Are you still scoring essays? Would you score mine?
@niggahigga How about you and I grade each other’s essays, but a maximum of two essays per week? What do you think?
Prompt: Should we complain to get what we want ?
We should not complain to get what we want. complaint means showing our desires and needs unfavorably without even aiming at getting them by ourselves. one should struggle to acquire his needs without moaning to other people; complaint often do not guarantees one's needs to come true. Although many people believe that one could approach what he want by complaint, I believe that one could approach what he want without complaint.
In literature, many writers have tackled the theme of complain. In New Direction, by Maya Angelo, Ms. Annie Johnson figured out a way for her welfare without complain. she cook for the two factories' workers, moving miles between the two factories. Despite her lack of culinary skills, she managed to make a living by "mixing ingredients". she struggled to get what she want without complaining to other people.
Furthermore, other writers have depicted the theme of complaint in their works. For example, In the Old And The Sea , the old man risked his life through the sea to prove that he is not misfortunate without showing his misery but with resolute and determination. He in his own took his boat and fought with the sharks to defend his statue to his people. if he did not work for himself and complained about his miser, he might not attain what he want.
In addition, history is filled with heroes and groups of people who acquire their needs by themselves only. Gandhi guided the Indians to fight their colonizers without revolution or any form of violence protest . The Indians drove the British out of their lands through boycott and other peaceful activities; They did not fought them off by showing their wishes and desires but by boycott.
In conclusion, people could attain their wishes and needs by getting their desires themselves not by showing them to other people for assistance.
Thanks man !
Prompt: Should we complain to get what we want ?
We should not complain to get what we want. complaint means showing our desires and needs unfavorably without even aiming at getting them by ourselves. one should struggle to acquire his needs without moaning to other people; complaint often do not guarantees one's needs to come true. Although many people believe that one could approach what he want by complaint, I believe that one could approach what he want without complaint.
In literature, many writers have tackled the theme of complain. In New Direction, by Maya Angelo, Ms. Annie Johnson figured out a way for her welfare without complain. she cook for the two factories' workers, moving miles between the two factories. Despite her lack of culinary skills, she managed to make a living by "mixing ingredients". she struggled to get what she want without complaining to other people.
Furthermore, other writers have depicted the theme of complaint in their works. For example, In the Old And The Sea , the old man risked his life through the sea to prove that he is not misfortunate without showing his misery but with resolute and determination. He in his own took his boat and fought with the sharks to defend his statue to his people. if he did not work for himself and complained about his miser, he might not attain what he want.
In addition, history is filled with heroes and groups of people who acquire their needs by themselves only. Gandhi guided the Indians to fight their colonizers without revolution or any form of violence protest . The Indians drove the British out of their lands through boycott and other peaceful activities; They did not fought them off by showing their wishes and desires but by boycott.
In conclusion, people could attain their wishes and needs by getting their desires themselves not by showing them to other people for assistance.
thanks!!
Could someone grade this just so i know where i stand. Any comments will be highly appreciated.
Topic:Should people make more of an effort to keep some things private?
I think people have become too confessional.Although everyone does have the right to express his/her opnion it’s usually unwise to speak too freely and reveal one’s shortcomings.
The point above is depicted wonderfully in Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice.Mrs.Bennet unable to hold her tongue talks freely about the prospect of jane marrying the wealthy charles bing and forming an advantageous match. Her prattling in balls misleads Mr dracy,a dear friend of bingleys,to assume that jane is only after bingleys fortune and not his love.This in turn leads to a painstaking seperation orchestrated by darcy and BIngleys sisters. Although darcy was hasty in jumping to conclusions his suspicions were aroused by mrs bennets ramblings.Had she employed a little more tact and not revealed her opinions so openly and publicly the agony caused to two faultless lovers may have been avoided.
The importance of privacy is also amplified when you read George Orwells book 1984.In a dystopian society where the big brother watches your every waking and sleeping moment through telescreens makes you realise not only the importance but also the basic need for privacy. Winston smith ,the protagonist, tries to keep a diary to bury his thoughts into,away from the scrutiny of the party but that diary too is discovered.The party adament on contrlloing every thought,every emotion left no room for privacy.
Today in an age of social media we willingly volunteer to share our every waking moment, every emotion with the people we know and also with those we dont. From uploading pictures of what we eat to our rants on the many faults of our society. What did we and what we plan to do every detail is known to our ‘friends’ on facebook and our followers on twitter.
