Please grade my GRE Essays!

[kyeat004]

ISSUE ESSAY

Knowing about the past cannot help people to make important decisions today. Write a response in which you 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.

 

Individuals in society make small and large decisions everyday. Many of these decisions are ones that will unknowingly impact the future. Knowing about the past can help people to make important decisions today.

The curriculum in most American schools teach about the Holocaust which occurred during World War II. The Holocaust was one of the largest genocides in the world to date. The concentration camps located in various countries in Europe were the sites of the mass murder that went on during that time. The purpose of teaching about this horrendous time in world history is to ensure that it does not occur again. There is a fear that is instilled in students when this topic of history is learned. Teaching this to the youth gives a hope that this type of genocide does not occur again. Learning about this in school teaches students how to be inclusive, tolerant and loving toward anyone around them. Learning about this genocide in school helps students to make daily decisions that will hopefully benefit themselves and society.

The Supreme Court Justices must make significant decisions every day that will impact the future of America. Without a knowledge of the past, these justices would most likely make similar decisions that would put our country into similar turmoil it has previously been in. The Supreme Court Justices make decisions every day that are based off of the constitution. The choices they make decide whether a law is constitutional or unconstitutional. If they did not have a knowledge of the Constitution, then not only would America not be the same, but America would also be forced to likely face some of the same consequences of the past. No knowledge of the past would make many individuals prone to making the same mistakes. If one person learns from their mistake but then does not choose to tell another person, how will this other person be prevented from making the same mistake the first individual made? Society must have a knowledge of the past in order to learn for the future.

Although many people will not learn from their mistakes by having no knowledge of the past, there are some individuals who have knowledge of the past that still choose to make detrimental decisions for society. For example, September 11th, 2001 is a date that all Americans know of the significance. This was the day where multiple terrorist attacks occurred in the United States and thousands of innocent Americans lost their lives. This is a day that has changed history because of the war of terrorism that started this day. Since 9/11, there have been many more terrorist attacks all over the world. This is an example where having knowledge of the past does not help individuals make important decisions. There are terrorists who have knowledge of the past terrorist attacks and still choose to then take the lives of the innocent.

In conclusion, having knowledge of the past has helped many individuals make important decisions for themselves and for the world. The decisions that teachers make to teach their students about the Holocaust give a hope for the future that this genocide will not occur again. The daily decisions that the Supreme Court Justices make are based off of the past amendments in the Constitution and benefit the future of America.

 

ARGUMENT ESSAY 

 

The following appeared in an article written by Dr. Karp, an anthropologist.

"Twenty years ago, Dr. Field, a noted anthropologist, visited the island of Tertia and concluded from his observations that children in Tertia were reared by an entire village rather than by their own biological parents. However, my recent interviews with children living in the group of islands that includes Tertia show that these children spend much more time talking about their biological parents than about other adults in the village. This research of mine proves that Dr. Field's conclusion about Tertian village culture is invalid and thus that the observation-centered approach to studying cultures is invalid as well. The interview-centered method that my team of graduate students is currently using in Tertia will establish a much more accurate understanding of child-rearing traditions there and in other island cultures."

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 excerpt of the article provided proves to have a few fallacies that do not help the argument that anthropologist Dr. Karp is making. The article demonstrates a couple issues that include issues of timing and location.

The beginning of the excerpt states that Dr. Field performed his observations twenty years ago. There are many events that may occur and changes that can happen in a matter of twenty years. Individuals may die; other individuals will grow up. Many of the children that Dr. Field observed twenty years ago have grown up and are now rearing their own children (or the children in the village). Dr. Karp is making this conclusion based off of observations that were made twenty years ago and comparing those to the few interviews he has performed.

Another issue in this article is related to the location of Dr. Karp’s interviews. Dr. Karp states that the interviews were conducted with children living in the group of islands that includes Tertia. There is a possibility that each of the islands could have different cultures and different ways of rearing their children. One island might have an “all-together” parenting philosophy while another is more individualistic in their parenting style. There is a possibility that the children living on different islands were raised differently. Dr. Karp is comparing his broad findings from his interviews to the specific observations that Dr. Field made on Tertia.

A way that this argument could be improved is by looking more specifically at the children of Tertia. Rather than interviewing children from the surrounding islands, Dr. Karp could interview children solely from Tertia. Dr. Karp’s argument might also be strengthened if he interviewed the children that Dr. Field observed twenty years ago. Dr. Karp would be able to get first hand evidence about the way the children from Tertia twenty years ago were reared. Doing so would either strengthen or weaken the argument he is making about the interview-centered method.

In conclusion, the few fallacies located in Dr. Karp’s article do not strengthen his argument. The issue of time and location could be rendered by being more specific in his research. If Dr. Karp interviewed more children from Tertia and the children that Dr. Field observed twenty years ago then Dr. Karp’s argument would be stronger.