<p>Hi everyone, I'm taking the Dec 2014 SAT, and I've just started preparing for the essay component... Could you give me some comments and an approximate score for my essay? Please do be objective! Thank you so much!</p>
<p>Q:We are alone with no excuses. Man is free to write the script for his own life: He can blame no one else if his life is a poor performance.
-Adapted from Jean Paul Sartre</p>
<p>The expectations and restraints of society severely limit a person: Schooling, organized religion, and other social institutions imprison a person's mind and spirit.
-Adapted from William Blake.</p>
<p>Assignment: Are we free to make our own choices in life, or are our decisions always limited by the rules of society? </p>
<p>I believe that as sentient, autonomous individuals, we are capable of making our own choices in life. However, the choices that we are capable of making often differ from the choices that we actually make, because of the influences of society. Our choices sometimes are not entirely autonomous because they are shaped by existing judicial, and social institutions.</p>
<p>We are capable of doing anything we wish, but some choices carry negative repercussions which are brought forth by the judicial system. As a result, we are implicitly discouraged from making certain choices. The Attorney General's Chambers in the US prosecutes individuals who made decisions that violated the Penal Code of the name. Because the Prosecution carries punishments to those who commit acts which infringe upon the rights of others, we are discouraged from committing certain acts like theft and murder. Therefore, a person may be perfectly capable of killing some else, but he or she is not free to do so because of the judicial system.</p>
<p>As with the judicial system, the caste system of India also shows how our choices may be predetermined by an external agent. In India in the past, children born into different castes were entitled to different choices and opportunities. As a result, a child born into the highest caste (the 'Priests') was entitled to the privilege of making more choices than a child born into the lowest cast (the 'Untouchables'). While those born into the highest caste have the choice of deciding what schools to go to or what to eat for lunch, those from the lowest castes are deprived of the opportunities to make such choices. Thus, the accident of birth prevents people from making some choices depending on the circumstances into which they are born. </p>
<p>In conclusion, even though we are equipped with the abilities to make independent choices, we are prevented from doing so because of the judicial system and social institutions.</p>