Essay, Dissertation, Thesis, Research and Academic Tutoring for University Students at Undergraduate, Masters and PhD Level

Learn more about Laura

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  As a student starting my degree in 2004, I felt extremely lost in a very large and alienating system. I think my interest in providing people with a kind of academic anchor grew up then. Although I didn’t know it, this inspired my future career. 


• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I teach academic skills, supporting students through a range of issues, including breaking down and explaining the academic system, working on plans for essays and dissertations, discussing topics and ideas, ways to structure time and tackle the overall course etc. I can also give more precise feedback on the work as it is developed, and then provide editing and proofreading in the final stage. All of these services are available to every student; some draw on them all, some on just one. Every student is unique. I provide tutoring in all humanities subjects and I love grappling with complex ideas. I don’t tutor in the hard sciences, so I’m always a little sad when I can’t help those students too.


• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  Throughout most of my time at school and university I didn’t have any role models or teachers who inspired me or really paid me much attention at all. And this in itself inspired my business. I think people need to be believed in to shine. Finally, in my last years of undergraduate I found a tutor who believed in me and pushed me to undertake postgraduate studies. His belief in me, more than anything else, was what helped me do so well academically.


• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Kindness; the ability to say when you don’t know the answer; the capacity to provide a safe space. University is a scary and often alienating world. Tutoring should feel like a safe and supported island of calm.


• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  One tutor I had at master’s level was a kind of self-consciously bonkers older lady. She was wonderful. She didn’t have a PhD, and had taken an unusual route to becoming a literature academic through the publishing industry and social work. This life experience seemed to have made her more relatable, as well as more practically helpful. She wasn’t self-important like the other tutors. She liked to have a laugh and make dirty jokes, and she also gave me some of the most valuable writing advice I received in my entire university career. I’ll never forget her. She showed me that academia is fun and a little bit silly.


• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or are still facing in your subject?

  As noted above, on first arriving at university, I felt hugely overwhelmed. A lot of the students were from a more privileged background than me, with more experience and certainly much more of a sense that they could just demand what they needed. As someone who had learned to just get by, I ended up with little to no support or understanding of how things worked for the first two years of my university career.


• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I am passionate about making academia a kinder, more supportive world that is accessible to everyone. I believe that learning, critical thinking and access to knowledge should be a human right. Outside my work as a tutor, I am also passionate about aerial dance and yoga. ☺


• 8) What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P)?

  I listen closely to what each student needs and adapt the tutoring to suit the individual.