At the Learning Consultants, our approach to writing reminds me of the old Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Similarly, “Correct a student’s essay, and you help them get a better grade. Teach a student how […]
Read MoreTip #3 Be authentic! This might sound cliched, but it’s useful advice for students writing their college essays. It’s much easier to write about yourself when you’re not trying to be someone else. I’ve been especially reminded of this wisdom over the past few months as I work with twins from Essex, CT on their […]
Read MoreTip #2 “I don’t know what to write about!” This is the number one source of frustration for students starting their college essays. A typical scenario occurred last week with one of my students from Madison, CT. She struggled to choose between two different essays. One, she really liked, but feared it wasn’t “traditional” enough. […]
Read MoreStart ASAP. This could be the most useful advice for students hoping to write an attention-grabbing essay. Waiting until the nth hour to start writing is usually a bad idea, especially for students who dread the thought, or have no idea what to write about or how to begin. Even if they finish their essay […]
Read More82% of employers want candidates with written communication skills Good writing increases profitability; bad writing hurts a company’s bottom line. Businesses now spend a billion a year on remedial writing training for their employees (Kaleigh Moore . Inc.). So more and more employers are looking to hire people who already know how to write well. […]
Read MoreWhy students should care about refining their writing skills. Certainly for other reasons than an A on the Hamlet essay, writing skills can open or close doors after high school. After all, writing is communication, and effective communication in business is key. As Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon put it, your ability to “communicate with […]
Read MoreMost of the students we tutor in CT and NY have incredibly busy lives. If they participate in sports, as they often do, their schedules are tightly packed with practices, games, and homework. Writing skills are typically the first to be sacrificed to the school-year time crunch. But they don’t have to be, and they […]
Read MoreOf the “big” three academic skills–reading, writing, and math–writing probably lost the most ground last year. Students hardly did any writing last year, especially compared to prior years. And although this isn’t surprising, given the stresses on teaching and learning during the pandemic, it doesn’t bode well for overall academic acheivement. As my summer writing […]
Read MoreOne of the biggest mistakes high school seniors in the college application process is waiting too long to begin their essays. Many students come to us having procrastinated until the nth hour. Despite parental cajoling and advice, they “wait” until the looming deadlines rear their ugly heads! This is clearly not the best approach! It’s […]
Read MoreMore important than “brainpower” to academic and career success? Being able to communicate what’s in your brain. This was Warren Buffett’s message to a young entrepreneur in 2018. The best investment students can make in themselves, says Buffett in a video posted to LinkedIn, is learning how to speak and write effectively (posted by Michael […]
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