<p>Hello! I am applying to Penn State Schreyer for the 2012 fall semester (right now I’m on my mom’s account…) and all I have left to do is this essay:</p>
<p>How should public officials balance competing claims when it comes to complex issues like our energy future?</p>
<p>I was all set to write an essay, when this thought crossed my mind. Could I write an essay about a DIFFERENT complex issue, such as stem cell research?</p>
<p>The prompt does say, “LIKE our energy future.” Do you think this would settle well with admissions?</p>
<p>Thanks for your response!</p>
<p>Yes, the wording of the question does let you pick any complex issue as an example. However, the question focuses on complex issues in general so if I were you, I’d argue broadly on complex issues in general and maybe include an example (if you want to). There are multiple approaches to this; the purpose of this essay is to merely test your ability to write logically.</p>
<p>Hmmm. I was wondering for the question: “How should public officials balance competing claims when it comes to complex issues like our energy future?”</p>
<p>^ Are we supposed to argue for a specific side? ie. “The US should invest in ____ energy” or, are we supposed to say how public officials should cope with different arguments as a whole for all kinds of complex issues?</p>
<p>If I were writing the essay, I would write about complex issues in general. Like I mentioned before, you can use an example but I would only use it to emphasize a point, not act as the main drive for the essay.</p>