<p>Prompt 3
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.</p>
<p>For many people, the traditional path to success involves graduating from high school and college before working their way up in a particular profession. However, many of society’s most successful individuals taught themselves the skills they needed to start their own businesses, invent new technologies, or create works of art. For these individuals, the nontraditional path turned out to be the path to success.</p>
<p>Assignment: Are people who do not follow society’s traditional paths to advancement more likely to be successful than those who do? 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>
<p>ESSAY:
The assertion that one should make one’s own decisions instead of relying on the advice of experts is a categorical truth. Making one’s own choices guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of individuality, unrestrained by the thoughts of others, and I substantiate my claim with evidence from history, literature, and personal life.
One example that substantiates my claim can be drawn from the late reverend and social rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King Jr. lived most of his life from the 1940’s to 1960’s, a time when racial segregation ran rampant and government laws had been enacted to prevent African Americans from socializing with superior white society. At this time, many African Americans, scared of any violent repercussions, placed their own decisions subservient to the rulings and decisions of the activists at the NAACP headquarters, who encouraged African Americans to trudge along without any dissent if they wanted to keep out of trouble. However, King Jr. made his own decisions, disregarding the advice of the NAACP. Instead of keeping mum and quiet about societal troubles, King Jr. pioneered social rights and economic improvement for African Americans through his numerous speeches all across the country. His actions and inspiring speeches helped to free the subjugated black race from the grasp of social segregation. Clearly is it good to make one’s own decision, as if King had never made his own, segregation may have persisted, against African American society, for a longer period of time.
Another fine paradigm that can substantiate my claim comes from the literary great, Huckleberry Finn, written by Samuel Clemens, or Mark Twain, in 1884. Huck, a young and obstreperous Southern child, has always seen those around him, the adults who he extols as experts, heralding that slavery is a correct practice and that slaves do not have any feelings nor the capability to act for themselves, an argument that carps at Huck’s deformed conscience. However, as Huck comes to the aid of his friend and runaway slave, Jim, who tells of the old African tales of “love for one’s brother” and “mercy to the subjugated”, as well as shows emotion and care towards Huck as his role model, care taker, and brotherly/fatherly figure, Huck begins to realize that the “experts” in his hometown were wrong; through his adventures with Jim and the protection and care that Jim gives for Huck, Huck makes his own decision to view slaves as people that feel emotion and give care, and not meandering souls. Clearly, making one’s own decisions is better than taking the advice of authority, as, in this case, it helped one determine one’s own view of the morality of a topic.
An example from my personal life can also substantiate my claim, in the form of my close friend Billy Bob Jones, the CEO of Mobile App X. Expert engineers and market analysts from Google told Billy that his app was entering a saturated market, and that he should rescind his app request and work on better ideas. However, Billy made his own bold decision to release the app, and within days had already experienced a download number of over 100,000 and had offers from Google to buy his Mobile App X out. Clearly, making one’s own decisions is better than listening to experts, as, in this case, it can help one persevere and attain success.
From King Jr., to Huck Finn, and finally to Billy Bob Jones, making one’s own decisions allows one to express their individuality, liberating themselves and others, helping all to persevere to success.</p>
<p>Obviously, some stuff like my friend’s name and the name of his company was changed, but other than that, the essay was untouched.</p>
<p>SCORE:
- GRADER 1: 6
- GRADER 2: 6</p>
<ul>
<li>TOTAL: 12</li>
</ul>
<p>Other info:
- MC: 77 (everything right, only omitted 1)</p>
<p>Writing Scaled Score: 800</p>