Prep101 - Free Writing Sample Feedback (summer 2011)

[ByrdPac]

This is really going to help me alot, since my MCAT is this week. Thank you for your time.

 

Task: Politicians too often base their decisions on what will please the voters, not on what is best for the country.

 

In the political system of democracy, the people elect others who will represent them in parliament. The heart of modern democracy is the based on the fact that those elected will serve in the people's best interests and that the politicians will be loyal to the voters whom they represent. Politicians too often base their decisions on what will please voters, not what is best for the country, because they have a duty to the voters that they will listen to their voice and act accordingly. Some decisions which a politician makes might be against his own conscience, but the decision is done because he represents a large demographic and not just his own personal interests. But this is not always the case sometimes the voters needs and demands have to be put aside for the benefit of the population as a whole.

 

A politician might make a decision that is unpopular but is good for the country because as an elected official the people have entrusted him to make the correct decision for them. For example, the recent law passed by President Obama on healthcare reform was very unpopular with the conservatives. Even though this decision was unpopular to alot of voters, it was made so such that those who could not afford health insurance would benefit. The decision was made against the will of some voters because a political also has to see the future of the nation as a whole and make decisions which can produce fruitful results such as raising the quality of life for all citizens.

 

Political decisions have to be made, considering the people are the nation, and that pleasing the majority of voters would be beneficial for the nation as a whole. Although this is not always the case. What determines whether a political decision should please the voters or the nation, is the fact that laws are enacted to ensure the rights and freedoms of people. But seeing the nation as the union of all the people from all parts, helps to clarify that distinction. A political decision that benefits the voters should at the same time benefit for the country. Politicians have been voted so that they look after not only the people interests but the welfare of the nation as a whole.

[MD2019_A]

Thanks again

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

Describe a specific situation in which a student's academic success might depend more on intelligence than on hard work. Discuss what you think determines whether a student's academic success depends more on hard work or on intelligence.

 

In today’s world academic success is greatly valued as it is an integral part of an individual’s future success. It is defined as achieving a certain mark or grade in a course in an education institute such as high school or university. There have been many debates over the years as to what determines academic success: is it intelligence, the student’s natural ability, or is it hard work, defined as the number of hours of work put in? In high school years, a student’s success primarily comes from hard work. The student is required to take courses such as math and sciences. The courses have rigorous demands like assignments, tests, projects, presentations, etc. To be academically successful, a student needs to put in the necessary hours of work regardless of intelligence to succeed. This is because education at the high school level is basic and does not require much intelligence. Hence, students’ success depends on hard work rather than pure intelligence during high school education.

 

However, there are situations where intelligence plays a greater role in success than working hard. Consider, for example, university education. University education differs from high school education in many ways, one of them being that students have more freedom in choosing their courses. Students pick courses that they feel comfortable with and more fluent in. For that reason, academic success in a university environment is more based on intelligence rather than hard work. That is because university education is geared towards students’ interests and natural tendencies, or intelligence. Students choose courses and careers they are most fluent in and thus base their academic success on their intelligence.

 

So what determines whether academic success if based on strong work ethic and hard work or pure intelligence and natural abilities? It is the level of education. Secondary education requires more hard work because a student is required to study subjects that are very basic and do not require a high level of thinking. This is shown in the first example. Post-secondary education, like university education mentioned in the second example, requires more intelligence for academic success than hard work. That is because the curriculum is geared towards student interests and students’ pick their course based on their relative intelligence in the subject matter.

[gilly11]

Thanks for your help

 

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

 

 

Thomas Edison once said that “Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”. By this he meant that although intelligence is necessary, person cannot become successful without combining intelligence and hard work. Academic success means to become successful in your studies and getting good grades and it can be achieved through hard work or through god gifted intelligence. If success depends only on intelligence and not hard work, then people like Bill Gates, a high school drop out, would not have been successful. An instance when academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence, is passing and getting good grades in organic chemistry. Although organic chemistry is very analytical, one can only master is through practising reaction mechanisms and memorizing different reactions. Although a person can be genius, but he/she cannot pass organic chemistry without memorizing reactions.

 

Although hard work is important, academic success sometimes depend more on intelligence. Success depends more on intelligence on courses that involves more hands on and practical work such as lab courses or surgery. Ben Carson a famous Neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins is considered as one of the best Neurosurgeon in the country. He was the first Surgeon to be successful in performing a surgery on Crainophagus twins. He has performed many miracle surgeries and has saved many people’s life. Although, Dr. Carson was an average student in medical school, he is successful in his field due to his excellent hand-eye coordination while performing surgery.

 

The debate on whether hard work or intelligence determines academic success is never ending. But, academic success depends more on hard work in courses that requires practise and memorization while academic success depends more on intelligence in courses that are practical and are involved with hands on work. Success in organic chemistry depends more on hard work than intelligence while success in surgical courses in medical courses depends more on intelligence and god’s gift of excellent hand-eye coordination than on hard work, which was the case with Dr. Ben Carson. Based on these scenarios, Thomas Edison may have been forced to change his statement to “Success is 50 % inspiration and 50 % perspiration.”

[peppermint5039]

Thanks again Anita!

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

Describe a specific situation in which a student's academic success might depend more on intelligence than on hard work. Discuss what you think determines whether a student's academic success depends more on hard work or on intelligence.

