Writing Feedback / 'Our personality is the average of the five people with whom we spend most of our time'; GRE Task [4]

People's behavior is largely determined by forces not of their own making.
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.

the environment around largely determines our behaviour

There is a famous saying that our personality is the average of the five people with whom we spend most of our time. Forces and external influence have a very powerful impact which in turn shape a person's behaviour. Though people think that their ideas and actions are the results of their will, mostly they are a product of powers that are not of their making. I completely agree with this statement because of the reasons that will follow this passage.

Some of our conscious actions and thoughts are a product of our subconscious mind which represents a fundamental idea behind psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud's work. In Psychoanalysis, patients try to make their subconscious thoughts conscious. A lot of experiences of our childhood, on which we have no control, shape our nature and behaviour. The behaviour of many people, who had suffered trauma during their childhood, are influenced by these traumatic events. The idea is not just related to trauma, but our upbringing also creates us in a way that is different than everyone else. There is a whole range of study in psychoanalysis and psychology that shows that how our behaviour is influenced by external factors over which we have no control.

In the famous psychological experiment 'The Stanford Prison Experiment', prisoners and guards became so absorbed in their roles that they forgot their original identities. In just under 2 weeks, prisoners started to doubt their own existence; they forgot their names and started considering themselves as mere numbers provided by the guards. Guards, who had a lot of power over prisoners, completely altered their personalities and started to enjoy the power of the prisoners. After the experiment was over, both guards and prisoners could not realise what had happened to them. This experiment bolsters the claim presented in the statement, as only within two weeks the behaviour of the participants changed completely. This experiment shows that we have very little control over our behaviour, and external forces can completely alter it.

There have been many claims of free-will and that one can shape her behaviour. It is possible to some extent to study patterns in our behaviour and after the diligent and arduous effort, we can change the way we behave. But this will require indomitable will power, years of effort both physical and mental. Many leaders in the history had controlled their behaviour; people like Buddha, Gandhi had a lot of control on their actions and thoughts. But to become one of them is easier said than done.

In the end, it seems most important for the people to understand that the environment around them largely determines their behaviour.

Writing Feedback / GRE Issue Task: The idea to tell students which subject their should study [5]

Question
Educational institutions have a responsibility to dissuade students from pursuing fields of study in which they are unlikely to succeed

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

Essay

Should schools advise students what curriculum they should choose?

Education is the most important skill set that can be taught to a child. Education helps in perceiving the world from a different point of view, and it gives the person a basic framework on which other skills can be built/build. Unfortunately, a large part of the world population is still illiterate and educational institutions play a major role in imparting education. An educational institution has all the right tools such as books, teachers and student bodies which play a key role in helping people succeed in their chosen fields of study. They provide students guidance and help them to tread the paths they have picked. But an educational institution should never tell students that they will not succeed in some particular field. In my opinion, an institution cannot decide the fields in which students are unlikely to succeed.

The question arises that who will judge the likelihood of students becoming successful in a particular field? Who will give authority to decide the future of a student to another human being? Are the teachers educated enough to take such decisions, and even if they are educated what do they know about the future? Can we rely on the judgment of a human being to decide the path a student should take? This is an illogical, an irrational and a morally corrupt idea. Influencing the dreams and shaping the future of a person is essential, but they should not be overwritten. Young minds are full of dreams, and passions and telling them that they cannot pursue their dreams because they are not capable enough is equivalent to robbing them of their dreams.

There is no particular age for a person to choose or change his field of study. Many people have successfully changed the course of their lives and became very successful in a different field of study, and many made this switch at not so young age. These people are known in the world because of their career shifts, and luckily there was no one to tell them that they should not pursue their dreams. Colonel Sanders started KFC chicken at the age of 62, before that he was serving the country as a lawyer and a gas station operator. It can be a myth, but many believe that dreams and desires will become true if enough hard work, perseverance, and dedication exist.

A lot of people succeed after many failures, like them, a student can succeed in any field he wants to study. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb after many failures and experiments. Robert Goddard was the inventor of liquid propellant rockets, and he also failed many times in his attempt to create a successful rocket. He once mentioned that every vision is a joke until a common man accomplishes it, and then it becomes commonplace. Thus all great leaders, inventors, writers, sportsman are born as a common human being, and it all starts with a dream. No one has the right to kill that dream or tell anyone that a dream cannot be realised.

Thus, the educational institutions should never interfere with the subjects students pick; rather they should try their best in helping students to succeed in their chosen field of study.

Writing Feedback / Ways to preserve any remaining wilderness areas. [2]

Nations should pass laws to preserve any remaining wilderness areas in their natural state, even if these areas could be developed for economic gain.

Write a response in which you discuss your views on the policy and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider the possible consequences of implementing the policy and explain how these consequences shape your position.

Essay

naturalness protection

The population of the world is increasing, putting more pressure on constrained natural resources. Due to human beings, many species have become extinct and it has also precipitated a rise in temperature. Human beings seem to be a natural disaster which might play a crucial role in the extinction of life on earth. Many countries have extensively relied upon their wilderness areas for economic gains. I completely support this policy due to the reasons that will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

Wilderness areas are an ecosystem in which individual components play a crucial role to keep the system healthy. From earthworms to scavengers every single organism plays a leading role in maintaining the health. There has been a lot of research that shows how trees are able to communicate with each other, and they can also provide nutrients to unhealthy and weak plants. This ecosystem is very hard to replicate and has survived thousands of years of drastic weather conditions. Human intervention proves to be fatal when some of the components are disturbed and broken. It is not easy to restore or replicate nature's creation and human beings should stop deteriorating them for economic gains.

Sustainable development is an investment in the future, though it comes at the expense of current economic benefits. This growth can be considered as an example of delayed gratification, and we will be able to reap larger benefits. Instead of focusing on short-term economic gains, nations should promote research on alternative sources of income and energy.

We should slow down and look at the impact of our actions. Global warming threatens the existence with melting glaciers and increasing sea levels. Eventually, a large part of the land will be inundated. It is possible to balance growth and environment and Bhutan is the living example of such a nation. Bhutan consumes more carbon dioxide than it produces. It is the only nation in the world with a negative carbon balance. Our world necessitates the destruction of nature for financial goals, but Bhutan, notwithstanding, sets and example of an alternative approach

It is high time that human efforts should be redirected towards the preservation of nature, instead of wealth creation. We should start thinking about our children and the future of humankind. Replicating or planting trees after destroying natural reserves is futile as the artificial ecosystem is not resilient. I strongly support this policy and would also like to see harsh punishments for the violators.