HawaiiWritingCoach.Com

Aloha!

Welcome to the Hawaii Writing Coach. As a coach, my goal is to train, motivate, and inspire you to write better, whether you're a:

• College-bound junior or senior nervous about the SAT Essay, or struggling with your College Application Essay.

• Middle or high school student (grades 7-12) applying for competitive admission to a top private school in Hawaii which requires the SSAT Essay and/or writing a Personal Essay as part of the interview process.

• Middle school student (grades 7-8) looking to master the essential essay writing skills necessary to score top grades in high school.

• Young poet, author or blogger looking to both master the fundamentals and enjoy the fun of creative writing.

• Non-native English speaker looking to write clear, effective, grammatically-correct English in order to improve your grades in school, or to improve your employment or promotion chances in the workplace.

COLLEGE BOUND?

Strong writing skills alone can't guarantee you'll get into the college of your choice, but they certainly can help. You can raise your overall SAT/ACT score, and get noticed by admission officers, if you do well on two important writing tests -- your College Application Essay and the SAT Essay.

SAT ESSAY

In March 2005, the SAT college admission test added a writing skills section. It requires students to demonstrate a broad knowledge of grammar and word usage; improve sentences and paragraphs; and also to compose an essay on the spot in 25 minutes. This writing section accounts for one-third of the final SAT score. Unfortunately, most Hawaii students start out at a disadvantage. Some 80 percent of students entering high school in Hawaii are writing below grade level (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 26, 2009). Most remain at a disadvantage. In 2009, Hawaii seniors taking the SAT test averaged a score of 469 on the writing section, ranking us second to last (49th) among U.S. states. My goal is to help Hawaii students learn how to write a SAT essay quickly and clearly, based on my professional writing experience plus consensus tips drawn from College Board, McGraw-Hill, Peterson's, Barron's and Princeton Review SAT essay training guides.    

Taking the ACT? SAT essay skills learned here are also applicable to the ACT optional writing test (ACT Plus Writing) since the two tests are structured and scored similarly.

COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAY

Your college application essay plays a critical role in showcasing you, your life, your passions, experience, and talents to the college of your choice. It's also the toughest thing to write.

I can't and won't write it for you, but my 180-minute, "Just Do It!" session can get you motivated and ready to start writing -- guiding you step-by-step through the process of exploring ideas; choosing a story to tell; finding your "voice"; and sharing writing tricks and techniques which you can employ to make your all-important college essay focused, interesting, and attention-grabbing.

Michael Schmicker

I hold a Masters Degree in Educational Communications from the University of Hawaii, and taught English as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand.

I subsequently became a professional writer and have over 30 years of writing experience –- as a newspaper journalist, magazine writer/editor, nationally published non-fiction book author, and (currently) director of media relations and corporate communications for a Hawaii high-tech company with annual revenues of $75 million.

Writing is my passion and I love to share it.

 "WRITE AND WRONG"

Blogging the SAT, SSAT, and why Kimo and Malia can (and sometimes can't) write. (For additional blogs, click here)

 What Are Your Chances?

Blog date: 8/10/11

Curious about your chances of getting into the college or university of your choice?  You can visit the website http://www.satscores.us/  for a scientific guesstimate of your odds.  

 To calculate your chances, you input:

• the name of the college you want to attend
• your SAT score (real or estimated)
• your class rank (real or estimated), and
• your extracurricular activities

An algorithm then calculates your chances of getting admitted, based on your target school’s admission rate and the distribution of SAT scores for recently admitted students.

The website also provides additional helpful information on over 300 U.S. colleges/universities, including  the average SAT score of students admitted to that school; subject tests required; and whether they offer Early Decision or Early Action.