 

The goal of education is to provide students with a basic skill set and a strong foundation in subjects such as mathematics, english, and art. In order to assess a student's progress in their learning and their mastery of a subject, they are usually assigned a grade based on a percentage; in the eyes of most parents and teachers, academic success usually corresponds to high marks. In turn, hard work and determination play a key role in attaining high marks or "academic success". For instance, elementary school students are taught the basics of english grammar and vocabulary. They are taught how to form sentences and how to communicate in a written manner. However, strong writing skills cannot be attained simply by learning the rules of the english language; to become a proficient writer, a student has to learn how to apply the rules through practice. With hard work, a student is more likely to become a skilled writer as they can practice different styles of writing and become more confident with their vocabulary. Therefore, a student who consistently practices their writing skills is much more likely to achieve excellent marks and a greater mastery of the english language.

 

On the other hand, intelligence can also play a critical role in a student's academic success. In this case, intelligence can be defined as an individual's ability to understand concepts and retain important information. Physics, for example, is a subject matter that is heavily involved in mathematical formulas and concepts. To succeed in physics, one must be able to remember and apply various equations to novel situations. For instance, a few fundamental equations involving speed and acceleration can often be applied to hundreds of different situations that involve moving objects. An intelligent student who understands the concepts underlying the equations will be able to use their knowledge for any novel questions that they may be faced with. Therefore, in subjects that involve abstract thinking and the application of concepts, intelligence is a vital attribute for academic success.

 

Whether academic success depends on success or hard work is highly circumstantial. Ultimately, the determining factor lies in the subject being taught. Writing is a skill that requires practice and hours of dedication to master. A student must learn through trial and error in order to achieve fluency in their writing. However, intelligence may play a greater role in more conceptually-based subjects such as physics as it requires a student to memorize and understand equations. Hard work alone cannot help a student succeed in physics if they do not understand how to use an equation.

[sm1234]

Thanks Anita! Your feedback on my last essay really helped. But I'm still having trouble with explaining the counterexample in detail. I would really appreciate any suggestion on how to deal with that.

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

The primary goal of every student is to be able to understand the concepts being taught and attain academic success, so as to excel in his field of study. Academic success comprises of not only attaining high scores on exams but also entails understanding the concepts and acquiring knowledge. Hard work is the primary key to academic successs. It entails numerous hours of effort put in to master and thoroughly understand and memorize concepts being studied. For instance when learning a topic such as the human anatomy, hard work is key to be able to master this field. Intelligence will not allow a student to innately know the human anatomy, the different type of muscles or the different number of cranial nerves. However, repetitive hard work will enable the student to memorize and retain the relative knowlege required to gain academic success. It instills a disciplined work ethic in students and a strive to achieve goals. Concepts taught in university vary on the level of difficutly. However if hard work is put in, the student not only succeeds at understanding the concept but also learns how to deal with challenging topics with the appropriate amount of hardwork dedicated towards it. Furthermore, intelligence can only help with minute details, such as the speed of understanding a topic, however it does not guarantee success as it does nothing to further that intelligence. HOwever, hard work leads to learning and understand of new concepts; success is measurable to how well a student grasps and applies concepts and that is possbile by hard work.

 

Nevertheless, it could be argued that intelligence also leads to academic success. For instance, when studying a subject such as calculus which is made up of abstract concepts, intelligence helps out a lot. In order to understand complex math concepts, intelligence is essential to grasp those concepts promptly. Even if numerous hours of hard work are put in, if a student doesn't understand the concept he probably will not be able to attain academic success in that particular topic no matter how many hours of hard work he puts in. However intelligence will allow that student to understand and apply the core concepts of calculus more promptly and accuracy. Grasping of asbtract concepts quickly will allow the student to divert his attention and energy to a different section of the topic, thus allowing him to go thorough the topics of study quickly and accurately, thus ensuring success.

 

It can be concluded that academic success cannot be pinned to either hard work or intelligence, instead it varies with the topic of study. For an infromation packed course such as anatomy, hard work is essential as the number of hours put in to study are key to understanding and memorizing the relevant information. However with a course such as calculus that runs on the understanding of abstract concepts, intelligence is essential . Since intelligence will enable a student to grasp the abstract concepts quickly, it will ensure academic success.

 

Thanks again!

[bored]

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

Describe a specific situation in which a student's academic success might depend more on intelligence than on hard work. Discuss what you think determines whether a student's academic success depends more on hard work or on intelligence.

 

 

Academic success is used by admissions committee of many professional schools including medicine, pharmacy and business. These schools realize that academic success is a bad criteria to use because academic success often depends on the hard work used doe by a student. Success in academics is to be able to get good marks in courses taken in school. It is the ability to do good on tests and projects assigned by your teachers. Both of these tasks can be accomplished by hard work. Hard work is when a student places their school above all else and works towards achieving success at schools as their primary task. Often academic success is achieved by all students who work towards achieving the best they can in class. During my time in high school, I was not able to get very high marks. I was an average science student, achieving usual grades in the 70 range. However, as time passed and I moved on to University, I realized that achieving grades is an easy task. I started doing lots of practice and started spending more and more time towards school. As soon as I made school a top priority, the mark started increasing. I now realize that academic success is a result of hard work done by a student towards their academic career.

