<p>First attempt timed exactly 25 minutes.
Prompt: Honesty is important, of course, but deception can actually make it easier for people to get along. In a recent study, for example, one out of every four of the lies told by participants was told solely for the benefit of another person.In fact, most lies are harmless social untruths in which people pretend to like someone or something more than they actually do ("Your muffins are the best!").
Adapted from Allison Kornet, "The Truth About Lying"
Assignment: Is deception ever justified? </p>
<p>Growing up one notices that sometimes parents tell lies to protect their children and even to preserve their child's sense of wonder. On a much broader scale, in politics there are certain Machiavellian ideas such as "the end justifies the means", in which lying with good intentions is worth the result it produces. In both these cases, if deception was used correctly and effectively then it brings benefits, exposing the less negative side of telling a lie.</p>
<p>You probably remember the exact moment when you found out Santa Clause wasn't real. If you were like me, you figured it out yourself as you got older. But others of you were probably sat down and told compassionately by your parents that the jolly bearded man was just them buying you presents. As you think back later in time and remember this little fib your parents had you believing, you don't feel hate but rather the opposite. You feel love and appreciation, because you know that mom and dad only wanted you to have the longest and best childhood possible. </p>
<p>In the world of politics it is quite similar. Sometimes a nation's leader might conceal the truth from it's public. Now granted there may be speculation as to the selfishness of the politician, who is just lying to further his/her agenda. But a leader wants the best for it's people. For example, during WWII the USSR was suffering the worst casualties of any other allied nation. But Stalin, who was the soviet leader, pushed massive amounts of propaganda into the media. Posters showed images of glorious victory and graceful armies lined up in a perfect formation. These notions of wartime triumph, although untrue, motivated the citizens and increased the nation's confidence. This lie told by the leader inspired a renewal of confidence in the war, which eventually led to victory. So when deception is conducted with good intentions, it can easily be morally justified. </p>
<p>Great start. Interesting examples for quite a thought-provoking prompt. This would be a 4, simply because it’s not quite long enough (your goal should be to hit ~400-450 words in order to get at least a 5 aka approximately 2 pages written), it lacks a traditional concluding paragraph, but shows considerable depth. Honestly, even if you had made this just a tad bit longer and added a concluding paragraph, I could see it being a 5 because your examples are pretty solid and your intro is also quite effective.</p>
<p>Keep practicing and Good Luck! :)</p>
<p>Thanks this really helped me figure out where I am at right now. </p>
<p>Its just that I wrote very quickly and at the end I only had 5 minutes to spare which I used to proof read and fix errors. Are you sure its too short? The SAT book said at least one page, is length a big factor?</p>
<p>Yes! Believe it or not, writing 2 pages of even crap (which I don’t advise you do) can get you a 10/12 on the SAT essay (personal experience). 2 pages of examples shows that you have enough content knowledge to answer the question effectively and shows considerable depth. </p>
<p>Also, 5 minutes to proofread seems like way too much time. Your primary focus should be on writing the entire essay, and if you have a spare minute to reread, go for it. The essay should be a first draft (after all, you only have 25 minutes to write), and the readers realize that it’s natural to have a few spelling/grammar errors. As long as it’s still legible and coherent, a few grammar mistakes will not affect your score. That being said, if it took 5 minutes for you to proofread because of atrocious grammar in the essay prior to correcting, that is a concern. Try to write consciously and catch most mistakes while writing the essay. For time-saving advice, sometimes it’s better to cross out, rather than erase. </p>
<p>I agree with others that the essay was too short.</p>
<p>In the old version of the SAT, the factual content of the essay was not supposed to be weighed by the reader. I think the new essay has different rules, doesn’t it? But either way, I would strongly advise against using Stalin as a positive example.</p>
<p>On the one hand, everyone in the US owes a significant debt of gratitude to the Soviet people who fought in WW II, many of whom died. The fact that the Axis powers were tied down on two fronts contributed significantly to the odds of victory for the Allies. Of course, the existence of two fronts was due in large part to Hitler’s blunder in violating the Non-Agression Pact, which he had signed with . . . Stalin.</p>
<p>When you bring up Stalin in an essay, the first word association that many people of my age in the US make is “murderous.” I doubt that it was the inspiring propaganda posters that caused men to sign up for the war, as opposed to the odds of death in a Stalinist purge, if they did not.</p>
<p>I have heard that Stalin’s reputation is enjoying somewhat of a revival in the countries of the former USSR. Here, it is not. According to figures that I have read and believe, Stalin was responsible for the deaths of 30-40 million people in the former USSR (perhaps more, perhaps “only” 25 million), which is an appreciably larger number than died directly in combat or from combat injuries in WW II. For that matter, many of the deaths of soldiers from the USSR in WW II were the result of poor military leadership, and poor tactical decision-making. Here, there is a grim joke, “How does the Russian Army take out a minefield?”</p>
<p>Employing him as an illustration of positive effects of deception is really ill-advised.</p>
<p>I would say a 3 and a 4, so a 7 overall. Try to avoid personal examples, if possible, and definitely write more words. Also, the SAT reader only gets about 1 minute to read your essay, so if possible, make sure that your organization stands out more than anything. </p>