Hi! My name is Jess, I have a First-Class undergraduate degree in English Literature (Warwick), Distinction-Grade MA in English and Comparative Literature (Warwick), and I am currently undertaking my PhD in English Literature and Critical Theory. I also received A*'s in my English and History A-Levels. I hit the highest grade in the county for my English A-Level Exam and was awarded a Norfolk Scholar Award in 2017. All that is to say, I know my stuff when it comes to English Literature, Language, critical reading, and academic writing.

I have four years of tutoring experience across all the major exam boards, OCR, Edexcel, and AQA. English Literature and Language can be a challenge for a number of reasons. I like to begin by answering the 'why' — why do students need to study Shakespeare? What's really so important about post-war poetry? To paraphrase Robin Williams in Dead Poet's Society: plays, poems, novels and stories are what we stay alive for. They are fundamental to understanding the human condition. Not everyone will love the classics, but being able to access and understand art is one of the most important skills we can learn as people. That's the value I aim to communicate in my lessons.

My lessons are broken down into two key categories: content and exam technique. All of my sessions are unique to the student, and thanks to my many (many) years in higher education I'm familiar with all the texts assigned at GCSE and A-level across the core exam boards.

Content sessions focus on the texts themselves; this will include reading comprehension practice, close reading, thematic analysis, and learning to identify key authorial methods. I work with digital resources, plot summaries and other tools to help students access difficult and challenging texts with confidence.

Exam technique sessions focus closely on the resources provided by your given exam board. Looking closely at marking criteria and assessment objectives gives a good idea of what the exam is asking the student to do, and what skills they need to demonstrate. I can then provide comprehensive guidance on breaking down and understanding the questions, planning, exam timing, and essay structuring (Point, Evidence, Explain Link!). These sessions are especially helpful in the lead up to the exam, because they help students become familiar with the paper they will be sitting. Understanding how to effectively answer the question is one of the biggest keys to success when it comes to English papers, and I am well-versed in supporting students in this area.