 

When I was placed under a laboratory environment however, the hard work did not seem to work. Working in the lab for hours and hours did not get me good conclusive results. I was able to get many results, but I was unable to get conclusive results that would help me prove my hypothesis. At this point I realized that working in a lab requires more than hard work, it also requires creativity. The creative aspect of a researcher is obvious when he or she is able to come up with great methods to test a difficult hypothesis. Creativity is according to psychology a type of intelligence. Albert Einstein is a perfect example for intelligent achieving academic success. Albert Einstien is known for his intelligent thinking, not his hard work in school. His creative thinking is what helped him come up with the theory of relativity. In this case, the Intelligence of the researcher is much more useful than hard work.

 

In a person's life, both hard work and intelligence are important. While the scientist is undergoing his or her learning of basics as they do in high school and during undergraduate studies, the hard work is very much important. But when the scientist moves on do to individual research and work, their ability to do think intelligently and their ability to carry out intelligent analysis becomes critical. A researcher will only receive support for research if their project is attainable and that is only done via creative thinking. Scientists are some of the most creative thinkers and their success is determined by how creative they are and how high their intelligence. A persistent researcher will never be as successful as Albert Einstein if they do not have any intelligent thinking power.

 

 

The End

 

Thanks a lot for doing this for all of us on this forum, We all really appreciate you helping us!

 

Final Question for you: In this essay I have restricted my discussion to a student of science. I don't believe my argument can apply to a student of business or other fields.. Do you think I have done a good job restricting my discussion to a student of science? or will the reader criticize my essay and say that "well a person working in the business field does not need creative thinking, thus this essay does not make sense"

 

thanks!!!!

[bsm]

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

Pursuing higher education, through university and college programs, is a prominent career path for many young adults in economically-developed societies. It is natural to ponder what are the underlying factors that determine success in these programs? Often "success" refers to both high grades and the achievement of merit-based awards indicanting superior performance relative to their peers. Some argue that establishing strong study habits characterized by long working hours and tedious study are the most important factors that determine student success. For example, the performance of many students in undergraduate science programs primary depends on hard work rather than a unique intelligence. Students are taught the steps and formulas required to solve complex science problems, then are expected to apply these techniques in practice questions, and finally display their skills in tests that often mirror the examples from lectures and assignments. A very small component of the tests in science programs require novel derivations of formula, and students may often file complaints against professors that present an inordinate amount of material on tests that have not been adaquately covered in lectures and assignments. The success of students in physical science programs comes as a result of working hard to cover all of the assigned material in preparation for exams.

 

On the other hand, others argue that an innate "natural intelligence", sets some students apart from others. This is more often observed in programs that revolve around creative ability, such as that of artistic design. In these programs, students are expected to create novel works and infact discouraged from regurgerating material that they would have observed before. Here, if students do not have novel ideas, no amount of hard work can bring them success.

 

In determining the degree to which "hard work" or intelligence contribute to academic sucess, then, we can consider the manner in which students are graded as a distinguishing factor. When grading is determined using technical and tangible criteria, such as those involved in marking schemes for tests in any science program, we can expect hard work to play a major role in student success. Students are expected to learn the material that is on these tests and high-ranking students are those that can outwork their peers in incorporating the material from all of their courses. However, when grading is more subjective, such as that in art-based programs, then students are more relient on natural creative ability to succeed.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback Anita...and thanks for this great thread this summer!

[antithesis]

Thanks so much Anita!

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

 

The success of a student usually depends on their motivation and drive to do their best and therefore reach their potential. Students have the capability to overcome the barriers of natural intelligence with hard work and determination to reach their goals. Intelligence in this case can be defined as one's natural ability. If every student allowed themselves to succumb to this "natural ability" and did not try and work hard to achieve more, then very few people would ever accomplish anything. For example, take a child who is not naturally very good at math. They do not have that natural intelligence that allows them to be proficient in the subject automatically. However with hard work, studying math concepts, doing many practice problems, and even eliciting the outside help of a tutor, a child can overcome these barriers of natural intelligence. In this case the student's success in math would depend more on hard work and the time they are willing to put in, rather than natural intelligence.

 

However, there are certain situations where a student's academic success can depend more on intelligence than on hard work. There are instances when natural ability or intelligence just cannot be overcome, even with hard work. Take for example, a medical student who wishes to become a neurosurgeon. They have worked hard to learn everything there is to know about the parts of the brain and every intricate function it has. They have read every book on how to perform surgeries and watched many different surgeries performed by neurosurgeons. However, when the student tries to put their knowledge into practice, they find that they simply do not have "the hands" for neurosurgery. In this situation, no matter how hard the student works, they will not be able to overcome this barrier and be a successful neurosurgeon. In this case natural ability/intelligence overrules hard work.

 

Therefore, what determines if a student's academic success depends more on hard work or on intelligence. The answer is, the nature of the education determines this factor. If the education is more classroom based, then hard work will more heavily determine a student's academic success. However, if the education is more practical or hands on, then intelligence/natural ability will determine academic success. In the example regarding the child struggling in math, this type of education is classroom based. It requires understanding and memorizing certain topics. If a student is not naturally "intelligent" in these areas, hard work and determination can allow them to overcome these barriers of natural ability. In the example regarding the medical student wanting to become a neurosurgeon, no amount of hard work will change their natural ability in surgery. This is practical/hands on education, where intelligence and natural ability determine success more than hard work does.

