Essay writing on the SAT may be optional, but good writing skills aren’t!
By Kristina Knobelsdorff, PhDCollege Advice, General Education Advice, Student Mastery, Writing TrainingEssay writing on the SAT may be optional, but good writing skills aren’t!
All students with college or career aspirations should develop their writing skills.
Beyond the obvious advantages, knowing how to write well also helps us think better.
This is why Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos insists that employees write out their ideas in narrative format–6 page “memos” using complete sentences–before pitching them at meetings. No bullet points, no Power Points, since these too often “disguise fuzzy thinking.” (Foer, Franklin. “Jeff Bezos’s Master Plan.” Atlantic, November 2019).
Good writing skills mean more than just adhering to rules of grammar and punctuation; good writers also know how to use the writing process to think through their ideas.
Students who struggle with either the process or the mechanics of writing will find themselves at a disadvantage in college and beyond. The good news is that it’s never too late to build these skills. It simply takes willingness and resolve. For many years, we’ve helped students of all ages and all writing abilities achieve writing mastery.
To learn more about our Writing Tutoring and Coaching packages, contact The Learning Consultants.
Kristina joined The Learning Consultants in 2007, shortly after completing her PhD in English at the University of Connecticut. With a decade of coaching teachers and students behind her, Kristina now heads the Department of Writing Mastery. She derives great satisfaction helping students of all ages become skilled and confident writers. full bio
