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About Me: How I Work
I am originally from New York City and I have a BA in Philosophy from Brown University. I relocated to Austin when I became a graduate student in the History Department at UT-Austin. Having been a teaching assistant at the college level, I am fully versed in grading standards and I can help students, from elementary school through college and graduate school, perform at their highest possible level. I also offer tutoring in American history at any level, but the bulk of my experience working in Austin has been as a reading and writing tutor, largely in the context of standardized testing--especially the SAT and the ACT. (For more information on these tests and the differences between them, see my brief assessment.
Learning how to read critically and write clearly tends to improve academic performance across the board; students with strong reading and writing skills can absorb and communicate information effectively, even when they are not entirely familiar with the material. I have learned that mastering these basic skills is as important for college and graduate students as for elementary and high school students. In my experience, most students (especially in high school) struggle with reading comprehension; once they get a handle on the best way to absorb information, they become more effective students in any subject. This is especially true of students with learning disabilities (e.g., ADD/ADHD), whose grades tend to improve as they become more confident in their ability to absorb material.
I help students expand their vocabularies, polish their writing skills, and I also provide strategies for both fast and proficient reading comprehension as well as organized and coherent writing ability ; these strategies improve a variety of reading and writing skills. Not only do I help students construct and revise essays and other assignments, but I also give them the tools to do the work more easily in the future. I place great emphasis on reading for pleasure, and I encourage students to probe school-assigned texts and cultivate the analytical skills that will serve them well at all levels of education.
Any tutor will tell you that, as far as standardized tests go, the most challenging area for students to improve on is in reading comprehension; I offer reading comprehension strategies that are aimed specifically at the kinds of passages used by standardized tests, as well as strategies that will sharpen a student's reading skills in general. My not-so-hidden agenda is to make reading pleasurable enough and easy enough that my students see the value of reading outside the classroom. Pleasure reading is the key to academic achievement; this is not just my opinion. For additional information on the benefits of reading for children and young adults, see my Reading page.
Finally, my tutoring philosophy hinges on my belief that there is no such thing as a stupid question. My goal is for each student to leave a session feeling less stressed about and more capable of accomplishing whatever task they have before them. I am a student myself, so I am still dealing with some of the same stressors as younger students. I can empathize with a heavy workload, and can offer strategies for how to get a painfully heavy workload done.
Please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you and hope I have the opportunity to provide whatever help you need.
If you would like a more formal description of my employment history and tutoring experience, please click here or on the link entitled "About Merry" at the top of the page.
Learning how to read critically and write clearly tends to improve academic performance across the board; students with strong reading and writing skills can absorb and communicate information effectively, even when they are not entirely familiar with the material. I have learned that mastering these basic skills is as important for college and graduate students as for elementary and high school students. In my experience, most students (especially in high school) struggle with reading comprehension; once they get a handle on the best way to absorb information, they become more effective students in any subject. This is especially true of students with learning disabilities (e.g., ADD/ADHD), whose grades tend to improve as they become more confident in their ability to absorb material.
I help students expand their vocabularies, polish their writing skills, and I also provide strategies for both fast and proficient reading comprehension as well as organized and coherent writing ability ; these strategies improve a variety of reading and writing skills. Not only do I help students construct and revise essays and other assignments, but I also give them the tools to do the work more easily in the future. I place great emphasis on reading for pleasure, and I encourage students to probe school-assigned texts and cultivate the analytical skills that will serve them well at all levels of education.
Any tutor will tell you that, as far as standardized tests go, the most challenging area for students to improve on is in reading comprehension; I offer reading comprehension strategies that are aimed specifically at the kinds of passages used by standardized tests, as well as strategies that will sharpen a student's reading skills in general. My not-so-hidden agenda is to make reading pleasurable enough and easy enough that my students see the value of reading outside the classroom. Pleasure reading is the key to academic achievement; this is not just my opinion. For additional information on the benefits of reading for children and young adults, see my Reading page.
