<p>I know about a thousand people ask this question and it must get annoying, but can someone please rate my essay? Two graders on the SAT gave it a 5, but obviously, I don't why. Could you please read my essay and tell me what I can do to improve it?</p>
<p>Prompt: Does being ethical make it hard to be successful?</p>
<p>My mother constantly reminds me that using questionable means to achieve success is ultimately detrimental to success. Her paradigm holds true because being successful does not make it hard to be ethical, as numerous examples illustrate. Abraham Lincoln was a beacon of ethical behavior for the United States. Dorothea Dix reformed a multitude of prisons and mental hospitals. Barack Obama was ethical during his campaign and was ultimately successful.</p>
<p>Firstly, Abraham Lincoln achieved a high degree of success while maintaining an impeccable ethical standard. Lincoln faced the onerous task of uniting the fragmented nation during the Civil War as well as the seemingly impossible task of abolishing the evil institution of slavery. Throughout the process, Lincoln exemplified a high ethical standard because he vehemently believed in the equality of all human beings and he dedicated his life to ending slavery. Lincoln was successful in both these ventures while remaining ethical throughout the whole process. Abraham Lincoln's adherence to ethical standards illustates that one can be ethical and successful at the same time.</p>
<p>Lincoln was not the only one to be ethical and successful; Dorothea Dix was extremely successful iduring her efforts to reform an inhumane prison system. During her time, prisons were rife with filth, disease and officials oblivious to the suffering of the residents of the prison. Dix recognized the injustice and spoke publicly about the prison conditions. Dix was successful; many new forms were implemented that ameliorated conditions. Dix was ethical because she applied a great deal of effort toward people she had never known in order to improve life for them. Since she was succesful and ethical at the same time, being ethical does not make it hard to be successful.</p>
<p>Thirdly, Barack Obama was successful during his presidential campaign and ended up being successful. Obama never resorted to personal attacks on his opponents' character and he never relied on illegal campaign funds. Obama believed in fair competition between politicians. He achieved success when he won the presidential nomination and later, the actual presidency. Obama's success and high ethical standards illustrate that being sucessful does not result in an inability to be ethical.</p>
<p>In conclusion, the examples of Lincoln's, Dix's and Obama's rigorous adherence to strict ethical standards point to one essential truth; that success and ethical behavior are not mutually exclusive. One can be ethical and succesful simultaneously and it is not hard to achieve success while remaining ethical.</p>