[chinenye1]

Intelligence is a superior capacity for fast information processing, comprehension, an exceptional capacity for recollection, all which contribute to a heightened capability to master concepts with less repetition. For intellectually intelligent people, learning comes much easier than the normal person and as such it has been thought that the attribute of intelligence is necessary and sufficient for one to excel in academics. But, thriving in academics requires a considerable level of patience diligence and effort, all of which are inherent to hard work. Hard work unlike intelligence is not innate and can allow one who has nutured it, perform academically comparably or even better than his intelligent counterpart. Take for instance, in a math test, an ‘intelligent’ unprepared person performing poorly on the test despite all his intellectual attributes, while a student who worked hard in preparing excelled in it due to more extensive practise.

 

Although hard work is imperative to excel in academic, intelligence may also give one an edge in it. As a result of an intelligent person’s capacity to study materials in more depth and more ease than normal they can perform academically better that their counter parts. This superior performance was seen in Albert Einstein, a renowned physicist. He had an astounding superior ability to manipulate numbers and was constantly using his special ability to formulate laws that will explain certain mysterious concepts in quantum physics. With his hard work and perseverance he formulated proven laws that earned him an assortment of prestigious awards including the nobel awards.

 

So what influences a students’ academic success lies in his willingness to work hard to achieve it. A student who relies on his innate, intelligence to coast through his courses, is likely to eventually perform poorly on academic tests compared to one who is not as intelligent but put in a significant degree of effort to prepare for it. The hard working individual would have practiced several questions relating to the math subject to be tested, thereby being more conversant with the material and ready to face the test. On the other hand, if intelligence is augmented with hard work, academic success will come more readily to the ‘intelligent person than his counterpart who lacks that attribute, but works hard. There were other physicist who worked just as hard as Albert Einstein, but because their intellects are unparalleled with his, could never achieve as many awards and recognition.

[amalwa12]

Dear Anita, thank you for your amazing service this summer. It was very very helpful to all of us

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

When a student transitions from high school to university, they often learn a lot about their own abilities and limitations. In particular, they will learn how much hard work is necessary to achieve the grades that they want in their post-secondary years. The notion of academic success varies from person to person and is set by the individual in question – while some students will be satisfied at making the class average, others will be competing for the best mark in their class. The idea of working hard varies from person to person in the same way as well; while some students consider studying for three hours an evening for a semester to be hard work, other students will feel that pulling all-nighters for weeks together is hard work. Finally, ‘intelligence’ can be defined as a person’s inherent ability to comprehend, analyze and perform. Keeping all this in mind, it can be said that a student’s academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence. It is often seen that when students make the transition from high school to university, a lot of the students who were at the top of the academic ladder in high school do not perform as well as those that were perhaps not as brilliant back in school. The reason for this often is because while the so-called ‘smart kids’ in high school choose to rely on their natural intelligence, which has been confirmed by their high school teachers and classmates, the students who know that they are not as bright choose to put in more hard work since they realize that they cannot compete solely on the level of intelligence. In doing so, the latter group of students often end up performing better during the start of their university career, because they are conscious of their intellectual abilities and make up for any lack by their hard work.

 

However, there comes a time, when no matter how much hard work a student puts in, they cannot perform maximally. This is because hard work can only take a student so much, and after a point, comprehending concepts presented in their studies requires a higher intellectual calibre. An example would be a student of philosophy who is presented with the abstract ideas of philosophers and asked to integrate those abstract ideas and present them in a concise, coherent piece of writing. The student may be willing to put in several hours of hard work and concentration and yet still be unable to come up with an essay that will receive a good mark. The reason for this is, at some point, no matter how much hard work a person puts in, they need to be able to understand the subject matter at hand and that understanding requires natural intelligence.

 

In conclusion, it can be said that whether hard work or intelligence is the key factor behind academic success, depends on the level of success that a student is aiming for. If he or she is trying to reach simply a satisfactory level without failing, then hard work will definitely pay off. Through hard work, a student can learn to retain a lot of information, can make their essays fool-proof and can ensure that their oral presentation has been practiced a hundred times and will run smoothly. However, if that student wants to excel and get the top scores in their class, especially in the case of university level education, then intelligence in the student’s field of study is mandatory. Through that natural intellectual ability which is dubbed intelligence, the student can apply the information that they have retained appropriately to answer exam questions correctly, can make their essays not just fool-proof but ensure that they have strong thesis statements pertaining to the subject matter, and can not only give a smooth talk but one that displays strong knowledge of subject matter. Therefore, although hard work is vital for academic success, without intelligence, a student cannot reach, as commonly said, the stars.

[Aiyaya]

I wrote my first MCAT and I will be writing again in 2.5 weeks.. but not because of the writing section!! .

Movies Online

download movies

download animation

[anitarama]

I apologize for missing this my last time going through and marking. Hopefully this feedback will still be useful to you!

 

Score: 5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Very good introduction and supporting argument.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): This is also a good example, but more exploration of the discovery of negative effects and prevention would enhance this paragraph.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Well-explained resolution criteria.