Finally, my tutoring philosophy hinges on my belief that there is no such thing as a stupid question. My goal is for each student to leave a session feeling less stressed about and more capable of accomplishing whatever task they have before them. I am a student myself, so I am still dealing with some of the same stressors as younger students. I can empathize with a heavy workload, and can offer strategies for how to get a painfully heavy workload done.
Please feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you and hope I have the opportunity to provide whatever help you need.
If you would like a more formal description of my employment history and tutoring experience, please click here or on the link entitled "About Merry" at the top of the page.
Work Experience
Below, please find a copy of my résumé, embedded into the page as a document. Below the résumé, please note the three professional references. Feel free to contact me with additional questions regarding my employment history, educational history, skills or anything else you would like to know about me. As you can see, I have had a good deal of experience working with students and children in general, and as students in particular. However, I think that my personal experiences as a voracious reader, confident test-taker, and a long-time student contribute as much to my effectiveness as a tutor as any of the professional references on my résumé. To get a real sense of the kind of one-on-one guidance I can offer, please take a look at the reference letter you can link to below. I am flexible, committed to my work, and devoted to helping my students do more than merely improve their grades--I want them to feel confident and proud of the work they can produce.
Feel free to download a copy of my résumé as a pdf from the file below. Alternatively, you can take a look at the copy of my résumé that I have embedded into the page below.
Feel free to download a copy of my résumé as a pdf from the file below. Alternatively, you can take a look at the copy of my résumé that I have embedded into the page below.
References
Below, you will find several references; along with the names of the employers, I will note what job I performed for each. The first reference, from an earlier research job I held for several years, is as much a character reference as well as a professional one. The latter references are parents of whose children have recently worked with me on a wide range of topics; if you contact them, these parents will be able to give you a sense of my skills as a tutor and my rapport with students (i.e., their children). Please feel free to contact these individuals via the e-mail addresses provided below; they may be willing to furnish you with additional contact information, but you may request such additional communication from the references themselves.
Jillian Braverman: Content and copy editor for novel
E-mail: jillianbraverman@yahoo.com
Chris and Mary Ozburn: Tutor for sons in high school
E-mail: ozburn@slollp
E-mail: mwnozburn@gmail.com
Cynthia Kinnas: Reading tutor for 8th-grade son
E-mail: cynthiakinnas@gmail.com
Shaik Mohseen: Tutor for daughter (during Junior and Senior years), focusing on Test Prep (both ACT and SAT) and writing.
E-mail: mohseensm@yahoo.com
Andrés Almazan : Tutor for three children (middle schooland high school), critical thinking, study skills, writing, reading
E-mail: Andres.Almazan@mccombs.utexas.edu
William Joseph: Research assistant (for W. Joseph as contributing editor of journal)
E-mail: wkj1@mac.com
Jillian Braverman: Content and copy editor for novel
E-mail: jillianbraverman@yahoo.com
Chris and Mary Ozburn: Tutor for sons in high school
E-mail: ozburn@slollp
E-mail: mwnozburn@gmail.com
Cynthia Kinnas: Reading tutor for 8th-grade son
E-mail: cynthiakinnas@gmail.com
Shaik Mohseen: Tutor for daughter (during Junior and Senior years), focusing on Test Prep (both ACT and SAT) and writing.
E-mail: mohseensm@yahoo.com
Andrés Almazan : Tutor for three children (middle schooland high school), critical thinking, study skills, writing, reading
E-mail: Andres.Almazan@mccombs.utexas.edu
William Joseph: Research assistant (for W. Joseph as contributing editor of journal)
E-mail: wkj1@mac.com
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To say that Merry Zide is one of the most intelligent human beings I have had the fortune to work with, and know on a personal level, would be a violent understatement. Her writing skills are unparalleled, along with her capacity for patience and teaching. Merry painstakingly assisted me in the content and copy editing of my 130,000 word novel. My name is Jillian, and I would not be the writer I am without Merry Zide.
