SAT Essay Prompts and Examples – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
Do people need to compare themselves with others in order to appreciate what they have?
answer
Prince and the Pauper
question
Are widely held views often wrong, or are such views more likely to be correct?
answer
Scarlett Letter: Everyone thought Hester was an adultress To Kill a Mockingbird: Everyone thought Boo Radley was guilty but he was innocent
question
Is there any value for people to belong only to a group or groups with which they have something in common?
answer
To Kill a Mockingbird: No, because Atticus had more in common with white residents of his town, reputed lawyer, but chose to follow his beliefs The Blind Side: Michael Oher as an academically below-standard and econmically poor, and should be part of the group of black people in slums, with his mother, but sees Tuohy's as family because they helped him grow
question
Is it always best to determine one's own views of right and wrong, or can we benefit from following the crowd?
answer
...
question
Is it more valuable for people to fit in than to be unique and different?
answer
More valuable for people to be unique and different, because if they try to simply fit in, won't solve any problems Dorothea Dix: improved condition of mental institutions and prisons by speaking up for those without a voice
question
Are people more likely to be productive and successful when they ignore the opinions of others?
answer
Ruyard Kipling's poem "if": says that If you can keep your head when all about you/Are losing theirs and blaming it on you" Candide: followed Pangloss's advice to no avail "our world is the best of all possible worlds" but witnesses and experiences crime, torture, and mistreatment of his beloved, ends with "we must cultivate our own garden"
question
Should we pay more attention to people who are older and more experienced than we are?
answer
...
question
Should society limit people's exposure to some kinds of information or forms of expression?
answer
Brave New World 1984 Too Loud a Solitude Fahrenheit 451
question
Can a group of people function effectively without someone being in charge?
answer
No, Lord of the Flies: descent to savagery marked by anarchy and loss of rational control, because Ralph the leader lost his power, people began to function ineffectively going from trying to be saved to giving in to brutality
question
Is it important to question the ideas and decisions of people in positions of authority?
answer
Matin Luther American Revolution women's rights abolition movement Fahrenheit 451: Guy resisted and questioned the act of burning books and as a result, was exposed to the truth and expanse of knowledge Lyndon B. Johnson and Vietnam War: Walter Cronkite exposed how the war had become a bloody stalemate, but official statements from capitol claimed we were winning war
question
Is education primarily the result of influences other than school?
answer
yes, Huck Finn To Kill a Mockingbird Harriet Beecher Stowe's work Uncle Tom's Cabin wasn't read in educational institutions for its controversy, but taught ppl about slavery
question
Should schools help students understand moral choices and social issues?
answer
No b/c more beneficial to have students form own opinions To Kill a Mockingbird
question
--Following Creativity
answer
...
question
Is it always better to be original than to imitate or use the ideas of others?
answer
...
question
Is it better for a society when people act as individuals rather than copying the ideas and opinions of others?
answer
...
question
Is creativity needed more than ever in the world today?
answer
...
question
Can people ever be truly original?
answer
...
question
Do we put too much value on the ideas or actions of individual people?
answer
...
question
Does planning interfere with creativity?
answer
...
question
Motivation and Success
answer
...
question
--Hardship and Success
answer
...
question
Do people truly benefit from hardship and misfortune?
answer
...
question
Do we really benefit from every event or experience in some way?
answer
...
question
Do people place too much emphasis on winning?
answer
...
question
Do people learn more from losing than from winning?
answer
...
question
Does true learning only occur when we experience difficulties?
answer
...
question
Does being ethical make it hard to be successful?
answer
...
question
Can knowledge be a burden rather than a benefit?
answer
...
question
Is persistence more important than ability in determining a person's success?
answer
...
question
Is the effort involved in pursuing any goal valuable, even if the goal is not reached?
answer
...
question
--Self-Determination and Success
answer
...
question
Is identity something people are born with or given, or is it something people create for themselves?
answer
...
question
Is it best for people to accept who they are and what they have, or should people always strive to better themselves?
answer
...
question
Do success and happiness depend on the choices people make rather than on factors beyond their control?
answer
...
question
Are people more likely to be happy if they focus on goals other than their own happiness?
answer
...
question
Is it more important to do work that one finds fulfilling or work that pays well?
