Emily

Hello!

I'm Emily, a recent graduate of the University of Cambridge where I read English.

In the past I suffered from severe exam anxiety, and found that having a tutor helped me overcome much of my worries about performance, helping me find confidence in my academic work: confidence that allowed me to achieve my goals, despite my fears - and to find joy in my work again. My passion for tutoring stems from this experience; my goal as a tutor, then, is to improve students' confidence in their work, helping them not only get to grips with the material they are studying, but also to find fun in the process. If this is achieved, in my experience, the grades will follow!

When I am not tutoring, I am writing. At Cambridge, I won a prize for my prose fiction, which fuelled my (extant) desire to become a writer - though I would have been pursuing this now, regardless of whether I was awarded the prize!

Tutoring Experience

Previous Tutoring Experience:

Coronavirus Tutoring Initiative (CTI), March-August 2020 (6 months)
Ø I volunteered with CTI to tutor students missing school during the first lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic; teaching was one-to-one and remote.
Ø I greatly enjoyed getting to know my tutees preferred teaching styles, adapting lessons for their specific needs—supporting them through exam anxiety, and in the case of one tutee, being sensitive to their Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)— and seeing their understanding (of A Level English Literature and Philosophy, respectively) grow and develop over the course of our lessons.
Ø I am particularly passionate about supporting students with anxiety disorders or other mental health needs, as I have personally experienced disabling exam anxiety throughout my academic career; I am keen to share what I have learnt from my own experience of overcoming this and excelling despite anxiety.
Ø I also understand some of the hurdles that need to be overcome if you are approaching learning from the perspective of ASD, as some of my family members are on the spectrum.

Tutoring Approach

I have experience teaching English Literature and Philosophy (Religious Studies) from GCSE to A Level. Additionally, if you are seeking to apply to Oxbridge to read English, I would be delighted to help with your application: I achieved one of the highest scores in my intake year on the Cambridge entrance exam, and having successfully made it through the process of interview I will be able to help you construct a personal statement to support you through interview. I can also rehearse an interview with you, in order to boost your confidence and find fun in the process - which is key to coming across well!

My teaching style is highly personalised. We will start with a diagnostic session, where we will discuss your academic goals and preferred teaching styles. For example, if you prefer a more creative approach, we will learn literary techniques by practically applying them through writing creatively ourselves - or in the case of Philosophy (RS), we might write a set of character descriptions of the philosophers we are studying, extrapolating their characteristics from their system of philosophy and considering how well different thinkers might 'get on' with one another as a way of comparing and contrasting their respective philosophies. Whatever method of teaching you prefer, I will tailor our work to create connections between areas to develop a fluency of understanding that will equip you for thinking on the spot in an exam setting.

I am also very happy to look over coursework. Cambridge taught me how to turn out high quality essays on a weekly basis, as well as how to produce longer academic pieces. As such, I will be sure to help you structure your essays in a way that ensures your argument comes across strongly. I also believe in the importance of one's personality coming through in academic writing - that's what makes your work stand out! We will work to improve confidence and time management to make sure that writing coursework pieces does not seem daunting, but rather a task that you can undertake with confidence: allowing you to be yourself through your work, as opposed to being worried about it!

Finally, if you are someone who finds that academic study causes worry or anxiety I feel for you, and hope that I can help. I am particularly passionate about supporting students with anxiety disorders or other mental health needs, as I have personally experienced disabling exam anxiety throughout my academic career; I am keen to share what I have learnt from my own experience of overcoming this and excelling despite anxiety.

Do drop me a message if you are interested in starting tutoring sessions with me - I would be very excited to help you with your work!

Best wishes, and thank you for choosing my profile!

Emily Swettenham