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Do people learn who they are only when they are forced into action? 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.
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<p>Please grade my SAT essay!. What would you rate it on a scale of 1-12? How can I improve the quality of writing? How can I increase my examples? And how should I learn how to not stress under the limited time constraint?</p>
<p>Essay:</p>
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Since the dawn of humanity, conflict has served as the catalyst that brought about rapid progress. Unless forced upon by an external force, humans tend to be complacent. For those men and women with an inner flame long extinguished, the willpower for self improvement has long vanished. Unless an disturbance shakes the ebb and flow of daily life, most are content with complacency. For this reason, an environment only fosters learning when a tragedy or otherwise dynamically life changing event occurs.</p>
<p>Evidence of coercion facilitating the learning process manifests itself in the plight of the primitives of Subsaharan Africa. Long a war-torn, conflict ridden continent, Africa and her people have seen better days. During the colonial era many primitives were conquered by European imperialists such as the Dutch and French. Inferior technology, weapons, and an underexposed immune system to European disease led to the downfall of the primitive. Those whom did survive had to learn how to cope under adverse conditions. A plethora of methods to cope arose, and those Africans who fought off the Europeans learned to adapt to adversity. Specifically, an example that illustrates the necessity to learn under force is the primitives attempt to band together to form a cohesive unit which could repel the invading Europeans. Without this rash, last ditch attempt to save themselves many of the primitive may have perished. Gone with them would perish the summation of many millennium of human knowledge and culture too.</p>
<p>Another example that exemplifies how force causes learning can be observed in the same African tribes. During the Imperial era, many studies were conducted by curious European anthropologists on African culture. It was concluded that some Bantu tribes lacked a word that described a number greater than four. Simply, the need for a word describing quantifiable numbers never arose. Introduced to a new culture, the Bantu people had to develop a mathematical counting system to engage in the trade of firearms and other goods. The Bantu’s previous methods of barter paled in comparison to the European method which incorporated the use of commodities and monies. Under force, mathematical intuition was gained from the development of a trading system. This is not to suggest that they lacked mathematical intuition, rather a need for a word to describe large amounts of quantities never acquiesced amongst the Bantu people. Thus, it can be deduced that the necessity for an expansion of trade with the Europeans led to the formation of a natural number counting system. After all, regardless of race, gender, or societal disposition; humans are equally intelligent. Collectively, every human has a unique offering that contributes to the greater treasure trove of human knowledge.</p>
<p>Clearly,force serves as an agent of change that aids the learning process. Without it, people are content in complacency. Whether it be war or trade that drives progress, learning can be traced back to the innate need for self improvement that drives us all. Let it be that the eternally burning flame found within us all never be extinguished. Knowledge is power.
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