answer
...
question
--Self-Expectation and Success
answer
...
question
Do highly accomplished people achieve more than others mainly because they expect more of themselves?
answer
...
question
Can people achieve success only if they aim to be perfect?
answer
...
question
Is it best to have low expectations and to set goals we are sure of achieving?
answer
...
question
--Collaboration and Success
answer
...
question
Is it necessary for people to combine their efforts with those of others in order to be most effective?
answer
...
question
Are organizations or groups most successful when their members pursue individual wishes and goals?
answer
...
question
Do people achieve more success by cooperation than by competition?
answer
...
question
--Ethics and Success
answer
...
question
Does fame bring happiness, or are people who are not famous more likely to be happy?
answer
...
question
Are people's actions motivated primarily by a desire for power over others?
answer
...
question
--Quality or Quantity and Success
answer
...
question
Do people achieve greatness only by finding out what they are especially good at and developing that attribute above all else?
answer
...
question
Are all important discoveries the result of focusing on one subject?
answer
...
question
Technological "Progress"
answer
...
question
Does a strong commitment to technological progress cause a society to neglect other values, such as education and the protection of the environment?
answer
...
question
Are there benefits to be gained from avoiding the use of modern technology, even when using it would make life easier?
answer
...
question
Has today's abundance of information only made it more difficult for us to understand the world around us?
answer
...
question
Is the most important purpose of technology today different from what it was in the past?
answer
...
question
Have modern advancements truly improved the quality of people's lives?
answer
...
question
Do newspapers, magazines, television, radio, movies, the Internet, and other media determine what is important to most people?
answer
...
question
Should modern society be criticized for being materialistic?
answer
...
question
Heroes
answer
...
question
Do we benefit from learning about the flaws of people we admire and respect?
answer
...
question
Should we limit our use of the term "courage" to acts in which people risk their own well-being for the sake of others or to uphold a value?
answer
...
question
Should we admire heroes but not celebrities?
answer
...
question
Is there a value in celebrating certain individuals as heroes?
answer
...
question
Tradition
answer
...
question
Do all established traditions deserve to remain in existence?
answer
...
question
Do people need to "unlearn," or reject, many of their assumptions and ideas?
answer
...
question
Should people always prefer new things, ideas, or values to those of the past?
answer
...
question
Do incidents from the past continue to influence the present?
answer
...
question
Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present?
answer
...
question
Is it always necessary to find new solutions to problems?
answer
...
question
Loyalty
answer
...
question
Should people always be loyal?
answer
...
question
Do circumstances determine whether or not we should tell the truth?
answer
...
question
Can deception—pretending that something is true when it is not—sometimes have good results?
answer
...
question
Is it sometimes necessary to be impolite?
answer
...
question
Is acting an essential part of everyday life?
answer
...
question
Others (less clearly defined; separated by spaces)
answer
...
question
Is compromise always the best way to resolve a conflict?
answer
...
question
Should people choose one of two opposing sides of an issue, or is the truth usually found "in the middle"?
answer
...
question
Is the main value of the arts to teach us about the world around us?
answer
...
question
Can books and stories about characters and events that are not real teach us anything useful?
answer
...
question
Can common sense be trusted and accepted, or should it be questioned?
answer
...
question
Do people put too much emphasis on learning practical skills?
answer
...
question
Should people take more responsibility for solving problems that affect their communities or the nation in general?
answer
...
question
Should people let their feelings guide them when they make important decisions?
answer
...
question
Can people have too much enthusiasm?
answer
...
question
Do images and impressions have too much of an effect on people?
answer
...
question
Are decisions made quickly just as good as decisions made slowly and carefully?
answer
...
question
Should people change their decisions when circumstances change, or is it best for them to stick with their original decisions?
answer
...
question
Is it better to change one's attitude than to change one's circumstances?
answer
...
question
Is criticism—judging or finding fault with the ideas and actions of others—essential for personal well-being and social progress?
answer
...
question
Does having a large number of options to choose from make people happy?
answer
No, it often confuses them and makes them indecisive The Catcher in the Rye
question
Jack Welch, Howard Schultz, Steven Jobs, the Enron scandal, the Patriot Act
answer
...
