Everything with an "A" and a "T" are Evil. Proof? SAT, ACT, MCAT, PCAT.

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I'm fairly certain we've all taken either the SAT or ACT (some of us had to do both, sadly). Not only is it annoying that SAT stands for "SAT" now (it used to mean something, not anymore), but the scores are useless later in life. Don't get me wrong, they'll get you in college, but past that nobody will ever care.



 A part of the SAT and ACT that is burned into my mind was the horrid essay portions. I'm not a fast writer (atleast, not if I want it to be legible) so having to write essays on minitopics in short succession really burned me. Anyways, that's why I'm excited that this article is being circulated around the web. Lee Perelem, a writing professor at MIT, looked at a bunch of past SAT essays and found an interesting trend. The essay's content was a very small factor, the majority of high scoring essays used a lot of words, especially big and unfamiliar words. Noticing this trend he jokingly tells students to just write as many words as you can that you can vaguely relate to the subject- bonus points if you include a quote. And no, the quote doesn't have to be related.

SAT essay graders aren't paid very much, a lot are English teachers looking for some money during the summer, and are expected to sort through dozens of essays per hour. You obviously can't accurately grade for quality, content, and writing theme under these conditions. This is why it should be changed, completely overhauled.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/03/13/the-man-who-killed-sat-essay/L9v3dbPXewKq8oAvOUqONM/story.html?event=event25

Paper Update Part 2: The Squeakuel

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So I'm using a new picture because credible sources for subjective topics are very hard to come by. So I'm now using this pic, and am going to be arguing against it. I will be focusing on the psychology of how people decide what decisions are "right", arguing that slacktivism isn't done in order to make people feel good. Rather, it is done because people believe that spreading awareness is the most helpful action they can do in their current situation.

So far I have quite a few sources about how people make decisions based on their view or understanding of ethics. I'm pretty prepared for counterarguments- such as how slacktivism hurts activism, how people will trick themselves into thinking something unethical is actually ethical, and how people who engage in morally appropriate behavior will consider that they can "afford" to engage in less ethical behavior without discrediting themselves. These were the most popular and logical arguments against slacktivism I could find, atleast. I have counterarguments in mind for these, and am currently finding reputable sources to back them up!

Rhetorical Analysiseses

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Rhetorical analysis essays are something that I'm sure we've all done (or atleast have done something very similar) in past English classes, especially in high school. I never liked most of the essays we've been forced to do in the past (and still don't) like deciphering a poem that we didn't even choose or trying to write about how some random book about animals in a farm is actually a statement on communism and other popular government forms. Obviously, I'm being cynical with my examples- the analysis of the deeper meanings of literature is an important skill. However, that doesn't make it any more fun...

Argumentative essays, on the other hand, were always the one kind of essay that I actually enjoyed; mostly because I was able to chose my topic and which side I argue for or against (FREEDOM!!). I also like them because they give you an excuse to look up the backgrounds and merits of opposing sides in a conflict, which let you have a more complete understanding of whatever it is you're writing about.

So about the only thing that matters in this post: the picture. I was thinking of writing my rhetorical analysis on different schools of thought relating to these pictures. I chose this pic because I thought that a lot of these gave bad advice or contradicted one another. Let me clarify- I'm certain that the creator of this pic had good intentions and only wanted to help people, but that doesn't mean it can't be scrutinized.

For example, the second picture- "don't compare yourself to others because you are not them". Taken at face value, obviously you aren't someone else. That doesn't mean you shouldn't compare yourself to others, though. Comparing yourself to others is a great way of setting goals and aspirations for yourself, whether its "I want to be as fit as him, so I'm going to start going to the gym" or "I don't want to be selfish like that slob, so I'm going to start thinking a little more about how I use my time and interact with others." By refusing to compare yourself with others you are ignoring obvious personal flaws and instead take the easy way out. Instead of being the "best version of yourself" you should push yourself to reach beyond your imagined boundaries. It's not a good thing to think "I'm fine just the way I am" "I'm not anything special, just like these other folks" or "I'm just going to let life happen to me."