I’m not against sharing your feelings or moods but when a different status showing what you feel shows up every hour or so the feeling itself becomes trite,it loses its importance no matter how real it is.‘Less is more’.Three words i believe hold true in this case.
Topic:
“Knowledge is power. In agriculture, medicine and industry, for example, knowledge has liberated us from hunger, disease, ad tedious labour. Today, however, our knowledge has become so powerful that it is beyond our control. We know how to do many things, but we do not know where, when, or even whether this know-how should be used.”
Can knowledge be a burden rather than a benefit?
Essay:
Knowledge above a certain level indeed becomes a burden. As the saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Similarly, with great knowledge, intelligent individuals are burdened and stressed.
Take the case of Nikola Tesla. Tesla is popularly known for his work on alternating current (AC) systems used in every home today, but most people don’t know about Tesla’s personal life. For one, Tesla never married. He remained celibate with his only focus on work. Near his death, Tesla expresses regret about never marrying and wishes he could change things. Secondly, Tesla worked long hours in an erratic schedule. He never slept more than 2 hours in a stretch, and started work from 9 am till 5pm, having dinner at exactly 8:10pm at a nearby diner. He then went back to work, often working till 3:00am. The saddest thing about Tesla, however, was that he fell in love - with a dove. Tesla claimed to see a white dove, different from all others, and said that he had developed a “bond” with it. The dove was injured, and Tesla spent thousands of dollars for it’s surgery. Tesla said that he loved the bird more than anything in the world, loved it as a maan loved a woman. Tesla was clearly driven to the limits of his mind due to his extraordinary mental prowess and work. For Tesla, knowledge became a burden that he had to endure alone.
Similarly, we have the example of Robert Oppenheimer, one of the scientists involved in the nuclear bomb program. Oppenheimer was burdened with the knowledge of the immense destructive power of the atom bomb and how it will lead to destruction like never before. He is famously known for quoting the Bhagavad Gita, “And I am become death, the destroyer of worlds”, when the atom bomb test program, Trinity, succeeded. Oppenheimer’s burden and guilt was his involvement with the atom bomb program and how he was responsible for millions of lives claimed in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
Another case where an entity is burdened due to immense knowledge is the Marvin the ‘paranoid android’ from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Marvin has a ‘brain the size of a planet’, and due to a quirk with time travel has aged 21 times the universe has. He, however, finds that nothing interests him, is constantly depressed, and is the epitome of pessimism, only due to the burden of knowing everything there is to know.
Thus, examples from literature and history make it clear that extreme knowledge can become a tremendous source of stress, guilt, and sadness to certain individuals. While they appreciate and respect their knowledge, for them, the adage of “ignorance is bliss” is extremely apt.
Thanks!
"Lastly, Bethany Hamilton is someone who had to overcome adversity that haped doing the thing she loved. Bethany is a surfer from Hawaii whose arm was lost if a shark attack. The attack didn’t stop her from doing what she loved and she grew to appretiate everything more. She wrote a book made for people dealing with depression. If it wasn’t for her adversity she would have never done that and many people say how the book benefited them greatly. [Benefited them greatly how? Give an example.]
“In conclusion people grow exponentially when faced with adversity, These people would not have accomplished what they did had they not experienced some issue in their life. They all went through things that changed their life and the used it as fuel.” [Used it as fuel for what? Not a strong enough conclusion. Try to use forceful words in the last sentence to drive your point home.]
Also, you can repeat the word ‘adversity’ in your thesis and conclusion to tie it in to the prompt, but try to vary it a little through the rest of the essay by using ‘hardships’, ‘misfortunes’, ‘difficulties’, etc.
Other than some typos/sentence structure errors, pretty good. 8~9/12. 
I hope this was helpful!
“I think people have become too confessional.Although everyone does have the right to express his/her opnion it’s usually unwise to speak too freely and reveal one’s shortcomings.” [Try not to start out with ‘I’, it weakens your essay right from the beginning. Try to only say ‘I’ when you’re using a personal experience, but even then start with, “People have become too confessional” and then explain why. It’s a lot stronger.]
