English is the most important subject in high school, since all university admissions require a good English grade. Achieving excellence in English in high school and in elementary school requires diverse skills like reading comprehension, which involves the ability to extract key information effectively, essay writing, which involves the ability to express the student’s thought effectively, and critical analysis, which involves being able to delve below the story to analyze characters, themes, and passages.
The QEA English tutoring program focuses on building 3 key skills: reading, writing, and critical analysis. We aim to develop these 3 skill sets with our English students by working through their English curriculum in school. In teaching English essay writing, for example, we teach our students how to develop essay introductions that can grab the attention of the audience, how to construct a concise and powerful thesis, and how to build arguments around the quotations from their Shakespeare plays or novels.
Students nowadays are accustomed to writing short messages on their phones. The problem is that these messages have no proper grammatical structure, which becomes a habit and a reflection of their poor English writing. QEA first disciplines the students into using proper English structure and grammar, and then helps them to develop their writing skills in a step by step approach that involves brainstorming, outlining, and revising.
Often in high school English essays, students only state the plot of the story and neglect the in-depth analysis, which always leads to mark deduction. The student needs to go deep beyond the story; they need to tie their argument to a character or theme. This portion accounts for a large portion of marks as students progress into senior English courses.
Reading comprehension is a critical part of English. Through reading, students are expected to grasp the key information quickly. This is an important skill to develop in English. One key strategy is to ask a series of questions beforehand, such as: “What is the author trying to convey in this chapter?” When doing this, the student should have a plan in mind before reading, which will improve the effectiveness of their reading comprehension.
Queen Elizabeth Academy physical premise is located in Mississauga and Oakville. For the other locations we offer online live lessons.
When reading a short story, novel or any English text move from the interpretation and understanding of a story to looking for the elements of a story. This can be done by looking at the major events in the English text and connecting them back to developing themes that you see are reoccurring. For example, if a character acts a certain way more than once, question the reason for it and how it affects the overall theme. Questioning when reading is important as it motivates you to critically think why a certain event has happened, why the character has acted a particular way and how does this all reflect the theme of the story.
Another key strategy is to be a proactive reader. To be a proactive does not simply mean to read the text, but to be aware of unfamiliar vocabulary, marking major events and being able to summarize. Also, do not hesitate to reread when needed as your understanding and overall comprehension can change for the better the second time.
To improve your writing skills in English it is important to understand that teachers look for clarity, flow and effective communication. To assist your flow when essay writing use effective transition words such as: additionally, furthermore, overall, in addition, etc… An English essay that flows is important as it shows your English writing skills and sentence formulation. Each sentence should lead to the next for better communication of ideas, points and arguments.
Before starting an English essay it is essential for you to plan and draft your ideas and thoughts in an outline. Outlines and graphic organizers are always helpful for visioning the construction of your arguments and making sure you are conveying your points clearly. Also, make sure you have well researched your standpoint before starting an English essay. Researching and gathering evidence improves your writing ability when creating points and developing your thesis.
Be aware of your writing style and ways you can improve issues such as: run-on sentences, language, differences in points, and clichés. Knowing your strengths in writing is important; however realizing your weaknesses is critical. A good writer is proactive in improving and learning to be a better writer.
Critical analysis starts with Inferencing in elementary school, which a lot of junior students do not comprehend or ignore. To develop your critical analyzing skills going into high school can be done in many ways including practicing during your reading.
When reading always question and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in characters, the author and/or the overall text. Comment on the development of characters and the author’s choice of narration and setting. To help think critically ask the following questions: Who is the author and what is their perspective? Who is the targeted audience and how does that influence the way information is presented? What is the moral or main message of the text? Do you agree with the test and why do you agree or disagree? These questions will allow you to dig deeper then just understanding the story but to analyze the certain pieces the author has presented and the purpose of them.
Queen Elizabeth Academy has a strong tradition of providing high quality education through our science tutoring programs. Many of our students were admitted to top universities with scholarship ranging from $2,000 to $23,000. Queen Elizabeth students alumni had build strong foundation, which had helped them to pursue their science career in university. Many of our students alumni had successfully entered medical school and Master degree program in chemistry and biology.
In our science tutoring programs, we coach our students with care and with easy to understand explanation over complex science concepts. We work with our student through step by step
*Note that Queen Elizabeth premise are currently located in Mississauga, Oakville and Etobicoke. For the other locations, we offer online live tutoring over zoom.