<p>Is there a list of generic literature/historical/other examples you can adapt for a variety of prompts?</p>
<p>For example,
MLK - courage, sacrifice
Ghandi - courage, sacrifice, standing up, etc
Catcher in the Rye - Frustration, change, immaturity
Stem cell research - two sides to an issue, practicality vs. morality
Hitler - Power, corruption, propaganda
Julius Caesar (play) - Pride, downfall</p>
<p>If not, let's make one!</p>
<p>This is a great idea. I'll start with an example I used on my essay :)</p>
<p>Spider-Man - Responsibility that comes with power, perhaps loss of innocence</p>
<p>American Revolution : Tenacity, courage, British being overconfident</p>
<p>Ender's Game - severe pressure, emotional distress, deception
Marc Antony (in the play) - style over substance, manipulation, trickery
Beloved - dwelling on/getting over the past, starting a new life, effects on human psyche
Advertising/Marketing - How first impressions/how something is presented affects a person's view on something
Brave New World - role of technology in people's lives, does personal freedom have to be sacrificed for a happy society?, etc</p>
<p>Cmon people add some more</p>
<p>Lord of the Rings is infinitely usable.
Twain Novels are decent.</p>
<p>Abe Lincoln- courage, working hard/persistence/self-made man
Song of Solomon- self-discovery</p>
<p>I used Frederick Douglass and Winston Churchill for big expectations.
Do you guys really think this is a good idea? I mean, you're supposed to be showing your ability to think about and write a good response to a prompt in a short amount of time. You're not supposed to have answers plugged into your brain before you even see the question!</p>
<p>FDR - overcoming hardship, innovative</p>
<p>i mean there is nothing wrong with preplanning examples. u should kind of have a good idea of things u can use that way u don't waste time. now u may have to adjust ur examples. </p>
<p>Macbeth - discrepancy of appearance v reality (Fair is foul and foul is fair)
Henry CLay - compromises</p>
<p>Munich conference - appeasing others' wishes</p>
<p>
[quote]
Do you guys really think this is a good idea? I mean, you're supposed to be showing your ability to think about and write a good response to a prompt in a short amount of time. You're not supposed to have answers plugged into your brain before you even see the question!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Believe me - I hate formula writing, which is why personally I think the SAT essay is a load of crap, but unfortunately that's how ETS made it, and it's up to us to beat them at their own game. Even though I would never use this approach in a real english class, its an effective strategy on the ETS. (gj testing us on our writing skills Collegeboard...)</p>
<p>Why pleplan examples when you can make up examples that do not actually exist... with no penalty!</p>
<p>HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!</p>
<p>I have work both 1984 and Frederick Jackson Turner into about 70% of the essays I have written for the SAT, ACT, and practice tests. Look these up, they are good examples for getting a high score, which really doesn't have that much to do with how well you write. 1984 is pretty well known, FJT's thesis is a little less, but it will impress the reader.</p>
<p>Frankenstein: dangerous knowledge, secrets of science, monster being rejected by society, abortion.
The Great Gatsby: decline of America in the 1920s, deals with upper class throughout the novel.
And Then There Were None: justice, guilt.
Bill Gates/Warren Buffet: wealthy people who strive to donate to charities: money can or cannot be powerful - can argue either side; also, grew up with nothing, and accomplished a lot of things.
Malcolm X: civil rights leader - anti-racism.
The Once and Future King: force and justice, knighthood (bravery and becoming a man).
Adolf Hitler: power/corruption/ambition.
Animal Farm: corruption/communism, abuse of power.
King Lear: justice - believing humans get what is just since God is just.
Beowulf: bravery, loyalty - Wiglaf stays and helps Beowulf while the dragon ends up killing Beowulf; Wiglaf never leaves his side, while Beowulf's other men have already fled.
To Kill a Mockingbird: prejudice, educating children's innoncent minds.
The Hobbit: heroism - Bilbo who develops from an average, ordinary person into a hero.
The Odyssey: temptation.
Fahrenheit 451: censorship, knowledge vs. ignorance.
The Scarlet Letter: sin, identity.
The Outsiders: the rich and poor, when male and female interace = chaos, doing things to honor him and his gang.
Rosa Parks: anti-racism, stood up for what she believed in - equality among race.
Michael Jackson: abused fame - got abused by dad during childhood, then grew up to be a child molester. (Maybe this isn't a good example to use.)</p>
<p>Well, we get all this good stuff, so pretty much anything is applicable.</p>
<p>Just go on Sparknotes and look up the themes and motifs and you pretty much have your answer.</p>
<p>However, I wonder if we can apply pop culture. References to things that SAT essay graders would know about would be a plus.</p>
<p>I did what Liist described whenever I took the SAT; I'd just go to Sparknotes the night before the test and look over the themes & motifs for the books I had read -> I got a 9 on the essay (ok...), but 800 writing.</p>
<p>9 essay but 800 writing, nice job =D</p>
<p>^ good thread</p>
<p>I've been able to work Galileo or the Civil Rights Movement into about every essay prompt.</p>
<p>u can also use stephen glass - a writer who cooked up stories, personal gain, manipulating the system, deceptive</p>