<p>I'm brainstorming some examples and so far I have the following:</p>
<p>The Catcher in the Rye
Of Mice and Men
The Grapes of Wrath
To Kill a Mocking Bird</p>
<p>Transcendentalism
Civil War
WWI
WWII
Rosa Parks
MLK</p>
<p>What are your guys' universal examples? I need help just in case I can't use 3 from the above, and so others can use this list</p>
<p>I was in this one SAT course where we had to learn/memorize facts about the following that are useful as examples:</p>
<ul>
<li>Thomas Edison</li>
<li>Hellen Keller</li>
<li>Alfred Nobel (unfortunately, I haven't used him at all in a practice essay, and I'm shaky on my knowledge on the facts about this guy...)</li>
<li>"The Necklace"</li>
<li>The Old Man and the Sea</li>
<li>The Tiananmen Square Incident of 1989</li>
</ul>
<p>However, not only have I found that I barely use the Alfred Nobel example, but I've had to use Macbeth a few times in my practice essays. I'm a bit shaky on some aspects of the examples (such as some of the causes of the Tiananmen Square Incident), but on average, I've been fine with my practice essays. I just have to focus on answering the prompt and writing a fine argument next Saturday...</p>
<p>Civil Rights is always good. Easy to tie into a lot of prompts.</p>
<p>WW2 and Julius Caesar are good</p>
<p>My suggestion is to think in terms of categories, such as:
What U.S. President could be used as an example in this essay?
Is there a famous musician or actor who would be a good example?</p>
<p>You already know a lot of facts about Presidents and other famous people. For example, most everybody knows that Abe Lincoln grew up poor and taught himself, that Franklin Roosevelt was in a wheelchair, but had the inner strength to lead the country out of the Depression and through World War II, that President Reagan was shot but recovered, that Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer, etc. You probably also know that Kurt Cobain of Nirvana committed suicide despite wealth and fame, that the Beatles produced greater work together than individually, that Bono has used his status as a rock star to work for charitable causes, etc. You know that despite his "failure" in American Idol, Clay Aiken has gone on to greater success than the winner. You know that your parents (or grandparents) made sacrifices so their children could have better lives, you had a teacher who really cared about and inspired the kids, you know a kid on a sports team who did his best despite a physical limitation, etc.
You really don't have to memorize facts about Alfred Nobel to write a good essay. Just think about how you will marshall facts that you already know.</p>
<p>i used john marshall (chief justice) and milton friedman in my essay (12). you really can use any historical/literary reference and get a great score with them.</p>
<p>Is it okay to use personal examples, such as family, friends, yourself? Does it have to be someone famous?</p>
<p>dma1748:</p>
<p>You can use personal anecdotes, but they aren't as strong as literary/historical/scientific examples.</p>