 

Human beings are constantly seeking methods to increase efficiency and output in a fast pace environment. Consequently, continuous advancement in technology in all industries from automobiles to power plant to telecommunication has resulted. This evident in the change in today’s car structure and functioning compared to vintage models. Currently preferred vehicles chosen for their impressive storage capacity or speed such as trucks and sports cars are notably bigger and faster compared to vehicles that were used many years ago. With this seemingly advantageous attribute of advanced cars comes the consequence of greater fossil fuel usage that has contributed immensely to global warming and increased mortality of the world’s population. Despite the innovative introduction of electricity run cars designed to curb air pollution, the environment still suffers eventually for the reason that people are becoming heavily dependent on cars and commuting more frequently and for longer distances. This translates to the cars recharged more frequently by fossil fueled generators, which emit green house gases. The overall adverse effects of new technology in the area of advanced cars are an eventual heavy contribution to global warming, early mortality and morbidities such as new cancers and blood diseases arising from prolonged exposure to toxic gas emission that may not be initially apparent.

 

There are times however when the benefits of new technology do not conceal its limitations. This can be seen in the area of technology used in nuclear medicine. Decades ago invasive lobotomies and lobectomies were attempted to diagnose brain -based problems in patients. But, with advances in the field of brain imaging a non invasive early and more accurate and precise diagnosis of brain diseases is possible. The benefits are far reaching, as they allow for high resolution images of the brain to localize the precise faulty area. However, brain imaging using these scanners pose a problem of cancer induction from exposure to its radiations. As such doctors exercise prudency in the use of this equipment by restricting use to just once a year. Furthermore, no cancer in patients have been reported from the scanners owing to the very careful and restrictive use of the equipment.

 

So what determines the eventual revelation of the shortcomings of a new technology is dependent on the degree of its use. In the case of technologically advanced cars, its use is excessive and with much negligence to its impacts on the environment. This stems from man’s increasing reliance on such cars. Although, these cars offer the benefit of speed and the consequent faster reaching of destination, it comes at a cost of air pollution. On the other hand, when new technology is used infrequently and with caution, its benefits outweigh any potential problem. Such is seen in the use of brain scanners where no health impacts have reported because of its seldom usage.

[anitarama]

I apologize for missing this my last time going through and marking. Hopefully this feedback will still be useful to you!

 

Score: 5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Good introduction, though greater explanation about Liberation Therapy would allow better context for your example.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): This is a very strong refuting example.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): This is a well-explained resolution criteria tying back in the two examples introduced.

 

New technologies often hide problems that are only revealed later.

 

Often times when new technologies are developed, a great deal of hype and excitement clouds over potential problems that may be created by this new advancement. When what seems to be a novel discovery has been made, no matter what field, be it science, medicine, or computers, people want to focus on the positive aspects because it usually appears to be something that will make their lives better. People usually don't want to think of the negative aspects that may come with a new technology. Then once it is actually put into practical use, people begin to see the problems surface. For example, there was a great deal of excitement created when the Liberation Therapy was revealed as a cure for multiple sclerosis. People were overjoyed that a cure had finally been found for this terrible disease, even though there was not a great deal of information actually available on the procedure. Not to mention that it had only been tested on a very small sample size. As people began finding doctors who would perform this therapy and going to have it done, the problems began to reveal themselves. For some, it did not help and for others it was even fatal. Therefore, not very much was known about this new technology, and for that reason as time passed, problems were uncovered.

 

However, there are times when the benefits of a new technology might not hide later problems. As technology has progressed, so have many operations performed in hospitals. An example of this is laser surgery to remove the gallbladder. This procedure has become increasingly simplified with laser surgery, What used to require a much more complicated process, now just requires a small incision with a laser, no scalpels needed. In this situation, the benefits far outweigh any problems that may be revealed. This surgery has been made faster, safer and simpler. It has been tested on large sample sizes and any problems that may surface are isolated to specific situations.

 

Therefore what determines when the benefits of a new technology outweigh potential problems. The answer is that, if the new technology has been researched and adequately tested the benefits outweigh the potential problems. The example above regarding the MS Liberation Therapy, demonstrates a new technology that has not been tested diligently enough. A larger sample size should have been tested and the procedure should have been examined more closely, to help reveal problems that could have been addressed before the benefits were revealed as a cure for multiple sclerosis. However in the example regarding the removal of a gallbladder through laser surgery, this procedure has been well researched and diligently tested, so any forseeable issues could be addressed and fixed. Therefore any problems that can occur, are more specific to certain situations and can be dealt with accordingly. The benefits of faster and safer surgery far outweigh any problems that could occur in isolated situations.

[anitarama]

Score: 5.5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Very good introduction. Your example is well-explained. A specific example would have certainly strengthened your argument and I think details are always preferred over generalizations, but this example worked well as is.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): Another strong example in your Refuting Paragraph.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Your Resolution Paragraph is very in-depth. Always remember to refer explicitly back to the two examples you have introduced.

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

Describe a specific situation in which a student's academic success might depend more on intelligence than on hard work. Discuss what you think determines whether a student's academic success depends more on hard work or on intelligence.

