Award-Winning AP English Language and Composition Tutors
serving Olympia, WA

I'm a current PhD student in the history department at Georgetown University who is also an experienced instructor with Varsity Tutors. As a recipient of several degrees, the most recent being a BA in history from Hillsdale College and a MA in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from Stanford University, I have long sought to make teaching my profession. Meanwhile, as a volunteer grade school teacher and a tutor with this company, I have many years' experience helping students reach their full potential. I am capable of teaching students in many subjects, including reading, mathematics, test prep, Latin, and especially writing, history, and literature. In practice, I am comfortable adapting to different learning styles and specific student preferences. Outside of my academic and career endeavors, I enjoy cooking, reading, and listening to and making music.

Pursuing a PhD in English means Alex has spent years inside the machinery of written argument — not just reading it but producing and defending it at the highest academic level. That depth shows when he teaches AP Lang's free-response essays, particularly the argument prompt, where students need to stake out a nuanced position and support it with evidence that does real analytical work. Rated 5.0 by students.

As a dedicated educator with a PhD in Communication from the University of Washington, I have spent over 10 years as a college instructor and professor of writing, working with students both one-on-one and in the classroom. I have an additional decade of experience as an award-winning journalist and editor. I specialize in helping students develop writing and language skills, as well as reading comprehension. I enjoy getting to know students and providing them with the tools they need to gain confidence as writers and scholars. My teaching philosophy centers on meeting students where they are, helping them discover joy in their academic work, and tailoring my instruction to meet their individual needs. I am enthusiastic about guiding students to achieve their academic goals, and I find joy in witnessing their growth and confidence in their abilities. In my spare time, I enjoy building my Spanish language skills, exploring new writing techniques, and writing and publishing content about blues music.

AP Lang is ultimately about rhetoric: understanding how writers construct arguments through tone, structure, and strategic evidence. Martha's PhD research at Michigan requires exactly this kind of analytical reading — dissecting published studies for their persuasive strategies — and she applies that same lens to teaching students how to decode synthesis prompts and write arguments that earn top scores on the exam.

AP Lang isn't really about writing well — it's about arguing precisely, which means dissecting how authors use rhetorical strategies like appeals, tone shifts, and structural choices to persuade. Sophie tackles the synthesis and argument essays by teaching students to read sources like a debater: identify the claim, evaluate the evidence, then build a counter. Her 1570 SAT score reflects the same close-reading and analytical skills the AP exam demands.

Rhetorical analysis is the backbone of AP Lang, and Rebecca teaches students to dissect an author's argument by identifying specific moves — appeals, concessions, shifts in tone — rather than summarizing content. Her experience at Notre Dame's Writing Center, where she coached both undergraduates and graduate students through argumentative writing, translates directly into the synthesis and argument essays the exam requires.

AP Lang is fundamentally about rhetoric — how writers persuade, and how to do it yourself. Chang's philosophy training sharpened his ability to dissect argumentative strategies like appeals to ethos, logical concessions, and strategic counterarguments, and he brings that same analytical precision to teaching students how to write and analyze persuasive prose.

AP Lang is fundamentally about rhetoric — understanding how writers use evidence, tone, and structure to persuade. Tessa unpacks real arguments with students, teaching them to spot rhetorical strategies like concession, appeals to authority, and shifts in register, then translate that analysis into the synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and argument essays the exam demands. Her dual focus on math and history at Yale gives her a natural comfort with both logical reasoning and persuasive writing.

The AP Lang exam tests whether a student can dissect an argument's structure and then build one of their own under time pressure. Tegan teaches rhetorical analysis by walking through how authors deploy evidence, tone shifts, and concessions — skills that translate directly to the synthesis and argument essays. Her 1520 SAT score reflects the same command of analytical reading and writing the exam demands.

AP Lang is fundamentally about argument — identifying how writers use rhetorical strategies and then deploying those same strategies in timed essays. Luke's English degree and graduate-level training in textual analysis mean he can break down how ethos, logos, and pathos function in real passages, from political speeches to scientific editorials. He also walks students through the synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and argument essays with clear structural frameworks that hold up under exam pressure.

Scoring well on AP Lang means recognizing how writers construct arguments — the difference between an anecdote used as evidence and one used as an emotional hook, or why a concession strengthens rather than weakens a claim. Kirstie unpacks rhetorical strategies like ethos, logos, and kairos through real op-eds and speeches, then applies that same analytical lens to students' own argumentative writing. Her 1550 SAT reflects the kind of reading and writing precision this exam demands.

A PhD candidate in Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago, Gabriel reads nonfiction through an interdisciplinary lens — tracking how authors frame evidence, shift registers, and position themselves relative to competing claims. That training in analyzing how arguments actually function across disciplines translates directly to the AP Lang exam's synthesis and rhetorical analysis essays, where students need to explain an author's strategic choices rather than just paraphrase content. Rated 5.0 by students.

A licensed English 6-12 teacher with a Vanderbilt degree in English Literature, Karen knows the AP Lang exam inside and out — from dissecting rhetorical strategies in nonfiction passages to crafting airtight synthesis and argument essays under time pressure. She teaches students to identify how authors use diction, tone, and structure as persuasive tools, which is the analytical muscle the exam actually tests.

AP English Language is really a course in rhetoric — understanding how writers use structure, diction, and evidence to persuade specific audiences. Michelle's MA in American Studies at Columbia centered on exactly this: analyzing speeches, essays, and cultural texts for their argumentative strategies. She teaches students to write synthesis and rhetorical analysis essays that go beyond summary and actually engage with how a source works.

Trained in NYU's Accelerated MAT program for Secondary English, Jennifer knows the AP Lang exam inside and out — from rhetorical analysis essays to the synthesis prompt's demand for integrating multiple sources into a cohesive argument. She teaches students to identify an author's strategic choices (diction, structure, appeals) and articulate their effects with precision, which is exactly what earns high marks on the rhetorical analysis free response.