Award-Winning AP English Language and Composition Tutors
serving Tacoma, 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.

Rhetoric is everywhere once you learn to see it, and that's exactly what AP English Language asks students to do — dissect how writers use tone, structure, and evidence to persuade. Cynthia's arts background and love of reading give her a sharp eye for the synthesis and argument essays that make or break AP Lang scores. She walks students through real exam prompts, teaching them to construct thesis-driven responses under timed conditions.

AP English Language is ultimately about rhetoric: understanding how writers persuade and then doing it yourself under a forty-minute clock. David digs into the synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and argument essays individually, teaching students to identify techniques like juxtaposition, appeals to authority, and strategic concession before they ever start writing. His dual English degrees and library science training make him especially sharp on evaluating sources and constructing evidence-driven arguments.

Medical school trains you to read dense, argument-driven texts and extract exactly what matters — a skill Abrahim now applies to AP Lang's multiple-choice passages and timed essay prompts. His biology degree from UCLA (cum laude) required extensive analytical writing, and he teaches students to construct argument and synthesis essays the way a scientist builds a case: clear claim, targeted evidence, no filler. Rated 5.0 by students.

AP Lang is fundamentally about argument — identifying how writers use rhetorical strategies and then deploying those same tools in timed essays. As a Princeton English major, Jane dissects rhetoric daily, from Aristotelian appeals to the subtleties of tone and diction in nonfiction prose. She teaches students to write synthesis and argument essays with clear, defensible claims supported by precise textual evidence.

Rhetoric is really applied philosophy: every AP Lang prompt asks students to dissect how an author persuades, and then do it themselves. Julie studies philosophy at Princeton, where she spends her days analyzing argument structure, identifying logical appeals, and writing precisely — the same toolkit that earns high scores on synthesis and rhetorical analysis essays.

A published novelist with a Penn M.S. in Education and a B.A. in English from the University of Washington, Christian has spent years inside the mechanics of persuasive prose — not just reading it, but constructing it from scratch. That dual perspective sharpens his AP Lang teaching, especially when it comes to the argument essay, where he coaches students to treat their own writing the way an author revises a manuscript: tightening claims, cutting weak evidence, and making every sentence earn its place.

Rhetorical analysis is the backbone of AP Lang, and most students struggle not with identifying ethos or logos but with explaining *how* those strategies function in a specific argument. Michelle digs into the synthesis and argument essays as well, showing students how to weave source material into a thesis without letting it take over. Her writing background makes her especially sharp on voice and structure.

AP Lang is ultimately about argument — how writers build it, how readers detect it, and how students construct their own on exam day. Shreya tackles rhetorical analysis by teaching students to identify specific moves like concession, juxtaposition, and shifts in tone, then translate those observations into thesis-driven essays that earn top scores.

The AP Lang exam is fundamentally about rhetoric — understanding how writers persuade and then doing it yourself. Sarah's training in expository and persuasive writing, sharpened across three degrees and work as a college writing tutor, translates directly into teaching students to analyze rhetorical strategies in the multiple-choice section and craft tight, evidence-rich synthesis and argument essays.

Rhetorical analysis is where AP Lang lives or dies, and Elijah treats it like a performance — teaching students to hear the moves a writer makes with syntax, diction, and structure before they ever start writing about them. His English degree and MFA in Acting trained him to dissect how language persuades an audience, which translates directly to nailing the synthesis and argument essays under timed conditions.

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.

Rhetoric is the backbone of AP English Language, and Winnie unpacks persuasive strategies — appeals to ethos, strategic concessions, shifts in tone — by connecting them to real arguments students encounter in journalism and political speech. Currently studying mass communications at ASU's Cronkite School, she brings a working understanding of how language is crafted to move audiences, which is exactly what the synthesis and rhetorical analysis essays test.