 

 

From a young age, schools and parents work hard to teach young minds that hard work is the means of gaining success in life. Formal education is encouraged to provide a stable environment for a child to learn, and to compete in, to prove himself or herself worthy of admission to a prestigious college and a successful career later on. Hard work and intelligence then, become predictors of a student's ultimate prize, which is most often a well respected and highly paid job. Assessments are the measure of a student's academic competence; while in some subjects, an individual can derive patterns and connections simply through logic and due to their intelligence, there are other areas of study which require hard work more than intelligence.

 

For instance, students who learn to sculpt beautiful statues or use a chisel to carve into stone and create timeless masterpieces, do depend on their intelligence to a certain degree, to discern what looks appropriate and proportional, but even more imperative to their success is their technique and the hard work they put into perfecting their techniques. No matter how intelligent a sculptor, if he does not work hard to learn specific techniques, which can only be learned through repeated trials, practice and hard work, his work would be sub par when compared to another student who worked extremely hard at perfecting the appearance of his work. Visualizationof the statute or work of art may depend more heavily on intelligence and creativity, but actually creating the work of art which one has seen in one's mind's eye depends more heavily on how much time and effort a student invests into the piece. Natural talent cannot replace or compete with significant hard work.

 

However, there are also subjects in which hard work cannot help a student more than intelligence. For instance, many tests, such as IQ tests or the DAT test which is an admissions test written by students applying to dental schools, test visual and spatial recognition. This is a skill which can be practiced and improved, however, often such questions are testing a student's intelligence and ability to recognize specific angles and visually twist and shift shapes in their mind. To excel in such a test, intelligence is required more than hard work because no matter how much hard work a student may invest into practising, they may still never catch up to a student who is naturally better at such tasks. Such is the nature of the test, and why it is most likely used to screen students, because although not completely accurate, it is a good indicator of intelligence.

 

Therefore, hard work is always important for a student to succeed in life and gain goals which have been set, however, whether one requires hard work or intelligence to a greater degree depends on the type of academic pursuits. If a student wishes to succeed in a field which requires the perfection of hands on techniques, such as sculpting, or even painting etc. then the student must rely more on their hard work to keep practicing techniques to bring their imagination to life. Often, intelligence cannot be translated into success without hard work in such academic fields; many artists who we judge as being mediocre today, may have been pioneers and visionaries, but due to lack of hard work, their work cannot match with that of someone who invested weeks and perhaps even years into technique. On the other hand, there are subjects in which hard work may have a limited impact, but intelligence is required more to succeed. Tasks which test a students spatial memory or ability to recognize angles and shapes, require a student to use their intelligence to succeed. While it is true that a student may practice such recognition tasks and attempt to improve through hard work, such tests are often designed to sceen out those who had low baseline scores and made minor improvements (and hard work often only leads to slight changes in this case) vs. those that naturally had high scores. In conclusion, hard work can help us to succeed in life, and is essential in most cases, but intelligence also plays an important role in determining out future. To which degree intelligence matters, depends on the type of academic field a student chooses, as different areas place different emphasis on intelligence vs. hard work

[anitarama]

Score: 5.5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Very relevant example! And well-explained. Good introduction as well.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): Great example for your Refuting Paragraph.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): This was a good resolution criteria; remember to always tie in the examples you have already used directly into this paragraph.

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

Describe a specific situation in which a student's academic success might depend more on intelligence than on hard work. Discuss what you think determines whether a student's academic success depends more on hard work or on intelligence.

 

In today's society, the first couple decades of a person's life in marked by proceeding further along stages of institutionalized education. To gain access to the next stage, one must demonstrate proficient understanding of material that has been taught. Mastery of the subjects is often proved through examinations. A good score means the student has learned the material well and can succeed in moving onto the next stage of his education. To do well on the test, the student needs to adequately study the material that will be tested. A good example of this is the Medical College Admissions Test, or the MCAT. This test challenges its test takers by asking questions about content that must be studied beforehand. Natural intelligence would not be sufficient to answer them. The test taker must have put in a large amount of hard work before taking the test to sufficiently review the material and commit it to memory. Therefore, the students who take the MCAT are at a point in their lives when they dedicate large amounts of time and effort to show their mastery of concepts.

 

While the students who take the MCAT has set aside adequate enough time to demonstrate their knowledge, younger students have not had the opportunity to show off their knowledge in the same way. Kindergarteners are typically five year old students who have just entered into the world of institutionalized education. Since they have not yet been accustomed to the rigors of studying for exams, their natural intelligence is what shows off their competence. Since they are only beginning their first year of school, kindergarteners have not had the time to study any subjects. Therefore, at their young age, these students demonstrate their ability to go onto the first grade more with their intelligence rather than studying the material that their kindergarten teachers have taught them.

 

Ultimately, the age of the student determines if hard work takes precedence in predicting their success. When the student is at an age when they are expected to know certain subjects, then they have to put in the hard work to commit that material to memory. No amount of natural intelligence will allow them to spontaneously perform well on content based exams. On the other hand, if the student of interest is at a young age when it would be impractical to demand him to memorize subject content, then he will be assessed more so on his natural intelligence.

[anitarama]

Score: 5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Good introduction and example.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): Another strong example.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): You have given good examples and a good resolution criteria, but your last two paragraphs could use some expansion and more detail. Also, remember to introduce your criteria and then tie back in both examples to prove your conclusion to be true.