“I’m not against sharing your feelings or moods but when a different status showing what you feel shows up every hour or so the feeling itself becomes trite,it loses its importance no matter how real it is.‘Less is more’.Three words i believe hold true in this case.” [Once again, don’t make it personal unless you’re telling a personal experience. Try something like, “The over-sharing of information has become epidemic” and remember to make sure your conclusion is in line with your thesis.]
Work on typos/grammatical/sentence structure errors as well. 6~7/12. Good luck!
Could someone please grade this for me?
Prompt: The best way to learn is by following the examples set by others
Sir Isaac Newton once said " If I had seen yonder it is by standing on the shoulders of giants". In this statement, the father of calculus attributes his discoveries to the great thinkers before him. However, Newton did not formulate new theories and ideas simply by emulating the ideas of those before him. His theories, which remain in use today, were formulated based on his observations of natural phenomena around him and not through rote learning. Thus, the notion that the best way to learn is by following the examples set by others is a misconception.
When we learn unaided, we tend to make mistakes. However, it must be noted that making mistakes is an inevitable part of the natural learning process. New discoveries are made through continuous trial and error. Thomas Alva Edison famously failed more than 1000 times before perfecting the first working electric lightbulb. By learning from his mistakes, Edison was able to improve upon his invention. His efforts helped pave the way towards mass adoption of elextricity as a power source.
The main objective of education is to develop lifelong learners with inquisive minds who constantly thirst for knowledge. The traditional method of learning by following examples leaves no room for creativity and innovation. By stimulating a student’s curiosity through independent learning, new methods of thought may be discovered. For instance, Nicolas Copernicus was able to formulate his heliocentric theory through his own observations and independent thought rather than follow the doctrine of the church.
As society advances rapidly, traditional methods of learning may no longer be relevant. If we persist in following the examples set by others and not think by ourselves, we will be no different than a microprocessor in a computer, following a set of predefined instructions. Indeed, the key difference between robots and sentient life is that intelligent life forms are able to think for themselves. Thus, learning to think independently is a key characteristic of what makes us human.
In a nutshell, we should strive to think critically and creatively and not simply be content in following the examples set by others as we learn more effectively by thinking for ourselves. To quote Plutarch: ‘the mind is a fire to be kindled not a vessel to be filled’.
Thanks.
could anyone be so kind as to grade my essay? i think it’s pretty rubbish because i did it in less than 20 minutes and i’m normally a person who requires a lot of time for thinking.
Prompt: “Nowadays nothing is private: our culture has become too confessional and self-expressive. People think that to hide one’s thoughts or feelings is to pretend not to have those thoughts or feelings. They assume that honesty requires one to express every inclination and impulse.” -Adapted from J. David Velleman, “The Genesis of Shame”
Assignment: Should people make more of an effort to keep some things private? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
My essay:
Nowadays, people are becoming increasingly open about their own thoughts and feelings. The rise of social media has also catalysed the expression of self and one's everyday life. This has resulted int he debate on whether this frequent sharing of thoughts and feelings is desirable, or whether one should make more of an effort to keep some things private.
I agree with the latter. Some thoughts and feelings are better kept within one's mind, especially ones that might be hurtful or upsetting.
I used to be a very straightforward person. I would literally speak whatever's on my mind without giving a second thought. This resulted in me hurting many of my friends' feelings, as my critical comments were often too blunt. I slowly realized that announcing every single thought in my mind had dire consequences on my relationships with others, and over the course of time, have learnt from my experience that it's best to keep some ideas to myself, even if I may perceive them as helpful to others, so as to maintain better relationships between my friends and I.
There are people who may assume that honesty requires one to express every inclination and impulse. Honesty is undeniably a noble virtue to pursue, but it is unnecessary for one to express every thought and feeling in order for honesty to be achieved. Omission is a skill that enables one to speak truthfully, yet avoiding hurting others with unwanted comments and criticisms.
In conclusion, people should make more of an effort to keep some things private, as keeping some things to oneself does not necessarily compromise honesty.
Does thinking positively about a problem always result in a positive outcome?
There are numerous ways to succeed, but they all involve the power of positive thinking. After all, who will believe in you if you have low expectations of yourself? The spiritual and political leader Mahatma Gandhi once said, “A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.”
