<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I am looking for an SAT essay grading buddy to grade my essays on a weekly basis. You will have to spend no more than 15 minutes every Saturday or Sunday grading 1-4 essays, spending no more than 3-4 minutes per essay. In turn, I will do the same for you. I will spend 15 minutes of my time to grade your essays. Those who are interested should reply back on this post and I am sure we can work something out!</p>
<p>Kevin</p>
<p>Sounds good mate.But have you taken the sat before? and what was your score ?</p>
<p>Sorry but I have not taken the SAT yet. I am only a sophomore and have only just begun my preparation. Let’s start private messaging and emailing if you are interested in me grading your papers and you grading mine.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I am up for it if we can do it on this forum. I will take the sat next week.</p>
<p>We can private message our essays on College Confidential. Is this going to be your first time?</p>
<p>Yes, this is my first time taking the SAT, but I have taken the PSAT. Here is one of my essays, you can grade it an then post yours. The topic is “Can knowledge be a burden rather than a benefit?”</p>
<p>Most of the knowledge that a person possesses is purely beneficial to them, in fact, much of it is necessary for survival. The knowledge that one gains in school helps one to be successful later in life, and things we learn in our homes and with our friends help us to have successful relationships.
However, sometimes knowledge can also be a burden, for different reasons. History and literature offer examples of this.
Galileo Galilei was a scientist who lived in the 17th century. Through his studies in astronomy, he discovered that the earth revolves around the sun. This idea was contrary to the geocentric theory proposed long before by Copernicus and upheld by the Catholic Church. When he made his theory public, the Church called him a heretic and imprisoned him. Thus, although Galileo had the knowledge of the true construction of the solar system, it became a burden for him, making him an outcast.
Shakespeares Hamlet shows another way that knowledge can be a burden. While Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is grieving his fathers death, his fathers ghost appears to him and reveals that he had been murdered by Hamlets uncle Claudius, who had then taken over the throne. This knowledge leads Hamlet to try to avenge his father by killing Claudius. Hamlets attempts at revenge cause him to alienate his mother and girlfriend, nearly go insane, and eventually kill himself and others. In this way, the knowledge of his fathers death was a burden for him.
These examples show two ways that knowledge can be a burden, but that does not mean that it was not also beneficial in some ways. Galileo learned the truth, and he may have found some satisfaction in that although he suffered for it. Even if he didnt, future generations have certainly benefited from his discoveries. Hamlet, although he suffered for his knowledge, brought an evil man to justice, who may have harmed the country of Denmark if he had continued his rule. Knowledge of the truth, even if a burden for some, is usually beneficial at the same time.</p>
<p>What I thought about it:
(Just for reference I spend a maximum of 5 min per essay because that is exactly what essay graders for the SAT do)</p>
<p>I thought you danced around the question, but leaned toward the side of it being a burden. The question asks “Can knowledge be a burden rather than a benefit?” This means you have to take a definitive side, yes or no. You seem to say that it is a burden based on your two body paragraphs, but your thesis does not clearly indicate that. </p>
<p>Work on:
-Hook (first 1-2 sentences of intro paragraph)
-Distinct thesis which leads into your 2 body paragraphs
-Conclusion</p>
<p>Grade: 4</p>
<p>Prompt:
Think carefully about the following passage and the following assignment:</p>
<p>Whenever Social Studies teacher Karen Greene sits down to grade a stack of papers, she
wonders what the grades really mean and whether they convey useful information about student learning to the students themselves, to parents, counselors, or even to colleges.
While most would agree that the general purpose of grading is to provide feedback on
student performance, finding consensus on what criteria to use for grading is a different
story. Should Karen reward high grades to a hard-working student with very low skills and
limited achievement? Or should she risk discouraging the student by giving him the D that
his work really warranted? What about grading a student capable of doing excellent work
when she puts her mind to it but who rarely does the work? An F for lack of effort might
prod her to work harder, but would it accurately reflect the real quality of her work?
