If you’re preparing for the Alberta English Diploma, it's important that you learn how to master every part of writing an essay, including your conclusion paragraph. In fact, your final paragraph can help make the difference between a proficient and an excellent essay. Most students either repeat their ideas word for word or end their essays too abruptly (leading to lower scores). In this guide, I’ll show you how to avoid these mistakes and write an excellent conclusion para

Many teachers ask students to annotate texts, but often don’t explain what that actually looks like—or what students should be focusing on. As a result, students either highlight everything… or nothing at all. In this guide, I’ll walk you through what to annotate and how to do it effectively , so you can get the most out of your reading and feel more confident when it comes time to write about it. Literary Devices Not all literary devices are created equal. When annotating,

Many parents wonder whether their child actually needs a tutor, or if extra help will even make a difference. Students often do not get feedback on their work until it is one to two months into the semester. As a result, I see a surge of concerned parents reaching out to me in March, April, or even May. Although students can get results from tutoring late in the semester, it is always better to be proactive. Here are a few ways to tell if your child should get extra help to

Many students feel as though reading comprehension exams are a guessing game. However, strong readers rarely rely on luck. In reality, a few small habits can make a major difference in your results. In this article, I’ll walk through the three most common reading comprehension mistakes I see during tutoring sessions and how you can avoid them. Mistake One: Reading the Questions First on Reading Comprehension Exams You may think you’re helping yourself out by reading the ques

Reading comprehension can be challenging for many students. Although many students and parents believe there is little preparation that can be done for the Part B ELA 30-1 Diploma exam, there are actually several strategies that can help students feel more confident on exam day. Let’s take a look. Ensure That Your Child Has a Strong Understanding of Literary Devices Many questions on the ELA 30-1 diploma require students to recognize and understand literary devices. Some of t

Preparing for the ELA 30-1 Part B Reading Comprehension Exam can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. A big part of your success on this portion of this Alberta diploma depends on your ability to recognize, understand, and analyze literary devices in poetry and prose. If you want to feel confident walking into your exam, you must be able to identify literary techniques quickly and understand how they create meaning. This guide breaks down the most important literary

If you are taking English 30-1 or 30-2 in summer school, or preparing for taking that course in the year to come, this is for you! In this post, I will outline some tips for writing a great Part A diploma.

As the school year wraps up, and summer break begins, students often feel a wave of relief. The excitement of no homework or exams is...