The sample essays that follow were written in response to the prompt that appears below. The rater commentary that follows each sample essay explains how the response meets the criteria for that score. For a more complete understanding of the criteria for each score point, see the Analyze an Issue Scoring Guide.
As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
Note: All responses are reproduced exactly as written, including errors, misspellings, etc., if any.
Essay Response Score 6
The statement linking technology negatively with free thinking plays on recent human experience over the past century. Surely there has been no time in history where the lived lives of people have changed more dramatically. A quick reflection on a typical day reveals how technology has revolutionized the world. Most people commute to work in an automobile that runs on an internal combustion engine. During the workday, chances are high that the employee will interact with a computer that processes information on silicon bridges that are .09 microns wide. Upon leaving home, family members will be reached through wireless networks that utilize satellites orbiting the earth. Each of these common occurrences could have been inconceivable at the turn of the 19th century.
The statement attempts to bridge these dramatic changes to a reduction in the ability for humans to think for themselves. The assumption is that an increased reliance on technology negates the need for people to think creatively to solve previous quandaries. Looking back at the introduction, one could argue that without a car, computer, or mobile phone, the hypothetical worker would need to find alternate methods of transport, information processing and communication. Technology short circuits this thinking by making the problems obsolete.
However, this reliance on technology does not necessarily preclude the creativity that marks the human species. The prior examples reveal that technology allows for convenience. The car, computer and phone all release additional time for people to live more efficiently. This efficiency does not preclude the need for humans to think for themselves. In fact, technology frees humanity to not only tackle new problems, but may itself create new issues that did not exist without technology. For example, the proliferation of automobiles has introduced a need for fuel conservation on a global scale. With increasing energy demands from emerging markets, global warming becomes a concern inconceivable to the horse-and-buggy generation. Likewise dependence on oil has created nation-states that are not dependent on taxation, allowing ruling parties to oppress minority groups such as women. Solutions to these complex problems require the unfettered imaginations of maverick scientists and politicians.
In contrast to the statement, we can even see how technology frees the human imagination. Consider how the digital revolution and the advent of the internet has allowed for an unprecedented exchange of ideas. WebMD, a popular internet portal for medical information, permits patients to self research symptoms for a more informed doctor visit. This exercise opens pathways of thinking that were previously closed off to the medical layman. With increased interdisciplinary interactions, inspiration can arrive from the most surprising corners. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the architects of the UN Millenium Development Goals, based his ideas on emergency care triage techniques. The unlikely marriage of economics and medicine has healed tense, hyperinflation environments from South America to Eastern Europe.
This last example provides the most hope in how technology actually provides hope to the future of humanity. By increasing our reliance on technology, impossible goals can now be achieved. Consider how the late 20th century witnessed the complete elimination of smallpox. This disease had ravaged the human race since prehistorical days, and yet with the technology of vaccines, free thinking humans dared to imagine a world free of smallpox. Using technology, battle plans were drawn out, and smallpox was systematically targeted and eradicated.
Technology will always mark the human experience, from the discovery of fire to the implementation of nanotechnology. Given the history of the human race, there will be no limit to the number of problems, both new and old, for us to tackle. There is no need to retreat to a Luddite attitude to new things, but rather embrace a hopeful posture to the possibilities that technology provides for new avenues of human imagination.
Reader Commentary for Essay Response Score 6
The author of this essay stakes out a clear and insightful position on the issue and follows the specific instructions by presenting reasons to support that position. The essay cogently argues that technology does not decrease our ability to think for ourselves, but merely provides additional time for people to live more efficiently. In fact, the problems that have developed alongside the growth of technology actually call for more creative thinking, not less.
In further examples, the essay shows how technology allows for the linking of ideas that may never have been connected in the past , pushing people to think in new ways. Examples are persuasive and fully developed; reasoning is logically sound and well supported.
Ideas in the essay are connected logically, with effective transitions used both between paragraphs and within paragraphs. Sentence structure is varied and complex and the essay clearly demonstrates facility with the conventions of standard written English , with only minor errors appearing. Thus, this essay meets all the requirements for receiving a top score, a 6.
高考英语复习冲刺训练:外研版必修5 Module1《British and American English》(附解析)
海南省高考英语复习课件:Module 1《Life in the Future》(外研版必修4)
海南省高考英语复习课件:Module 1《Europe》(外研版必修3)
高中英语词法复习汇总:虚拟语气
高中英语句法复习汇总:There be结构
海南省高考英语复习课件:Module 3《Music》(外研版必修2)
高考英语复习冲刺训练:外研版必修1 Module3《My First Ride on a Train》(附解析)
海南省高考英语复习课件:Module 4《Sandstorms in Asia》(外研版必修3)
2017高考精准考点:虚拟语气-高中英语语法精讲精练
高考英语复习冲刺训练:外研版必修1 Module2《My New Teachers》(附解析)
高考英语复习冲刺训练:外研版必修1 Module4《A Social Survey—My Neighbourhood》(附解析)
高中英语句法复习汇总:定语从句
高中英语句法复习汇总:疑问句和反意疑问句
高中英语句法复习汇总:否定句
高中英语句法复习汇总:省略句
高中英语词法复习汇总:形容词和副词
高考英语复习冲刺训练:外研版必修3 Module2《Developing and Developed》(附解析)
2017高考精准考点:英语备考六大题型全攻略
高中英语句法复习汇总:名词性从句
高中英语词法复习汇总:介 词
高考英语复习冲刺训练:外研版选修8 Module3《Foreign Food》(附解析)
高考英语复习冲刺训练:外研版选修8 Module1《Deep South》(附解析)
高中英语句法复习汇总:主谓一致
高考英语复习冲刺训练:外研版选修7 Module5《Ethnic Culture》(附解析)
高中英语句法复习汇总:状语从句
海南省高考英语复习课件:Module 2《Developing and Developed Countries》(外研版必修3)
高考英语复习冲刺训练:外研版必修3 Module5《Great People and Great Inventions of Ancient China》(附解析)
2017高考精准考点:主谓一致-高中英语语法精讲精练
高考英语复习冲刺训练:外研版必修1 Module6《The Internet and Telecommunications》(附解析)
海南省高考英语复习课件:Module 5《Great People and Great Inventions of Ancient China》(外研版必修3)
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |