Literature/Historical Examples for SAT Essay

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>Hi Akshat. Using my first post on you. :smiley: Hope I am not too late. I am actually taking my SAT today. >.< For “going against the conventional path to attain success…” I would probably say something about Socrates and his death as a result of his teachings. He taught children to never blindly accept what their elders said, and this did not go along well with the community. He was found guilty by a jury of 500 members of “refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state” and “of corrupting the youth,” and was put to death; although, he could have asked to be exiled. Even though he died, he is acclaimed as an incredible thinker, even now. Plato said, in reference to Socrates, “This was the end of our friend, the best, wisest and most upright man of any that I have ever known.” I would call him successful.</p>

<p>Not really sure I answered your question, but I hope I was at least a little helpful. I do not really understand “attain success.” =/</p>

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<p>You could mention Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and explain how success is not purely derived from hard work, natural talent, and even opportunities as many have thought.</p>

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<p>■■■■■ I GOT A 9 On my essay and i got everything wrong just make **** up. my topic was is moderation good or bad. i wrote about FDR and i got the next example wrong. I said the MacArthur was in the vietnam war and eisenhower fired him (this is not accurate, truman fired macarthur in korean war) you basically can be wrong as hell and get a decent score :/</p>

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<p>I was just thinking. If you were to use The Crucible, couldn’t you also use the Red Scare? Since they’re pretty much the same thing.</p>

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<p>Even more updated/cleaner list of everything so far. I also removed some of the ridiculous ones like Michael Jackson being a child molester…</p>

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<p>anyone other ideas?</p>

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<p>^^ Wow. that is going to be so useful when I take the SAT.</p>

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<p>bump for october sat!</p>

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<p>I use Nelson Mandela for everything - Courage, compassion, resilience, creativity, thinker…</p>

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<p>I just read all those examples and i figured i hav no clue about more than half of them.
I’d be really grateful if anyone can suggest some more simpler yet striking examples which someone with not such awsum GK can understand and quote.=p</p>

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<p>Hi, im going to take the sat in a day’s time, i have not read much books really, only like Animal Farm, 1984 etc… and some classics, but i have difficulty plucking these books and examples into my essay, anyone can summarize what are the key examples shown by each book/person? thanks!</p>

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<p>If you don’t read, then memorizing literary examples won’t help you. Use personal examples instead. Or historical (if you are good at history) or current events (if you are up on any of those)</p>

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<p>My essay topic was something along the lines of should leaders be allowed exceptions to the rules,
I said no and my example was that George Washington set the precedent that leaders were not supreme and they are in fact servants to the people. Some people said it was generic but I got a 12 so…worked for me</p>

<p>I feel like using presidents like GW or Abe are always good, even if they are popular choices, because they’re so dynamic that you can say a lot about them without necessarily repeating what everyone else said.</p>

<p>An personal example for bravery, freedom of speech, democracy, etc is a Burmese woman, Aung San Suu Kyi. She would make a good example for a lot of topics, and if you read up a little bit about her the essay graders will be impressed by your knowledge of somewhat obscure current events. Love this woman!
[Aung</a> San Suu Kyi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi]Aung”>Aung San Suu Kyi - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>Good luck everyone, and for God’s sake don’t use Harry Potter as an example for anything!</p>

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<p>thanks for the list.</p>

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<p>but why not! ?? why cant i use harry potter! please reply quickly! got my SAT tomorow!!</p>

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<p>this is a great idea</p>

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<p>want a great idea? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1074602-extremely-useful-tips-essay-saturday-please-add-list-makes-easy.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1074602-extremely-useful-tips-essay-saturday-please-add-list-makes-easy.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Scroll to the bottom of the initial post.</p>

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<p>LITERATURE</p>

<p>The 2 Greek Epics Iliad and Odyssey - If you read them, you’d realize that they can seriously be used for any essay prompt. They have themes of hubris, downfall, role of women, custom v. law, temptation… ANYTHING.</p>

<p>The 3 Theban Play (mainly Oedipus the King and Antigone) - These plays can be used for any essay… Once again tragedy, downfall, law, loyalty, honesty, family, and love are found here.</p>

<p>Beowulf - A classic Old English poem can be used for loyalty, love, nationalism, war, evil v. good, travel, and competition.</p>

<p>The Kite Runner - Loyalty, friendship, immigration, truth, race, sexism, ethnicity, the hardship of children.</p>

<p>The Bible - Ummm yeah. It’s the Bible. It’s 2000 pages long. You’ll find something to write about, but just hope that your essay grader isn’t Buddhist/Atheist/Anti-Christian or Semitic/or just plain old biased. Avoid the themes of love in the New Testament… don’t want to offend any Jews. Stick to the Old Testament, but avoid Maccabees… it’s not in the Jewish Bible.</p>

<p>Harry Potter - Seriously, are you in 1st grade?</p>

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<p>HISTORY & PEOPLE </p>

<p>John Paul II - His life was about protection, loyalty, honesty, faith, goodness, battle with evil, forgiveness, and bravery in times of danger.</p>

<p>MLK - You should know enough about him.</p>

<p>Obama - DON’T WRITE ABOUT HIM… JUST DON’T. WE DON’T WANT TO START A POLITICAL WAR.</p>

<p>_____________________________________________________________________________ yes</p>

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<p>Would using the Tunisian ousted president as an example of abuse of power be too contentious?</p>

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<p>i got an 11 on my essay and all i used was the great gatsby and the scarlett letter</p>