<p>Hi I'm taking the SAT on January 25 so i was preparing for the essay. I would really appreciate it if a few of you guys could grade one of my essays and give me a few suggestions. thanks! Pardon me for any glaring grammatical errors, im not too great with timed writings :D</p>
<p>PS the prompt is from the 8th practice test in the SAT Study Guide with DVD (one of the blue books)</p>
<p>Prompt: Is the world changing for the better?</p>
<p>It is evident in society and globally that the world is constantly changing. Since World War 2, both the Cold War and innovation around the world has led to better living conditions, fewer sicknesses and an overall increase in standard of living. However, with these changes have come pollution and the creation of weapons of mass destruction. Thus, our world is rapidly changing in both positive and negative ways and cannot simply be described as "better or worse".</p>
<p>Ever since the late 20th century, polio was a huge disease that afflicted numerous individuals around the world. Through drinking contaminated water, people would be rendered paralyzed for the rest of their lives; however, with the increase in medicinal technology and its sustained development, polio has been reduced from almost 350,000 cases world wide in the 1980s to just 220 in 2012. Furthermore, the last polio victims have been treated in India, a country that used to be plagued by disease. This eradication of a disease that had proliferated so widely and in such great numbers shows how the world is changing for the better. With better technologies, other ailments and diseases such as cancer will be similarly dealt with; cancer research especially has millions of dollars of funding and breakthroughs in information about cancer are being made everyday. </p>
<p>However, our world is also facing an increased problem of pollution and war. The once luscious and expansive Amazon Rain forest has now been cut down and reduced to 80% of its former self while carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise with no end in sight. This pollution destroys environments and kills species, thereby disrupting the balance of the Earth's ecosystem. Meanwhile, new innovations in weapons of mass destruction has led to efficient yet brutal ways to kill people; such is the case with Assad and his brutal regime in Syria, where he used chemical weapons against his own people. </p>
<p>While our world is definitely making leaps and bounds in many areas of society including medicine and human rights, many issues have arisen and become increasingly important to deal with. The world is unequivocally changing in both beneficial and harmful ways and so it is impossible to say if the world is changing for the better.</p>