institutions (including the University of Cambridge), school initiatives (including several Oxbridge schemes, such as are run by The Sutton Trust, The Brilliant Club and others) and platforms like this one.

At the University of Cambridge, I have for the past almost four years provided one-on-one supervision and small-scale seminar-style instruction to undergraduate (first- up to final-year) students reading for degrees at the Faculty of English and the Faculty of Modern and Mediaeval Languages, with a number having gone on to achieve marks of 'Class I' (70/75+) or 'Class I with Distinction' (75/80+). My expertise is in dissertations and papers (or modules, as the latter are often called outside of Cambridge) across literary and linguistic history, theory and analysis (including 'Practical Criticism and Critical Practice I' and 'II', 'The History and Theory of Criticism', and others) and across literary and linguistic forms, themes and developments of the modern and contemporary periods (including 'English Literature and Its Contexts, 1830–1945' and '1914–Present', 'Special Periods' across prose and poetry '1847–1872', '1936–1856', and '1960–Present', and a number of dissertations within the period '1830–Present', with a concentration in English but also extending into comparative studies, particularly where English intersects with other Germanic or else with Slavonic Studies — recent comparative topics have, for example, looked into Nabokov's texts in English and in Russian and into Joyce's simultaneous indebtedness to and impact on Serbian, Croatian and other South-Eastern European texts and contexts). I am always happy to adapt these sorts of intensive, one-on-one or small-scale sessions to my students outside of Cambridge, too — and can teach topics within my specialism up to MA level, as well as topics outside of it up to BA Hons level.

At the same time, outside of teaching, I have also contributed to undergraduate and applicant assessments at the Faculty of English and the Faculty of Modern and Mediaeval Languages, including as part of Cambridge's own entrance examinations (including the 'CELAT' or 'Cambridge English Language Aptitude Test and the 'CMLAT' or 'Cambridge Modern Language Aptitude Test). As such, I have obtained a particularly good grasp of the standards expected of successful (or, even, exceptional) Oxbridge applicants and eventual students, including those whom I will end up teaching over the course of their next three or four years. Simultaneously, I was fortunate to have had the entirety of my studies (including PhD, MPhil, BA Hons, and numerous exchanges and internships) funded through a selection of competitive academic scholarships (including full and/or parallel partial awards from The Cambridge Trust, Le Bas Fund, Utrecht Fund, Zois Fund and others, without whose aid I would not have been able to pursue my studies), so also have an especially good understanding of what it takes, as a candidate, to be offered places and funding at world-ranked research and teaching institutions. I am always happy to aid students outside of Cambridge, too, in developing their skills to this level and learning how to most effectively demonstrate them in the context of written and oral examinations, interviews, applications, and related endeavours.

Tutoring Approach

I am keenly aware of students' different personal and educational backgrounds and learning profiles, and ultimately aim to structure my lessons around each individual. Therefore, if a student is able to provide previous or current syllabi, express particular interests, or articulate particular difficulties (whether due to a lack of experience, confidence, or a learning profile that has traditionally been marginalised by schools and universities), this can be especially useful for me to know. I have plentiful experience working with students from a range of educational, national and personal backgrounds, and am always keen to adapt material to individuals rather than the other way around (and ensure access to adapted resources and teaching formats, too!).

I am particularly apt at improving students' critical and analytical capabilities, and ensuring that by the end of our time together, they can effectively read, analyse, research and write about texts in the humanities. I aim to structure my classes so that they are especially interactive and provide plentiful opportunities for feedback (drawing much from the Cambridge supervision system I am used to working within, and adapting it to the needs of different contexts), and improve not only knowledge, but its application through the development of essential and highly transferable academic skills such as reading comprehension, synthesis, writing, editing, presentation, and approaching extended pieces of coursework and independent research (including for the purposes of IGCSE/GCSEs, A-Levels, EPQs, EEs, IAs, BA/BSc and MA/MLitt/MPhil/MSc dissertations, and more).

Tutoring Arrangements:

I am available for appointments both in person and online — at locations within Cambridge (and surroundings, provided compensation for travel time and expenses) as well as through platforms such as Skype (and alternative open-source platforms preferred by the student). I am able to accommodate teaching from early mornings until late evenings on a number of days throughout both the weekdays and weekends — and also open to inquiries from those who require a more unconventional approach (including work with sudden and imminent deadlines, late-night availabilities, and other unconventional circumstances). I usually accept bookings through confirmation of payment (possible through a number of secure payment methods, including direct bank transfer or PayPal), however, as I know scheduling can be a complicated and occasionally unpredictable affair, I am able to accommodate all cancellations made no later than 48 hours in advance of a lesson with a 100% refund, as well as all cancellations made no later than 24 hours in advance of a lesson with a 50% refund of tuition fees (in cases where travel fees are also applicable and travel has already been arranged, travel fees will unfortunately usually not be refundable).