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PencilTip — preparing
PencilTip
Sarasota · Longboat Key · Est. 2008

Penciltip College preparation, written by hand.

I work one student at a time, slowly, on the reading and writing that admissions offices reward and that college coursework eventually demands. SAT, ACT, AICE, the Common App, and the kind of close attention that compounds for years. In-person on the Gulf Coast; online for a small number of students each cycle.

Begin an inquiry → Read the practices By appointment · inquiries reviewed weekly
FounderDr. Karen Smith‑Ott
Direct line(216) 632‑0457
Response< 24 hours
Stack of well-loved books on a wooden desk
Vol. XVIIIEditorial
Tutoring
Practice
Now reading
Aristotle, Rhetoric — Book II
On the desk this week
Aristotle, Rhetoric — Book II
01 — Practices

Four programs, calibrated to the deadline.

Each engagement is structured around a date on the calendar and the texts already on the desk. Every session is private; every plan is written for the student in the chair.

01  /  Standardized Tests
→
The Test Cycle

SAT or ACT. Ten to twelve weeks of weekly sessions, framed by an untimed diagnostic at the start and a final mock paper before test day. Passage-by-passage strategy, evidence-based reasoning, and the timing tactics that move students out of the middle quartile.

SAT · ACT · PSAT
02  /  Admissions Writing
→
The Essay Arc

Common App, supplementals, and scholarship essays coached as a focused six-to-eight-session arc — from brainstorming through final line edits. The student keeps a single working binder; I keep the margin notes.

Common App · Supplementals · Scholarships
03  /  Exam-Specific Coaching
→
AICE · AP · IB

Section-by-section tutorials with mock papers, slow work on whichever text the syllabus has put on the desk, and the rhetorical vocabulary the exams quietly expect. AICE Literature a particular specialty.

Literature · Language · Composition
04  /  Ongoing Study
→
Reading & Rhetoric

For students who want to read better and write more clearly without a test in view. Classical and contemporary rhetorical analysis — ethos, pathos, logos — paired with weekly close reading of texts the student chooses, or the syllabus is about to require.

By the semester · by inquiry
+   The first conversation
→

A free thirty-minute diagnostic.

Bring a writing sample or a recent essay if you have one. We'll talk about the goals, the timeline, and the books on the desk. From that conversation I write a plan — usually six to twelve weeks — paced to the deadline and calibrated to the patterns I see.

02 — Karen

Taught by a working scholar, not a workbook.

PencilTip is the private practice of Dr. Karen Smith-Ott — an English Language Arts educator with two decades inside the classroom and a doctorate in Leadership Studies from Bowling Green State University.

Dr. Karen Smith-Ott
EdD · Bowling Green, 2007
Founder
Dr. Karen Smith‑Ott, EdD

I am an English Language Arts educator with two decades of classroom and tutorial experience and a doctorate in Leadership Studies from Bowling Green State University. My dissertation, Spinning Straw into Gold, examined how leaders use language to influence the people who listen to them — a question that has quietly shaped the way I teach essays and rhetoric ever since.

PencilTip is the unhurried application of that work to a single student at a time. Sessions take place at the Selby Library in downtown Sarasota, the Longboat Key Public Library, and over secure video for students traveling or out of state. Each engagement begins with a free thirty-minute conversation about goals, deadlines, and the books already on the desk.

Doctorate
EdD, Leadership Studies
Bowling Green State University, 2007
Dissertation
Spinning Straw into Gold: Dynamics of a Rumpelstiltskin Style of Leadership
Graduate Studies
MA, Scientific & Technical Communication
MEd, Career & Technology Education
Bowling Green State University
Practice
Sarasota · Longboat Key
Online by inquiry
03 — Method

Grounded in the Paul‑Elder Framework.

Karen is a Fellow of the Advanced Academy at the Foundation for Critical Thinking — the institute that has, for four decades, codified what it means to think well across disciplines.

“Fairminded critical thinking — thinking which embodies intellectual empathy, intellectual humility, intellectual perseverance, intellectual integrity, and intellectual responsibility.”

— Foundation for Critical Thinking
  1. i.
    Intellectual Empathy
  2. ii.
    Intellectual Humility
  3. iii.
    Intellectual Perseverance
  4. iv.
    Intellectual Integrity
  5. v.
    Intellectual Responsibility
+0
Avg. SAT point gain
0%
Students hit goal score
0+
Essays revised
0yr
In private practice
— This week

On the desk.

What students are reading, drafting, and revising in the practice this week.

  • Senior · AP LangAristotle, Rhetoric, Book II
  • Junior · Close readingPlath, The Bell Jar
  • Sophomore · AICE LitShakespeare, Hamlet, Act III
  • Senior · Common AppPersonal essay — third draft
  • Winter list · all studentsZinsser, On Writing Well
04 — Letters

Notes from families.

A small selection of notes from the families we've worked with through application season.

★★★★★

Karen took my daughter from a 1180 to a 1390 in eleven weeks — but more importantly, she taught her how to read the way colleges want her to read.

M
Maria C.
Parent · Sarasota
★★★★★

My common app essay was a list of accomplishments before I met Dr. Smith-Ott. By the end it was actually a story I wanted to tell. I got into my first choice.

J
Jordan P.
Student · Class of 2025
★★★★★

She is the only tutor I've worked with who treated AICE like a serious literature program and not a checklist. My son left her sessions a writer.

A
Anika R.
Parent · Longboat Key
05 — Notes

Honest answers to practical questions.

How long are sessions, and how often do students meet?+
Standard sessions run 60 or 90 minutes. Most students meet weekly during the school year, and twice weekly in the six weeks before a major exam or application deadline. We'll set the cadence together at the consultation.
Where do sessions take place?+
In person at the Selby Public Library (downtown Sarasota) and the Longboat Key Public Library, or via secure video conference for students traveling, away at boarding school, or living out of state.
What does a package cost?+
Single sessions, four-session blocks, and full test-cycle packages are available. Pricing is shared during the free consultation so we can match the plan to the student's actual scope — not the other way around.
Do you take on essay-only clients?+
Yes. Common App, supplemental essays, and scholarship essays are coached as a focused four-to-six-session arc, beginning with brainstorming and ending with a final round of line edits.
How early should we start before a test or deadline?+
For SAT or ACT, ten to twelve weeks is ideal. For college essays, we recommend beginning the summer before senior year. We do take on shorter engagements when the calendar requires it.
06 — Inquire

Begin an inquiry.

Send a short note about the student, the goal, and the timeline. I read every inquiry myself, and reply within a business day with a few openings for a free thirty-minute conversation.

Phone
(216) 632‑0457
Email
hello@penciltip.org
Sarasota
Selby Public Library
Longboat Key
LBK Public Library