Many real-life stories of success support this statement. For example, I recently read in Time magazine about Raj Darbar, a thirty-year-old Indian man who invested in shares, despite his whole family warning him not to, and became a millionaire in just a little over a year. The shares he bought were from a local company specializing in metallurgy. The firm was expected to go bankrupt at any moment, but Raj saw the potential it had and never questioned it. He did not think negatively like the rest of his family and soon his positivity was rewarded. Had he succumbed to his relatives’ opinions, he would never have made the investment and set an example for other entrepreneurs. It was the power of positive thinking that helped Raj make his dreams come true. There are probably millions of people who have been in Raj’s position only to have pessimism thwart their plans for the future.
Being an optimist is always better than seeing everything life has to offer in a negative light. Positive thinking is not only beneficial to businessmen; it is also a method most of us use in our daily lives. Something very peculiar happened to me the other day. I went to my weekly tennis practice but I was feeling very down. I started playing and it felt like the whole universe was against me; all of the balls went either ouf of the court or straight into the net. I started feeling even more morose. However, after thirty minutes of unsuccessfully trying to score a point, a powerful thought came to me, “You can do this! You are great at playing tennis! Show them what you are made of!” I felt like I had been hit by a freight train of positivity. And it worked! I started shooting powerful backhands, my volleys and slices were stronger than ever. Even my coach was impressed. This radical change was only due to my positive thinking.
It seems the mind is a powerful tool that we often underestimate. We blame anything else but our pessimism for our defeats and misfortunes. Positive thinking has proved to be a way to success. After all, successful people are those who believe in themselves and strive towards a better future.
thanks alot, i have nobody to grade my essay for me
assignment:is it better to change one’s attitude than to change one’s circumstances?
You can’t always change the circumstances. If you are dissatisfied with your place or your school or even your family, you shouldn’t try to change anything but yourself. No mater how hard you try you won’t turn your place to be a dream land, but you can change your look to the world around you. You can see your place a dream land if you want to. Changing your attitude is a lot better than changing the circumstances. In fact, it’s even a lot easier.
Changing my mind about what I should change, my attitude or the circumstances, wasn’t that easy for me. I had a lot of trouble changing my attitude when I first came to my home town in mid school. I was daunted, desperate and nostalgic. It was an unspiritual place full of cold people, but I was just a kid. I couldn’t change the circumstances. One day I refused to go to school and my mum lost control and shouted at me,”don’t even think about going back. this is your place until you go to college. It’s inevitable. Face it!” and it was like she asked me to do the hardest thing, to face as I though,”my fatal destiny”. The next day I went to school. Day after day I began to make better friends, to go out, to have great times and to love everything around me. It was just when I began to change my attitude and look at the bright side.
Unlike me, the animals of Animal Farm novel could change their life. They had a farmer who exploited them and their products and deprived them of all of their rights. They threw this farmer out of the farm and the pigs took control of it, but the pigs were like the farmer, They exploited the animals too. In fact, they were worse. The animals then learned that changing the circumstances could have a bad reflection. They could have left the farmer in control and try to acclimate, or just try to even talk to the farmer.
A story like that of the animals is that of Kafka in Kafka On The Shore novel. The protagonist Kafka is an adolescent who had some troubles dealing with his father who doesn’t seem to care about him and decided to run away from home to a distant different city. He built himself a new life alone. He faced a lot of trouble, because he couldn’t just live alone. Soon, he spent all of his money and couldn’t find any way to earn more. Then, he discovered that what he thought a bad life was a very good one after all. He learned a lesson and returned back home after being away for months. His father learned a lesson too. They both learned to appreciate what they have.
Life is amazing if you just learned to see what’s good in it .we see what we want to see .If we convince ourselves that everything is ok, It will be more than ok. It’s all about us. It’s all about what we see, how we feel, how we think and how we accept our situation. All of this can be learned from what life puts us into.
The Prompt: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan, “Press on!” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
Assignment: Do you agree that persistence is the major factor in success, and that talent, genius, and education play, at best, secondary roles?
So here I go,
It is a common belief that talent is people-specific. Amalgamated to this belief is another notion that one possesses and possibly can possess talent in one field or in branches of it. I beg to differ. The human mind has limitless possibilities, and it is only persistence that can shape them into talent.
Albert Einstein, for instance, is known for his ingenuity in the discipline of physics and the exemplary discoveries he made. These discoveries weren’t just revelations, they were bolstered by persistence.
