<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I took the SAT back in January for the first time, and I got a 10 on the Essay. I am decent writer, but I want to spend time this summer to improve my SAT essays specifically. I would really appreciate if you guys could read the essay below and give me some helpful feedback. Thank you in advance!</p>
<p>Prompt:
Many voters think that integrity and character are the most important qualifications for political office. I disagree. Integritythe quality of standing up for the same values in every situationis not a good qualification for getting people to work together. Strongly held morals may make a candidate too inflexible and incapable of negotiation. And if character were really so important, candidates would be judged by their personal relationships rather than by their ability to deal with a community's or a nation's problems.</p>
<p>Adapted from Stanley Fish, "Integrity or Craft: The Leadership Question"</p>
<p>Assignment: Is strong moral character the most important qualification for a leader? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.</p>
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<p>Essay:</p>
<p>A leader is a man or woman who rallies their supporters towards a common goal. In the myths of Ancient Greece and Rome, leaders were the infamous heroes who led troops into battle. In the modern world, leaders range everywhere from business executives to team captains of professional sporting organizations. And while there are many defining qualities of a great leader, the essential characteristic of a leader is strong moral conviction. Some of the greatest heroes - from Aeneas to Gandhi - proved successful because of their moral capacity.</p>
<p>Throughout Virgil's epic poem, The Aeneid, the titular hero attempts to guide his band of wayward, homeless Trojans to Italy, where they are fated to start their lives anew. Along the journey, Aeneas is forced to make many personal sacrifices in order to abide by his morals and serve his people. In ancient Rome, the three virtues that constituted morality were epitomized in the term "pietas", which means duty for one's homeland, duty for one's gods, and duty for one's comrades - friends and family. Along his ten year journey to Italy, Aeneas sacrifices his love for Dido, the queen of Carthage, in order to remain faithful to his duty. By sacrificing himself, Aeneas maintains his pietas and thus his morality. Eventually, the great hero leads his followers to the shores of Italy only to be confronted by the villain Turnus. Again, Aeneas sacrifices himself, almost killing himself in battle in order to honor his homeland - "patria", gods - "dei", and comrades - "amici". By demonstrating his pietas, Aenas successfully leads his troops to a new home; and in the mind of Romans this virtue was morality. By following his morals, the ancient hero Aeneas remained an effective leader.</p>
<p>Similarly. Gandhi is an icon remembered as a hero and a revolutionary who utilized moral principles to gather support and lead efficiently. Gandhi could have easily remained a well-paid lawyer, but he listened to his conscience and instead became the man we remember today. In an India, where farmers and villagers were oppressed by British taxes, where women were forced to throw themselves on the funeral pyres of their deceased husbands, and where an ancient caste system forced honest, innocent people into degrading lives of excrement collectors, Gandhi listened to his morals and took a stand. With his infamous Salt March to the Sea, fasts, and other protests, Gandhi did not only speak; he acted. He demonstrated his strong moral convictions to his followers as well as the world. As a result, he was able to gain global interest in his causes and secure independence for India.</p>
<p>By abiding by their morals both Aeneas and Gandhi obtained a better future for their people. This leadership would not have been possible if they had not been, "the change [they] saw in the world" (Gandhi).</p>
Juicy examples, considerable length, strong stance … Good luck on the fall SAT!</p>