GRE analytical Writing Section

[joti]

Hi! I'm just writing my first practice essays and have a LONG way to go. English is my second language, but I want to work hard and get a great score. The first essay is argumentative and the second one is issue task. I would really appreciate if someone could look over my essays and give some feedback. Thank you in advance (:

 

Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by the Palean people. Recently, however, archaeologists discovered such a "Palean" basket in Lithos, an ancient village across the Brim River from Palea. The Brim River is very deep and broad, and so the ancient Paleans could have crossed it only by boat, and no Palean boats have been found. Thus it follows that the so-called Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean.

Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

 

The author presents an interesting discovery of a basket being present in a new geographic location, Lithos. This arises the question of the basket being unique to the village of Palea. Whether or not Palean baskets are unique to Palea is questionable based on how these baskets are characterized by a distinictive pattern, are the fact it is present in both Lithos and Palea, and the question of how the basket is in both locations. 

Palean baskets are characterized by a particular distinctive pattern, the degree to how accurate this identification method is subject to inquisition. There is not enough information provided regarding the specitic criteria of being a Palean basket. Many baskets have the same pattern, but can be made of a different material, by a different method, or different dimensions. For all we know, the basket discovered in Lithos might be a similiar yet different basket. This would completely throw out the entire discussion of whether the basket is truly unique to Palea. 

The fact that the basket is both in Lithos and Palea is of interest. The question of how the basket is present in both locations remains unanswered. The author makes the assumption that the only method of traveling from the village of Palea to the village of  Lithos is by boat. Furthermore, the author assumes that due to the lack of discovery of a Palean boat confirms the fact that Paleans never crossed the river. Many other theories are not even considered in this scenario. Firstly, the people of the Lithos Village may have been the ones to cross over instead of the Palean people. Secondly, the Palean people could have crossed over via boat but the boats remains were destoryed or simply may have not be found yet. Laslty, there may have been an alternative method of transportation that was not considered.

Despite not knowing how the bakset is present in both villages, the fact that the basket is present in both villages is not discussed in great detail. The author assumes that the disovery proves the basket to no longer be unique to the people of Palea, however the basket still could be Palean. The relative date of disovery of the basket in each location is provided, but the date of creation is not given. This is important because the basket may very well be created by the people frome the village of Palea and may have been introduced later on to the people in Lithos. 

The author brings up great topics of debate to whether the basket is truly Palean. Overall, there is not enough information provided to truly determine if the basket is unique to the village of Palea. More research needs to be done in addition to providing less ambigous information in respect to the findings already made. 

 

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.

As science progresses, technology is becoming better and a bigger part of daily life. Techology is a crucial component of the problem solving process, but is not the the only component of problem solvin. Technology has the ability to aid in solving problems in many ways, howoever people still have to critically think, make decisions based on their core values, and not all the answers are available at our fingertips. 

Many of the problems we encounter on a daily basis have a solution that can be found thanks to technology. Most of the problems, however, are far more complex and involve critical thinking to derive a solution. Technology is a great resource to get started on these types of problems, but to link together all the information gathered and come up with a cohesive solution involves a more dynamic thought process. For example, in order to decide what school your child should attend seems like a problem that can be met by reading reviews online. Well reviews online are vital to the decision making process in today’s day and age, many factors that contribute to this decision cannot be found online. Factors such as your own schedule, the schedule of your other children, the schedule of your spouse, your financial situation, your child’s learning needs, and many other components. To piece together all the contributing factors and come up with the best solution involves critially thinking, a feature that technology can’t provide.

In addition, there are some core values that can’t be gathered by any external resources. Continuing on witht the same scenario, as a parent there are certain areas of curiculum that are neccessary in your beliefs. From learning another language to learning about evolution. Information regarding these topics can certainly be gathered by technological means, but the core values you hold are your own and can’t be decided by technology alone. Many factors such as your upbringing, your surrounds, your friends, and your culture mold the core values you carry with you your entire life. These core values make you who you are and impact all the decisions you make.

Along with core values, there are just some questions that do not have answers online. Choosing a school for your child is an important decision. You will not be able to gather a clear cut answer of which school is best for your child. One of the schools you are considering might be new and there may not be any reviews available, or you may have a unique culture that no one else can relate to and therefore not answer the specific questions you have. There are many resources that can help, but there are also many questions that do not have answers available. 

Although technology plays a huge role in today’s day and age, it certainly has its limitations. Relying on techonlogy has become the new norm, but there are still many problems that can’t be solved with technology alone. With that being said, the ability of humans to think for themselves will not detiriorate, but it will heavily rely on techonolgy.