Borland Educational

Search Skills

How to Search the Internet
Southern Oregon University's excellent comprehensive guide to best tools and techniques for searching the internet. The only resource you'll probably need.

Google Search and Advanced Search
No better place to begin researching any topic than the good ol' Google search field. Still the world's goto search app.

Goggle Power Searching Video Courses
There's much to learn, here. Hour-long basic and advanced courses covering Google's essential features and operators.

LifeHack Google Tips
Short article listing just some of the magic hidden inside the Google search engine. More tips and tricks here and here.

Research Tools

scrible
Streamlines research and writing processes for school and work. Cool additional features in Scrible Edu allow teachers to monitor student progress and view analytics.

zotero
Free, open-source assistant helps students collect, organize, cite, and share research. Syncs across multiple computers and devices. More info here and here.

Mendeley
Research management tool and social network for student researchers. Connect, collaborate, discuss, share knowledge/data, and follow favorite rock star researchers!

15 Educational Search Engines for College Students
Google isn't a monopoly (fortunately). Rasmussen provides an excellent list of useful search tools for basic research. Sites listed return reliable citations from reputable sources.

Citation Engines

Citation Machine
Cite sources of multiple types for free in APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian (premium version allows 7000 formats plus plagiarism checker).

CiteFast
Simple, free online citation and bibliographic tool allows students to cite various source types in APA, MLA, Chicago.

EasyBib
Free MLA citation/bibliography generator. Auto-creates citations for multiple source types, allows manual entry, annotations. Additional features require subscription.

Writing Sites

Purdue OWL
BEST writing site! Sections on: grammar/mechanics; research/citation; style guides; job search, college app, subject-specific writing; teacher/tutor resources; and more.

100 Best Writing Websites
Categorized and commented list of great websites for writers by Write Life: blogging, creativity and craft, editing, freelancing, marketing, publishing, communities, more.

11 Top Writing Communities and Why You Should Join
Nybookeditors' recommended online writing communities. Once you're ready to share work and receive constructive criticism, join a community and get started!

NewPages Young Writers
Site devoted to enabling talented young writers to have their work recognized. Sage advice, long list of recommended publications, legitimate writing contests.

Plagiarism Detection

The Plagiarism Spectrum
10 key types of plagiarism identified by high school and college instructors are named and rated according to frequency and seriousness (with examples).

Unicheck
Affordable plagiarism checking. Detailed downloadable reports. Affordable pay-as-you-go model. Free to 200 words (check longer papers one paragraph at a time).

Other

grammarly.com
Phenomenal writing tool that performs advanced grammar checking, word choice and style coaching, plagiarism detection, more. Pay for premium to get all features. Alternatives here.

paperrater
Basic plagiarism, grammar, spelling, and style checking tool (plus automated "scoring" of papers and essays). Free.

Scrivener
Writing projects can quickly get complicated, and managing ideas, organizing text, outlining, citing, and drafting can be a daunting task. Scrivener does much of the work for you.

Reviews

“Standardized tests are a necessary step in applying to colleges, and, with his support, I was able to achieve the scores I needed to be competitive. I am currently finishing a degree in physics at the University of Chicago and am immensely grateful for his help four years ago. His test taking strategies have also been very useful on the GRE while applying to graduate school physics programs. Thank you again, Chris!”

Ben F. (Student: 2013)

"[Chris’s] methods are extremely effective and he is one of the kindest, most supportive men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

"Working with him has been one of my best academic experiences and I congratulate Chris on his hard work and dedication to the success of his pupils."

Harrison M. (Student: 2017)

“His competence, compassion and ethics as a tutor are exemplary.

"Chris is a wonderfully friendly, sincere and caring human being. His personality is delightful, making the sessions enjoyable.”

Judy S. (Client: 2006)

"The students benefited from [Chris's] assistance, and we found him very personable, helpful and eager to learn new teaching techniques and philosophies.

I feel he would be an excellent addition to any tutoring staff."

Linda N. (Employer: 1980)

"I enjoyed working with Chris because he could explain things I did not understand and make them clear to me. Chris was very patient when it took me a while to understand things."

Martha S. (Student: 1993)

“Chris is a phenomenal math, PSAT, and SAT tutor. I studied with him for over three years and am so grateful for all of his invaluable knowledge and the confidence that he instilled in me as a math student.

"Now, years later, the same standardized test-taking skills that he taught me for the PSAT and SAT are helping me immensely in my LSAT prep.

"Chris is patient and efficient in his teaching. I would highly recommend him to everyone!”

Gary C. (Client: 2016)

"Chris Borland tutored my son and did an excellent job. He obviously is a very well qualified teacher and I recommend him without reservation."

David C. (Client: 1980)

Chris is also incredibly supportive, and recognizes when confidence is lagging. He holds his students accountable by giving them specific work and challenges and also rewards their gains, and is able to pivot his teaching style if a certain way of explaining things isn't working.

"I highly recommend Chris to any student who is studying for a standardized test ..."

A.S.M. (Client: 2021)

Most importantly, you taught Joey to understand that hard work does reap its own rewards. Joey did well enough in school and on the SATs to gain acceptance to a number of UC Schools, of which he chose UC Davis to attend. Thanks Chris for you effort and diligent tutoring of Joey the last three years, we really appreciate all that you did for him.

Larry L. (Client: 2005)

"Chris tutored my son for the SSAT test and … it was worth every penny. My son responded very well to him and developed learning strategies that [he's] using to this day."

Michal V. (Client: 2014)

"[Chris] has a keen sense of the orderly nature of learning, and did a particularly good job of helping students with the organizational work needed to excel at math ... one of the best young teachers I've seen."

Bruce S. (Administrator: 1985)

"[Chris] is patient, understanding, enthusiastic and always guides Andrew in the learning process with a very positive attitude. If Andrew gets distracted, Chris is able to guide him back to the subject at hand by being assertive, yet respectful. His focus on Andrew's progress has resulted in a very noticeable improvement in Andrew's skill level in Algebra, his attention to detail, his neatness, and his self-esteem..."

Karen C. (Client: 1999)

"Chris Borland has provided test prep tutoring for two of our three children, one for the SSAT and then the ACT, and the other for the SSAT. They both dramatically improved their scores as a result of his tutoring and were accepted to their first-choice schools.

Jennifer C. (Client: 2020)

"Fantastic tutor. We set a goal for my SAT score, and with Chris's help I got there. Has years of experience and knows the test inside and out. Cannot recommend more highly."

Jack R. (Client: 2014)

Chris is patient, knowledgeable and was helpful in identifying my weaknesses and addressing them. My work with Chris on test prep also helped me in the classroom resulting in improved grades both my junior and senior years. He is easy to work with and never made me feel stupid. I highly recommend Chris Borland for test prep and math tutoring.”

T J (student: 2018)

"Chris Borland tutored my l4 year old twins for several weeks before they took the SSAT test for entrance into private schools. He has a very good rapport with kids and makes the sessions fun and interesting.

Chris's strategies about standardized test taking proved to be excellent. Both boys improved their scores significantly and openly attributed their success to their work with Chris..."

Anne C. (Client: 2003)

“Worth every penny!

"As the high school application process in SF is already stressful and time consuming, I was looking for an efficient strategy for my B/G twins to prepare for the SSAT. Chris has deep experience with test prep and presented a very clear, efficient, and effective strategy for the twins to follow. His approach resulted in a huge increase in test results.

"We would highly recommend him to anyone for standardized test prep!”

Irene L. (client: 2018)

Knowledge is Power