Adapted from Lisa Birk, Harvard Education Letter, October 2004</p>
<p>Assignment: Should students who work very hard in a course earn very high grades, or should achievement rather than effort determine students’ grades? 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 observations, experience, studies, or reading.</p>
<p>Essay:
Grades, they determine one’s success in a class. They also can change one’s academic career since one’s academic career revolves around achieving good grades. Teachers are often aced with a problem when it comes to grades. They question whether the “A” should be based on hard work and effort or solely on achievements. From a high school student’s standpoint, I believe the “A” should be warranted based upon the student’s effort because effort shows a desire for a good grade and it also shows that he or she wants to learn the material. </p>
<pre><code>In life hard work, time, and effort constitutes success. if one desires to lose weight, he or she will strive to eat healthy and work out. Academics should be no different. If students want a decent grade they should work for it. After all, if they don’t desire an “A,” why did they take the class if they are not going to work for it. Personally, I have found that when I spend considerable time and effort in a class, I feel like I truly earned the grade. I have seen students who sit in class and doodle, but cram for tests. They receive a good test grade, but a horrible participation grade. Clearly they only want to work for 1 test and not the class as a whole. I believe that if one desires anything in life there is no substitute for hardwork and time if one wants to achieve that goal.
A huge problem in any school system is the focus on grades. In top tier colleges and high schools, all the students are focused solely on grades because it is always a competition. Hardwork and effort towards academics ties into the want to learn the material. Since I go to a highly competitive high school, all the students are focused on grades. They do not have a true desire to learn the material, just maintain a 4.0 GPA. Once again, these students often receive poor participation grades because all they care about is the next test. A student should only take a class if he or she desires to learn and work hard to learn, thus receiving a good grade. No student should take a class just for “another A”.
In the end, there is no alternative for hard work and diligence. Grades are a combination of assessments, participation, and home work. A grade-focused student will do minimal participation and lousy homework, but a student that strives to learn will actively participate t voice his opinions, do their homework completely, and do well on assessments without cramming. The second student deserves the “A” in school and will have success in life.
</code></pre>
<p>I would give your essay a six. It is good overall, and you defend your thesis very well. However, there are several minor grammar and vocabulary errors you should work on, but I don’t think that they would bring down your score significantly on the real sat. Also, if you had some more concrete examples it would make your argument stronger.<br>
Here is another of mine.
The prompt is “Is it important to understand people’s motivations before judging their actions?”</p>
<p>Get out of here!, my sister yelled at me, while slamming the door in my face. I immediately judged her as being unkind and in a bad mood, although I didnt know her motivations for what she did. I was angry with her, but I regretted that later when I found out that she had been wrapping my birthday present, and closed the door to prevent me from seeing it. It is important to understand peoples motivations before we judge their actions, as shown by several examples from literature.</p>
<p>In Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird, Mrs. Dubose is often cranky and critical of Jem and Scout, and Jem believes that she is just trying to be mean. This leads him to destroy her flowers, and as punishment he must read to her every afternoon. After Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus reveals to Jem that she was cranky not because she wanted to mean, but because she was in pain from trying to free herself from her morphine addiction. Jem realizes that he should not have judged her without knowing the reason for her behavior.</p>
<p>Another example occurs in George Orwells Animal Farm. When Napoleon, one of the pigs who is the leader of the animals, expels Snowball, the other leader, the animals believe that it was because Snowball was a traitor and Napoleon just wanted the animals to be free. However, later it becomes clear that Napoleons true motivation was not for the animals to be free, but to gain more power for himself. If the animals had realized his true motives, they might have avoided the tyranny that he would inflict upon them later.</p>
<p>As shown in these examples, it is important to understand peoples (or animal’s if they are anthropomorphic) motivations before we judge them. If we do not, we may have inappropriate negative thoughts or actions towards them, or we might wind up praising and emulating someone who does not deserve it. When I became angry with my sister, our relationship suffered because I judged her without knowing her motivations. Indeed, we should never judge someones actions without knowing the whole story behind them.</p>
<p>I have to say I did like this one. I would rate it a five. </p>
<p>I have found that when you introduce your thesis you say something broad like “examples in literature.” What would be better is if you give your stand on the argument (which you do) then give 2 themes/reasons why you support your standpoint on the argument. Then you give your concrete examples in the 2 body paragraphs. Also, try not to dive into the specific example from the start of the body paragraph. Use the first two sentences in the body paragraph to explain the abstract idea, then go for the concrete example. </p>
<p>One more thing. Where do you get your prompts from? It seems that I have a quote and then they ask me the prompt. You seem to just have one single question?</p>
<p>I have this book for studying for the SAT and it has a list of just the questions without the quotes. It says not to pay too much attention to the quotes when you write your essay; they are distracting.</p>
<p>Hey can I join you guys?</p>
<p>@Abby, this isn’t always true btw… Sometimes it helps you take a side… But you can always write without it, yeah…</p>