<p>Greetings everyone!</p>
<p>It's T-5 days until my first SAT test! With great nervousness comes an even greater desire to study as much as time allows.</p>
<p>That said, I took another SAT practice test this weekend and I'm having some trouble deciding on a score for my essay. Could you guys please take a look at it and give me suggestions and a tentative score (out of 12)?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Prompt: Can Knowledge be a burden rather than a benefit?</p>
<pre><code> Today, a well known proverb, "Knowledge is power," resonates in the hearts of many people. Indeed, this proverb is completely true. Knowledge is always a benefit because it improves the lives of the learned with respect to security, energy, and society. Both current and past events show this.
National security is a paradigm of knowledge being used to improve people's lives. Take, for instance, the War on Terror. The leader of the Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, was recently eliminated by American Navy Seals. This terrorist leader had orchestrated the attacks on the World Trade Center and had enjoyed refuge in Pakistan. After a 10-year hunt for this man, the American intelligence agency, the CIA, tracked Osama Bin Laden to his hiding place and successfully executed him. The credit for this success goes to the knowledge that the CIA had of Osama's whereabouts. It spent years developing informants to track this reprobate. In the end, this knowledge led to making the world safer for humanity, as the bellwether of the terrorist group had been killed.
Energy is another prime example of knowledge improving the lives of people. One of the greatest concerns in the United States is that of oil; with oil barrel prices rising each day, and foreign countries like Iran threatening punitive measures such as the closure of the strait of Hormuz, the tepid world economy risks another depression. Luckily, however, knowledge has come to assist America and other nations. For the past few decades, many countries have been experimenting with different forms of energy, whether it is solar, wind, gas, electric, or nuclear. These energy sources have been exploited by scientists who have knowledge about how energy works. As a result, the world is becoming less dependent on the Middle East for oil. Nowadays, there are multiple solar cars that only require thermal energy to operate. Nuclear reactors power many cities in this nation. All over the world, nations are progressing solely due to their knowledge on how to reduce dependency on oil.
Finally, knowledge improves a people socially. For example, John Locke developed the idea of Representative government. Before the advent of this idea, there was no representative democracy in the world. Rome and Greece, although democracies, had emperors and kings. Locke's philosophy allowed for the creation of a land of hope and freedom, the United States of America. Because he realized those principles, our founding fathers recognized the importance of not calling any leader "King" or "Your Excellency." Our leader is called the President because he facilitates our growth. He serves us; it is not the other way around. Because of this knowledge, many nations have socially advanced into more stable societies. Therefore, they have enjoyed improved lives.
As illustrated by the previous examples, knowledge empowers people to improve their lives. Whether it is in terms of security, energy, or philosophy, knowledge has revolutionized the world and improved civilization for generations to come.
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<p>Well, that's about it. It took all of the space I was given. I think this is one of my best essays so far. However, I'd appreciate all of you to weigh in- I need your suggestions for this saturday! I'd be deeply grateful. Thanks again!</p>