When Einstein was in school, his performance was poor. He failed his class and his principal believed he would never amount to much. However, he had an inclination towards Mathematics in which he excelled through uninhibited persistence. He was eventually asked to leave school. He left only with a glowing recommendation from his Maths teacher, went to college solely on that foundation and persisted throughout his education, despite the obstacles. The rest, as we all know, is history.
One may argue that Einstein was a genius and that was the reason he could make it big. He himself, however, disagrees to it. But this begs another question. Is talent a necessary prerequisite for persistence to be fruitful? Yes, it is. But the best part is that we already possess this talent. We are all Einsteins.I am sure every person must have wondered where the stars come from at least once in their lifetime. The ‘geniuses’ are only those who stay at these questions longer, chase them more persistently.
John Kaufman once said that it takes 10,000 hours to master something, anything. Thought these words were uttered in the 19th century, they hold good even today. Talent is necessary for success and persistence alone can develop that talent. The words, “Press on!” indeed do solve and will continue to solve the problems of the human race.
Can knowledge be a burden rather than a benefit.
Human brains have evolved over the million years and this has led to the greatest inventions and discoveries. The array of knowledge we have about the world keeps on increasing. Knowledge is an arsenal which can have impact like no other weapon in the world. This knowledge if not used wisely could have drastic consequences. This can be illustrated by the following example.
Albert Einstein arguably the most intelligent mathematician of all time made many discoveries and inventions in his time. One of it was the nuclear bomb. He himself said that it was the biggest regret of his life. The nuclear weapon was used to destroy the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and it consequences still continue to haunt them.
This was the mistake by just one person. Imagine this on a large scale. The earth continues to deteriorate because of the fancy inventions of human beings. If continued at this rate the planet will be unsustainable in a coming hundred years and not to mention the effects in this process.
Knowledge has undisputed landmass our life easier but at what cost? Is the question to be answered. Knowledge is a virtue only if we demarcate its usage.
History is an exemplary of the burden of knowledge. As said by frodo baggins in the Lord of the rings, he wished he never knew about the ring but now it is his responsibility to keep it safe. Likewise knowledge has to be used authoritatively.
Please rate out of 12. I am very poor at writing essays and I would appreciate it if you give me some tips and notify my mistakes.
Please grade my essay. It’s the thing that keeps my score down so I need a lot of practice. Thank you very much
Prompt: Are people’s lives the result of their choices?
Some people believe that their lives are at the mercy of fate and have little to do with the choices they make. However, the fact remains that people’s decisions and their consequences will determine the course of their future. In other words, people’s lives are the result of what they choose to do. This notion is supported by a plethora of examples from literary works as well as from real life
A compelling example that demonstrates how one’s future is dependent on one’s choices is Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott. Fitzgerald. Gatsby’s decision to pursue his goal of winning back Daisy, the girl of his dream propels him to rise from impoverished circumstances to build up an enormous fortune. In order to impress Daisy, he also jettisons his former lower-class identity and recasts himself as the fabulously wealthy man he envisions. All of the tremendous changes in Gatsby’s life are the result of his choice to gain back Daisy’s love. Furthermore, this decision also leads to him taking the blame for her when she causes an accident, and eventually sacrificing his life for her. It can be clearly seen from the example of Gatsby that the decisions one makes in life have a huge impact on how the future will turn out to be
Another example that effectively illustrates the notion that people’s choices in life will determine the events in the future is Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple Inc., one of the leading companies in the field of information technology. Job’s decision to take an ardent interest in his early life would ultimately lead to significant developments in his career later on. He would drop out of college to pursue his ambitious goal of setting up an electronic company. He would come up with innovative product ideas that were destined to revolutionize the digital world. He would transform Apple from a small company that started in his garage to a multi-billlion enterprise that produces the finest technologies in the world. All of these astounding achievements were possible because Jobs decided to materialize his dreams and made enormous efforts to do so. It is clearly demonstrated that Jobs’ amazing life and his status as “the Father of the Digital Revolution” all came from the decisions that he made in his life
To recapitulate, people’s lives are the result of their choices. Understanding this, we should try to make wise decisions since they will largely determine the path our life takes, instead of blaming everything on fate. As Albert Einstein once said: “The choices you make today will decide how your future will be”
*Notes
- I filled up 2 pages
- I kinda made up some details in the Steve Jobs example
- I made up that Einstein’s quote lol
Question: What motivates people to change?