Jillian, Novelist (Editing Client), 2017-Current
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cynthia, 2015-2016, parent of 8th grade student
2015-2016 / Parent of 8th Grader
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Merry has been tutoring my 14 yr. old son, mainly to improve his reading comprehension and to further develop his writing skills, for nearly one year. I remain very impressed with Merry -- she is extremely enthusiastic, energetic and passionate about improving a student's performance. She is fantastic at building rapport and trust with teens -- and her patience is endless. My son loves working with her, and this is a kid who hated reading! She is well read and educated herself and very qualified to be a tutor--pair that with her high engagement level, and you have a tutoring dynamo!
Cynthia, Parent of 8th Grade Student, 2015-16
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in working with Merry, I have enjoyed learning far more than just the material at hand. She has a way of connecting with people which is hard to come by, and uses this to teach in a manner that is both immersive and intriguing. Merry has taught me how to write in a way that maintains style and elegance and upholds the strong fundamentals of grammar, structure, and substance. I would recommend Merry because of her way of translating any subject matter into captivating topics of discussion, her way of integrating her vast knowledge and vocabulary into conversation--which has rubbed off on me, and because her teaching methods have given me confidence in schoolwork, standardized testing, and college preparation.
Charlie, 2013-2014, High School Junior and Senior
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Merry is a thoughtful and exceedingly intelligent mentor. Her kind spirit and overall knowledge has allowed me to progress not only as a student but also as a writer. Merry has allowed me to find my real passion in life and has helped me with that desire. Merry has taught me in ways that no one else has in terms of history and English. She has also educated me in philosophy and writing, which I do not take classes in but am genuinely interested in. Merry has allowed me to grow intellectually and personally. In tutoring me, she has opened up more possibilities to me than I previously thought possible for a person my age. She is kind, easy to work with, and beyond helpful.
Ben, 2013-Present, 8th Grader-High School Junior
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Merry has been my english tutor for about two years, and has substantially helped me with my writing throughout this time. Her tutoring sessions with me have helped my think more clearly when writing, when writing both school-related papers and fictional stories. Merry has also helped me with some SAT critical reading and writing strategies and with writing the SAT essay. She is a very optimistic and enthusiastic person, and is also great at finding ways to more thoroughly explain some concepts that I was having trouble with. Merry is a great tutor, and I would recommend her to anyone.
Isabel, 2012-2013, High School Sophomore
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Merry Zide has tutored our three children, Isabel, Marta and Andres for almost two years, at high school and middle school levels. She is a very talented and dedicated teacher, always prepared with a structured lesson plan and a homework assignment to go with it. Merry is full of energy, very enthusiastic and she has a vast knowledge of the subjects she tutors. She speaks in a way that kept our children engaged during the whole lesson; for them, an hour wasn't long enough. We recommend Merry without hesitation, she is a very talented and dedicated teacher, always willing to spend extra time with the students in order to help them understand better their school work.
Lourdes & Andres, parents of Isabel
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I had a really great experience working with Merry. Her enthusiasm for English and great personality made sessions exciting and helped me gain confidence in my writing and test taking skills. Through Merry's help, my SAT and ACT scores significantly increased and I was able to write impacting essay for college applications which helped lead to my acceptance into Texas A&M University. Merry truly knows her student's true potential what each individual needs to help him/her succeed.
Dania, 2012-2013, High School Senior
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Over the course of my time with Merry, my grasp of grammar and other concepts in English improved drastically. I also was able to boost my SAT scores several hundred points. Merry was very dedicated and I felt like she took an personal interest in me and my work.
Najmu, 2011-2012, High School Senior
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Working with Merry was a pleasure. I could see that my daughter's reading And writing skills greatly improved after working with Merry for a few months.
Shaik, father of Najmu
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| mzideres.pdf |
