Prompt 1</p>
<p>Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.</p>
<p>It is better to try to be original than to merely imitate others. People should always try to say, write, think, or create something new. There is little value in merely repeating what has been done before. People who merely copy or use the ideas and inventions of others, no matter how successful they may be, have never achieved anything significant.</p>
<p>Assignment:</p>
<p>Is it always better to be original than to imitate or use the ideas of others? 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>Prompt 2</p>
<p>Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.</p>
<p>Often we see people who persist in trying to achieve a particular goal, even when all the evidence indicates that they will be unlikely to achieve it. When they succeed, we consider them courageous for having overcome impossible obstacles. But when they fail, we think of them as headstrong, foolhardy, and bent on self-destruction. To many people, great effort is only worthwhile when it results in success.</p>
<p>Adapted from Gilbert Brim, “Ambition”</p>
<p>Assignment:</p>
<p>Is the effort involved in pursuing any goal valuable, even if the goal is not reached? 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>Prompt 3</p>
<p>Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.</p>
<p>Newness has become our obsession. Novelty is more interesting to us than continuing with whatever is “tried and true.” We discard the old so we can acquire the most recent model, the latest version, the newest and most improved formula. Often, we replace what is useful just because it is no longer new. Not only with material goods but also with cultural values, we prefer whatever is the latest trend.</p>
<p>Assignment:</p>
<p>Should people always prefer new things, ideas, or values to those of the past? 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>**Prompt 4</p>
<p>Not yet available.**