Melinda Borrell

Communication is my passion. With a PhD in communication and a master's degree in Composition and Rhetoric, I can cover a wide range of skills students and professionals need to achieve success. I have taught both face-to-face and online in synchronous and asynchronous classrooms, but I always like to follow my students' interests and to help them attain their goals in their field. For example, I have helped lawyers prepare opening arguments and airline pilots to prepare the best ways to communicate with passengers on the plane.

I have mostly focused, however, on helping students with mastering the SAT and ACT tests and to write application essays that will gain them positive attention for clarity and interest by colleges. I have a range of materials that I have prepared to specifically help students with the Verbal portions of tests. I tailor those materials to meet students' needs and to keep up with the changes in standardized tests. Both tests require students to quickly analyze the best way to answer a question and to feel confident that they will have the skills they need to do well in the time given.

Because I have a PhD, I have great research skills which I use to assist undergraduate and graduate students with their writing assignments. I have designed and revised courses using only online information, saving students the cost of purchasing expensive textbooks. My dissertation took a long time to put together because I had to meld visual information from 100 government films, interviews with diplomats and film-makers, and government documents covering the years 1953-1976. In other words, I know how to organize and present information and can help YOU with finding, analyzing, and coordinating many different kinds of "texts." I have also written and published papers in MLA, APA, and Chicago style.

My goal is always to meet people where they are, to listen carefully, and to propose various solutions. The client/student is always in charge of the process, product, and outcome.