Literature of the Hart

Lots of students find poetry difficult and confusing and just don’t know where to start. But the secret to writing good poetry answers is simple: you can’t write well about poetry until you have been taught how to read it.. Most people just don’t read poetry in life.  It’s an unfamiliar form to them.  So I always teach my students that reading poetry is just like listening to music. Like listening to music, it’s about how it makes us feel Like a new song, it will grow on us the more we listen to it And like our favourite tracks, poetry can go deep into our memory and our hearts Over my thirty years of teaching I have developed  The Three-Reading Strategy   to help students at GCSE and A Level write excellent poetry answers. See my next post for more… I offer a  FREE INTRODUCTORY MEETING  online if you are considering tutoring. Hartland Educational Services also offers tuition in all subjects and Academi...

Summer is a time when many families want to improve their children's writing and reading.  Scholarship English Tuition is available for students determined to exceed their current level of ability in English.   Who is Scholarship English Tuition for? 11+ preparation School application Key Stage 3 GCSE students  A Level students University applications to Oxford, Cambridge and other top UK universities ***Discounts of up to 50% are available for group tuition***   Who teaches Scholarship English? Our Scholarship English is taught by Michael Hartland, who is a former Headteacher,  Cambridge English graduate and Associate of NACE (National Association of Able Children in Education).  He has been an examiner at both GCSE and A Level and was Head of English in three different schools.     Find Michael's ebooks on English on Amazon: But I'm No Good at Creative Writing! The...

Many young people are not sure where their lives are going. Academic mentoring can make a transformative impact, as this recent testimonial shows: “Michael provided valuable guidance and support throughout the university application process, including advice, coaching and feedback, which we greatly appreciated. His support helped my daughter navigate the application process with confidence, and she received offers from the universities she had hoped to attend.  I would wholeheartedly recommend Michael and Hartland Educational Consultancy Services to any student or family looking for exceptional educational support. He is not only an excellent tutor but also a wonderful mentor who genuinely cares about his students and their success. His encouragement, professionalism and belief in my daughter’s abilities made a tremendous difference to her confidence and academic achievements. We will always be grateful for his support and would highly recommend his services to others.” Find out mo...

All families want their children to achieve the best grades they can at school. In his role as an Associate of NACE (National Association of Able Children in Education), Michael Hartland coaches schools in the UK and abroad on how best to do this. In the last few weeks, he has been delighted to present to the IAPS (Independent Association of Preparatory Schools) and to a selective girls’ school . Hartland Educational Services offers Academic Mentoring in addition to tuition in all subjects, whether this is for: -Primary support -11+ preparation -School application -Secondary support -GCSE and A Level -University application for degrees and Masters -University support -Learning English as an additional language Through our extensive network of engaging and well-qualified tutors, we are able to help you find the tutor offering the right level of expertise and experience for your requirements. Subjects range from English and EAL to Maths and Science, and include the broad range of subjec...

What are we trying to do when we teach creative writing? Some of the more pragmatic answers might include to improve students’ writing skills and to prepare them for exams.  But creative writing also opens a window on the human experience of life, and I am grateful that I came across Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces a few years ago.  I now think that it should be recommended reading for anyone involved in teaching writing. Campbell explores myths from around the world and identifies archetypal narrative situations such as ‘the departure’, ‘the call to adventure’, ‘crossing the threshold’ and ‘the belly of the whale’.  Each one of these is enough for a whole module for a course on creative writing as well as offering opportunities to explore the cross-cultural themes of growing up, discovering vocations and coping with challenge. In my own work with students, I find there is an endless fascination with the wonderful opening of Dickens’ Great Expectati...

Do you know how to use the cool colon? Or how to add a dash of semicolons to spice up your writing? Many students are looking for final improvements to develop their writing before their summer exams; many adults could enhance their writing with a few simple punctuation tips. As a teacher of English over many years I made an important discovery: learners can start using colons and semicolons quickly if these wonderful punctuation marks are taught in the right way. To help students remember how to use colons and semicolons, I use the phrases “explain and expand”, and “connect or contrast”: they are easy to remember; they help distinguish between semicolons and colons; they lay the foundations for connecting sentences in ever more fluent and stylish ways.   Using colons is not something to fear   :     they can seriously improve your writing.   Semicolons confuse some   ;    they liberate others!   Now you know how cool and ...