 

In today's society, children are taught from a very young age the importance of academic success. Often, academic success is correlated with success in later life, and so deemed highly desirable. In the early years of a child's life, academic success can be equated to getting good marks. As the student progresses through the education system, the definition of academic success may broaden to include the ability to put learned material into practice. As such, a student's academic success may depend more on the amount of hard work they put in than on the level of intelligence. Consider the example of a student training to be a mechanic. The student may be able very intelligent and, and he may be able to master the theoretical concepts of his subject, such as how automobiles work, but if he is unable to put these concepts into practice and actually perform the duties required of a mechanic, then his learning would seem to be for nothing. However, with hard work and practice, he could learn to apply the skills to practical situations, and thus gain academic success through his hard work. In this case, hard work would pave the way for his academic success.

 

On the other hand, there are cases when a student's academic success may depend more on intelligence than on hard work. When the student is studying a topic with a lot of abstract ideas, such as in a subject like quantum physics, the student has to be able to understand the concepts and make connections. If the ideas elude the student, then simply working hard may not be enough to drill the ideas home. A certain level of intelligence is required to be able to understand abstract theories that cannot be compensated for by sheer perseverance.

 

Thus, it is apparent that in some cases, academic success can be achieved through hard work, whereas in some cases, intelligence is the key factor. It would seem that the whether or not a student's academic success depends more on hard work or intelligence may be determined by the program of study. If the student is studying something technical that requires a lot of hands-on practice, such as a mechanic, or culinary arts, then hard work is the key. However, in cases where the program of study involves the comprehension of abstract ideas, then the student's academic success may depend more on intelligence.

[anitarama]

Yes, you will be able to copy and paste on the MCAT for the Writing Sample section.

 

Score: 5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Your introduction is good but your example could be more specific, as it is rather general at this point.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): This is a much more detailed example given.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Your Resolution Paragraph is good.

 

“I’m not smart enough!” is a common excuse that students proclaim in frustration after less than satisfactory results on an assignment. They may blame their inadequacy on their parent’s genetics, while ignoring the shameful fact that they were out partying while ignoring the looming assignment deadline, leading to late-night cramming sessions. Are certain people born with an unfair advantage of being smarter, and some people have no choice but to work harder? This controversy is shown in the varying degrees of academic success of students, which is the ability to acquire high-ranking grades that would lead to successful career opportunities. This can be achieved by two routes: hard work, defined as the number or hours put into studying, or intelligence, which involves the brain’s ability to synthesize information into creative ideas, going beyond simple rote memorization. If the student is a maths or sciences student, they must study for final examinations. It may require a considerable amount of time to study all the material, but as long as the student was willing to devote countless hours of study to reading all the lecture material, take legible notes, and spend hours at the lab conducting experiments, then he will most likely do well on the test. Putting effort into practice questions and example problems, covering every possibility, and poring his soul into textbooks until he sees numbers in his sleep will enable him to regurgitate his knowledge onto the exam until he achieves an acceptable grade. In the maths and sciences, academic success comes from blood, sweat, and tears, as exams can only test on material that was taught.

 

Although hard work is a powerful strategy for excelling in the maths of sciences, a different approach is required in subject areas where innovation is key, such as in the liberal arts. The comtempory art movement is governed by creativity; the masterful skills of historical painters have been replaced by the development of the camera. Art programs, such as Arts York of Unionville High School, promote new ideas and individuality. Replicating another artist’s work for a student project would not be an option due to copyright issues. Students can gain inspiration from other famous artists such as Ernesto Neto, or Yoko Ono, but cannot just copy them. Thus, new ideas must be created through intelligence and the student cannot simply replicate gained knowledge from textbooks. Memorization and hours spent studying would be next to useless for application in this field, thus a student must rely on his own intelligence to be creative.

 

Natural-born intelligence and solid work are both important factors for a student in the 21st century. Which factor prevails is determined by the subject of enrollment of the student; the sciences and maths require hard work, whereas the arts require intelligence. As shown in the example of the science student, the tests given are either multiple choice or short answer tests that require the replication of studied material from textbooks and lectures, requiring a large amount of dedication to actual study time. However, art students do not benefit similarly from this strategy as they instead require intelligence to create innovative art projects that cannot be a simple copy of someone else’s ideas. This debate of hard work versus intelligence serves its function as a derivative of the nature versus nurture debate. Students should be aware that, just as both our nature and nurturing contribute to our personalities, in order to excel academically as a well-rounded student, both hard work and intelligence are crucial. Integrating the best of both abilities will give a student an advantage in any subject of study.

[anitarama]

Score: 5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): This is a good introduction. Your example could be stronger but is well-explained.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): Another good example.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Well-explained Resolution Paragraph.

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

Describe a specific situation in which a student's academic success might depend more on intelligence than on hard work. Discuss what you think determines whether a student's academic success depends more on hard work or on intelligence.