Pessimists say that people never change, but I believe otherwise. Human personality is a very delicate thing, as it is the very definition of one’s being. Humans, by nature, adapt to their surroundings. Thus, people are motivated to change by society and the expectations of the world around them, as demonstrated by my change in character upon moving to Hawaii and Bernard’s complete personal change in the novel Brave New World.
The first example of a person who changed when motivated by society is none other than myself. When I first came to this beautiful state of Hawaii, I was a completely different person than I am today. I was reserved, timid, and taciturn. I hardly ever left my house. However, as I started to notice the theme of “Aloha” that seemed to resonate all around me, I changed. In the society I live in, it is unusual to keep to oneself and as a result of this strong cultural expectation, my personality conformed. Today I am not like I was, but more like someone who lives in Hawaii. The “Aloha” was infectious, and I permanently changed as a result of it.
In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the idea that people are motivated to change by society’s expectations is especially ubiquitous. The protagonist, Bernard Marx, is an outcast of his utopian society due to his physical appearance and his beliefs. At the beginning of the novel Bernard unhappily lives alone and objects to societal norms such as polygamy and the use of the tranquilizing drug known as “Soma”. As the novel progresses, Bernard changes his moral values to conform to those of society and becomes an entirely new person as a result. Bernard begins to use soma regularly and practice polygamy like everyone else because he knows that this will help him fit into society. In this literary example, Aldous Huxley proves my thesis that people are motivated to change by the external forces of society.
As much as Bernard or I would have loved to stay ourselves, the expectations of the world around us was inescapable. Therefore, people are not only motivated to change, but forced to. People can be individuals all they want, but everyone belongs to some society, and it always is a factor in personality change because no one is ever truly alone.
Note: I wrote this untimed, it was probably 30min+… but this is my first practice essay.
Hi, I am here for my SAT essay to be graded.
Note:
-this is my first practice SAT essay
-i filled 1 1/2 pages
Prompt: Can the daily actions of average people have a significant impact on the course of history? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Many people in the world want to make a difference in the world. However, it is not always done in the most noticeable way. Unlike the politicians or leaders of the world, average people do not have as much of an impact as individuals. But they can still have a significant impact on the course of history through daily actions. There are many actions people can take in order to make change history and even the smallest of actions can become the biggest change of mankind.
First off, the world is a massive place and individual people are not always able to change something so easily. However, multiple people banding together are able to do so through daily actions. For instance, the atmosphere on our planet is becoming more polluted and resources are diminishing today. In reaction to this, people are recycling in order to make up for the loss of resources that we are using up in society. This can change the course of how well the planet survives down in history. For this change to come, large number of people recycle instead of being done by a few individuals.
There are many actions average people can take to make a difference. Certain actions can make a change depending on the situations at that time. For instance, during World War II (WWII), America was in a perilous time in trying to keep sending soldiers into various areas where Nazi Germany had spread. In order for the civilians to support, simply going to their jobs and donating to the government helped the financial situation that America was in. Jobs, such as ship building was taken as priority, which was a daily action for some people at that time. This caused a change in how America would stand in the war and how the economy rose from the Great Depression, which was a change in the course of history due to the daily actions of people.
As explained, average people can make a difference in the world. History can be changed from actions of average people, in numbers most of all. No matter how big or small the action is, it will find its way to change history in some way.
As much as loyalty is the foundation of our relationships with friends and those we love, our loyalties are always getting hopelessly tangled and compromised. Even if we want to commit ourselves to being true, we can never escape the conflicting demands that our contradictory loyalties create. The loyalties we have to various people can come into conflict; the loyalties we have to family may clash with the loyalties we bear our friends; our personal loyalties may be at odds with our patriotic duties.
Adapted from Eric Felten, Loyalty: The Vexing Virtue
Assignment: Is it possible to maintain conflicting loyalties? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations
Loyalty is a two-sided relationship which requires both partners to commit in order to achieve his or her goals. There are times when one can receive more than to give in any working relationship which can be a sign of loyalties being compromised. Parents who place high expectations of their child can lead to him or her questioning the love and loyalty one gives to family. However, we often endure the conflicting demands of contradicting loyalties in order to protect something greater than what our personal loyalties put us at odds with. People maintain conflicting loyalties in order to ensure that we maintain something greater than our own personal desires.
