Michael

I tutor VCE English and Business with an emphasis on interpretation, argument and precise expression. My background is in Literary Studies at Monash University, followed by a Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary). I am particularly interested in helping students move beyond a collection of quotations or definitions to an answer that responds directly to the question. I value a student's individual interpretation and help them express it with enough detail for a reader to follow the reasoning.

My experience includes individual essay workshops, preparation for school assessments and sustained revision across a term. I have helped English students refine thesis statements, select useful passages and develop the links between paragraphs. In Business, I work on explaining cause and effect and connecting knowledge to the details of a case study. Students often bring teacher feedback that feels difficult to act on. We examine a short section of their work, identify what the comment refers to and practise a revision. I give feedback through questions and examples, leaving the final wording and decisions with the student. A useful exercise is to remove a quotation or example temporarily and ask what the paragraph is claiming without it. We then decide what evidence is needed and how to explain the connection. The same attention to relevance helps students develop more convincing business recommendations.