<p>I'm taking my SAT in 2 days, and I'd really appreciate it if someone evaluated and scored this essay I wrote for the official practice test. Here goes:</p>
<p>Think carefully about the issue presented in the excerpt and the assignment below.</p>
<p>Excerpt: A colleague of the great scientist James Watson remarked that Watson was always "lounging" around, arguing about problems instead of doing experiments." He concluded that "There is more than one way of doing good science." It was Watson's form of idleness, the scientist went on to say, that allowed him to solve "the greatest of all biological problems: the discovery of the structure of DNA." It is a point worth remembering in a society overly concerned with efficiency.</p>
<p>Assignment: Do people accomplish more when they are allowed to do things in their own way?</p>
<p>My response:</p>
<pre><code> People are more successful when they do things in their own way. Each person has his or her point of view about things, and should choose whatever method suits him or her best. One should listen to everything that society has to say, but in the end should adopt an approach that works for oneself.
While I was preparing for the SAT, I went through a lot of SAT-prep books from a variety of companies to learn the so called "test-taking" strategies. They claimed that these strategies would increase the reader's score. But I found out that none of these test-taking strategies worked for me. Consequently I devised my own set of do-it-yourself's for taking the SAT and I believe this will help me score better.
My next example is of the great Mahatma Gandhi. During the time the British were ruling India, in the 1920's there was a lot of unrest and indignation among the common masses. Bravehearts like Bhagat Singh sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom. Leaders like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had their way of fighting against the British oppression - the violent way; Gandhi had his own way - the peaceful way. Eventually non-violence prevailed and Gandhi successfully drove the British out of India.
In 2004, when Mark Zuckerberg had just founded Facebook, they had an employee by the name of Steve Chen. The company was in its infancy, with less than 30 employees. Steve, after working for just a few weeks, knew that it just wasn't for him. He approached his boss and let him know that he wasn't very happy about the way things were being run, and that he wanted to resign and start his own company. Matt Cohler, the guy who had hired him, said to him "Steve, you're making a big mistake. Facebook is going to be huge!" Steve left anyway and founded his own startup, which he decided to call YouTube.
Hence my personal experience, Gandhi's successful non-violent freedom struggle and Steve Chen's example establish indubitably, that people indeed accomplish more when they are allowed to do things in their own way.
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