My sister, Katy is a person who maintains a mixed relationship with my parents whom never made the best decisions concerning her well-being. She was forced to work in our family Chinese Restaurant as a young child, working under my parents’ overbearing eyes and suffered an accident involving a deep fryer which left a permanent scar on her left arm in which my father yelled at her to keep working instead of calling an ambulance like a rational person… This made her very aggressive towards my parents as she has to bear the responsibilities of working in our family restaurant, applying to colleges, and raising myself and my older sister, Sara. She maintains a working relationship with my family to ensure the proper care of my sister, Sara who is diagnosed with ADHD and schizophrenia as well as to mold me to become a better person than our own parents.
Sometimes, people often maintain conflicting loyalties to prevent others from suffering the demands that a difficult family relationship entails. By having a goal greater than our own personal desires, we maintain a conflicting loyalty to our loved ones to prevent others from bearing the conflicting demands of another person’s contradictory loyalty.
Am I too late or will you correct mine?
Prompt: Is conscience a more powerful motivator than money, fame, or power?
Yes, conscience is one of the most powerful forces that drive people to do things that material things cannot. Each person must live with their own conscience, and at the end of the day, a guilty conscience is so horrible that people do a lot to avoid it. Doing the ‘right’ thing would be the best. But some people try to ignore their conscience, which could only lead to bad end results.
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare holds important ideas of morality and lust for power. In the start of the play, Macbeth has the opportunity to kill the king and get a higher status himself. Although he’s very reluctant he finally performs to be because of his wife, Lady Macbeth, who is mesmerised by the power you could attain she goads him into doing it. After he executes him, he gradually becoming a worse man who does increasingly horrible things with his new authority. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth’s conscience slowly devours her from within and she often sleep talk about the blood on her hands she can never wash off. She goes insane and kills herself, while Macbeth is killed in battle and another man steals his throne, a seeming punishment by the fates. The play shows that ignoring one’s conscience for other petty motives can never make one happy in the long run.
For my second example, I take a man who embodies the word ‘morality’ and everything it stands for. Mahatma Gandhi is internationally famous for his honesty his ethics and his fairness. These strong qualities of his develops from the time he was a young boy. When he was in school, Gandhi was said to have spelled the word ‘kettle’ wrong during a test. A teacher came by and offered to cheat and correct his fallacious spelling but he refused. Although the stakes were smaller at childhood, he still gave up the opportunity to gain a better position in his class and took the honest path. It is these myriads of small moral victories that has, in my opinion, made him an unshakeably strong voice of virtue. From this story one can see that making the ethical choice even in small decisions to take the right path over the selfish one can make life better.
From the two examples of Mahatma Gandhi and Macbeth, it is clear that people must follow their moral compasses instead of forgoing their conscience for corrupt reasons like greed for wealth and authority to attain true success in their lives.
“Two men look out through the same bars; one sees mud and one the stars.”
-Frederick Langbridge
Assignment:
Does everyone see a thing from the same perspective? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Some can say that people who share similar beliefs and interests can see some things from a different perspective. Others may argue that all people are different in personality and will evaluate things from many different perspectives. Humans by nature aren’t capable of perfection and will see everything from a different viewpoint as they will have limited knowledge on the situation as demonstrated in the theft of test answers during my 8th grade English class.
My friend, Darren was accused by my English teacher for stealing the answers for an important test on a Friday afternoon. She decided to resolve the situation through a mock trial to prove whether Darren committed the crime. Many of my peers truly believed that Darren would do such a thing due to his dislike towards school and my teacher in general, but I knew the situation wasn’t black and white. When I was called to the stand, I recalled my account of what happened and specifically remembered another classmate sneaking through my teacher’s desk while helping Darren with his homework during help period which relieved him of this crime. My peers saw Darren as a trouble-making slacker, but I knew I wouldn’t be friends with him if I looked at him from the same perspective.
People will always see everything from a different perspective because they won’t have the same amount of knowledge on a subject or person in general. My friend, Darren can be considered a troublemaker by some, but I know him more well than anyone to simply determine that he is a good person, incapable of wrongdoing. Therefore, everyone will see everything from a different perspective because they won’t have the same knowledge on a subject such as my friend, Darren whose innocence was questioned and proven by me since I had greater knowledge on him as a person than the rest of my peers.
Could somebody grade my essay since I want to push my score from a 3.5 to at least 5 by October?