| At the suggestion of an excellent student, and friend, I recently bought the “SAT Writing Workbook” and its companion guide for math, from Kaplan. In Practice Test A on p. 187, it gives this writing prompt:
Consider carefully the following statement(s) and the assignment below it.
Assignment: What do you think of the view that the worst sorrows are those for which we are responsible? In an essay, support your position by discussing an example (or examples) from literature, science and technology, the arts, current events, or your own experience or observation. *********************************************** Many of my online students are preparing for the SAT, and this is how one of those young scholars tackled the above question. Notice how in his essay he sets the scene, uses vivid details (“orange juice and guava juice”), and only at the END ties his story to the prompt, the idea of “I caused this problem myself.” The “traditional essay” gives the thesis, or main point, right at the top, but you do not have to. In this case, the author wraps up his essay by tying in the prompt at the end. Enjoy a story that relates to everyone who was once a kid or who knows a kid (and that covers us all). ***** Many years ago, when I was about five, my cousins, grandparents and immediate family went to a restaurant in Taipei to celebrate New Year’s. Everyone was delighted and joyful about the successful New Year that was approaching. My cousins and I set many new goals that we wished to reach before next year, and we agreed to compete against one another to see who could successfully reach their goal without making any mistakes. During the dinner, when everyone happily drank coke, sprite, guava juice, and orange juice, my father and I decided to go to each table to give thanks and give hopes and wishes to the other members of our big family. I could not drink any alcoholic beverages of course, so I drank a mix of guava and orange juice. I gave a few speeches–the best I could as a five year old–of good luck to everyone, and that made me feel more satisfied with myself. I learned the true meaning of family during that dinner and the importance of having a family. After finishing my speeches of good will, I went back to my table and finished my dinner. My two closest cousins and my sister invited me to join their game of “you are it” while I was eating. I accepted their invitation and told them to meet me in the hallway outside of the dining room. After five minutes, I went outside and played with them. I had so much fun playing with them that I had forgotten to go to the bathroom. I did not realize that I was in such a hurry that I peed in my pants. The pee had soaked into my underwear and pants, but luckily the pee did not reach the floor, which was marble. I was relieved that I did not wet the beautifully polished marble. My mother came up to me and said, “Why did you not go to the bathroom before you played with the others? Don’t I always tell you should go to the bathroom whenever you drink lots of drinks?” My cheeks turned red hot with embarrassment when she finished her scolding. I was humiliated that I had peed in my britches and I wished I could go away to change into some new clothes. My mother had suspected that I might pee in my pants, so she had wisely brought along another set of clothes. After that experience of shame, I have learned always to go to the bathroom before doing any activity or going to another location. At the time I was humiliated, and I know I had caused this grief myself by going too heavy on the fruit juice without going to the bathroom. Now, many years after this hilarious experience, my cousins, my sister and I met together last Sunday and recalled this incident. We laughed, and people at other tables even laughed too when they overheard my childhood story. Sophocles was right: sometimes we do cause our greatest griefs ourselves. ************ Do YOU want to improve your English skills? Find out how you can, by clicking here. Since 2010, based in the friendly USA State of Virginia, DreyerCoaching.com has been providing customized, high-quality, real-time language instruction via the internet to a global audience in their home, school, or office. Think how comfortable, confident and successful you or your child will feel, receiving personalized guidance from college-educated teachers who are native speakers and have bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees plus decades of teaching experience. Whether you are looking for help with the ABCs or the SATs, or college admissions to conversational English to business writing, we serve all ages and levels to help our students make dreams come true. Discover the Dreyer Difference. Take the first step and visit DreyerCoaching.com, send Scott an email, or schedule a free consultation to get started. 自 2010 年以来，DreyerCoaching.com 总部位于友好的美国弗吉尼亚州，一直通过互联网向全球观众在家中、学校或办公室提供有制度的、高质量的实时语言教学。 想想您或您的孩子会感到多么自在、自信和成功，从受过大学教育的教师那里获得个别的指导，这些教师都是以英语为母语，拥有学士、硕士和博士学位，以及数十年的教学经验的教师。 无论是从 英语ABC的基础课程 或 SAT 的帮助，就读美国高中，大学入学申请，还是从会话英语到商务写作，我们都为所有年龄和水平的学生提供服务，帮助我们的学生实现梦想。 发觉 Dreyer 的不同之处。 迈出第一步，游览 DreyerCoaching.com网站，向 Scott 发送电子邮件，可开始安排一个免费咨询。 |
SAT Essay: “The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.”
