<p>I just took the first practice test in the blue book to get an idea of where I'm at.</p>
<p>CR:780 (.25 points from 800)
M: 680 (??? My best subject usually. turns out I made 3 careless mistakes)
W: got 42 MC right with 7 incorrect</p>
<p>Essay (typed with any mistakes like spelling):</p>
<p>Is it important to question the ideas and decisions of people in positions of authority?</p>
<p>"If there is anything that society holds to be true, then I surely hold the opposite belief," (Thoreau). It is of the utmost importance that everyone in our society questions the accepted beliefs. Questioning is a fundamental prerequisite to any great innovation or achievement. The dreamers like Dr. King, Isaac Newton, even Henry David Thoreau, were the ones who propelled our society forward with their unorthodox beliefs and suspicions. </p>
<p>Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who thoroughly questioned the commonly held beliefs of the people in authority, bringing about a wave a positive change in effect. In "Letter from a Birmingham jail," Dr. King refutes white clergymen's assertion that the civil rights movement would be better served by waiting for change to happen to them. Dr. King rejected this idea that was held by the "authorities," of the day, and there was palpable changes in the next few years. Without Dr. King's refusal to accept the common-held belief of the authorities, the civil rights movement could have been held back by decades.</p>
<p>In the 1600's the predominant model for the physical force of gravity was the Aristotellian belief that objects want to be at certain levels on the Earth, hence rocks rolling down hills of their own volition. Along came Isaac Newton and Galileo, both disregarding the authorities' long-held beliefs. Newton eventually created a mathematical model to describe the movements of the heavens, leading to the Industrial revolution. Once again, if Newton hadn't challenged the authorities of his day, then there never would have been such rapid changes as the Industrial Revolution.</p>
<p>Henry David Thoreau was another man who challenged what the "authorities," of his day believed to be true. Thoreau did not believe in slavery in the 1830's, when many others did. Thoreau so disliked the poll tax, which made it nigh impossible for blacks to vote, that he stolidly refused to pay his taxes. Thoreau even went to jail, but he claimed that he would rather be physically in a prison then not follow through with his morals. Thoreau's refusal of authority truly impacted others around him, bringing the issue of slavery to the masses minds.</p>
<p>Dr. King, Thoreau, and Newton all refuted the common-held beliefs of the authorities of their day, leading to an improved world because of their challengings. They all forced the people from their era to take abetter look at their own beliefs, hugely benefitting mankind.</p>
<p>-End-</p>
<p>Remarks - I completely filled both pages, but upon review I feel like I got much more distracted towards the end and didn't have enough space to properly show my examples. I feel like I had to kind of end the Thoreau example and just throw a couple of sentences together for my conclusion.</p>