 

In today’s world academic success is greatly valued as it is an integral part of an individual’s future success. It is defined as achieving a certain mark or grade in a course in an education institute such as high school or university. There have been many debates over the years as to what determines academic success: is it intelligence, the student’s natural ability, or is it hard work, defined as the number of hours of work put in? In high school years, a student’s success primarily comes from hard work. The student is required to take courses such as math and sciences. The courses have rigorous demands like assignments, tests, projects, presentations, etc. To be academically successful, a student needs to put in the necessary hours of work regardless of intelligence to succeed. This is because education at the high school level is basic and does not require much intelligence. Hence, students’ success depends on hard work rather than pure intelligence during high school education.

 

However, there are situations where intelligence plays a greater role in success than working hard. Consider, for example, university education. University education differs from high school education in many ways, one of them being that students have more freedom in choosing their courses. Students pick courses that they feel comfortable with and more fluent in. For that reason, academic success in a university environment is more based on intelligence rather than hard work. That is because university education is geared towards students’ interests and natural tendencies, or intelligence. Students choose courses and careers they are most fluent in and thus base their academic success on their intelligence.

 

So what determines whether academic success if based on strong work ethic and hard work or pure intelligence and natural abilities? It is the level of education. Secondary education requires more hard work because a student is required to study subjects that are very basic and do not require a high level of thinking. This is shown in the first example. Post-secondary education, like university education mentioned in the second example, requires more intelligence for academic success than hard work. That is because the curriculum is geared towards student interests and students’ pick their course based on their relative intelligence in the subject matter.

[anitarama]

Score: 5.5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Great introduction and example.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): Strong refuting argument.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Well-explained criteria.

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

 

 

Thomas Edison once said that “Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”. By this he meant that although intelligence is necessary, person cannot become successful without combining intelligence and hard work. Academic success means to become successful in your studies and getting good grades and it can be achieved through hard work or through god gifted intelligence. If success depends only on intelligence and not hard work, then people like Bill Gates, a high school drop out, would not have been successful. An instance when academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence, is passing and getting good grades in organic chemistry. Although organic chemistry is very analytical, one can only master is through practising reaction mechanisms and memorizing different reactions. Although a person can be genius, but he/she cannot pass organic chemistry without memorizing reactions.

 

Although hard work is important, academic success sometimes depend more on intelligence. Success depends more on intelligence on courses that involves more hands on and practical work such as lab courses or surgery. Ben Carson a famous Neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins is considered as one of the best Neurosurgeon in the country. He was the first Surgeon to be successful in performing a surgery on Crainophagus twins. He has performed many miracle surgeries and has saved many people’s life. Although, Dr. Carson was an average student in medical school, he is successful in his field due to his excellent hand-eye coordination while performing surgery.

 

The debate on whether hard work or intelligence determines academic success is never ending. But, academic success depends more on hard work in courses that requires practise and memorization while academic success depends more on intelligence in courses that are practical and are involved with hands on work. Success in organic chemistry depends more on hard work than intelligence while success in surgical courses in medical courses depends more on intelligence and god’s gift of excellent hand-eye coordination than on hard work, which was the case with Dr. Ben Carson. Based on these scenarios, Thomas Edison may have been forced to change his statement to “Success is 50 % inspiration and 50 % perspiration.”

[anitarama]

Score: 5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Very good example. Remember to capitalize proper nouns like "English".

 

Task 2 (Refuting): Strong refuting example.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Solid resolution criteria and explanation.

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

Describe a specific situation in which a student's academic success might depend more on intelligence than on hard work. Discuss what you think determines whether a student's academic success depends more on hard work or on intelligence.

 

The goal of education is to provide students with a basic skill set and a strong foundation in subjects such as mathematics, english, and art. In order to assess a student's progress in their learning and their mastery of a subject, they are usually assigned a grade based on a percentage; in the eyes of most parents and teachers, academic success usually corresponds to high marks. In turn, hard work and determination play a key role in attaining high marks or "academic success". For instance, elementary school students are taught the basics of english grammar and vocabulary. They are taught how to form sentences and how to communicate in a written manner. However, strong writing skills cannot be attained simply by learning the rules of the english language; to become a proficient writer, a student has to learn how to apply the rules through practice. With hard work, a student is more likely to become a skilled writer as they can practice different styles of writing and become more confident with their vocabulary. Therefore, a student who consistently practices their writing skills is much more likely to achieve excellent marks and a greater mastery of the english language.

 

On the other hand, intelligence can also play a critical role in a student's academic success. In this case, intelligence can be defined as an individual's ability to understand concepts and retain important information. Physics, for example, is a subject matter that is heavily involved in mathematical formulas and concepts. To succeed in physics, one must be able to remember and apply various equations to novel situations. For instance, a few fundamental equations involving speed and acceleration can often be applied to hundreds of different situations that involve moving objects. An intelligent student who understands the concepts underlying the equations will be able to use their knowledge for any novel questions that they may be faced with. Therefore, in subjects that involve abstract thinking and the application of concepts, intelligence is a vital attribute for academic success.

 

Whether academic success depends on success or hard work is highly circumstantial. Ultimately, the determining factor lies in the subject being taught. Writing is a skill that requires practice and hours of dedication to master. A student must learn through trial and error in order to achieve fluency in their writing. However, intelligence may play a greater role in more conceptually-based subjects such as physics as it requires a student to memorize and understand equations. Hard work alone cannot help a student succeed in physics if they do not understand how to use an equation.

[anitarama]

Score: 5.5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Very thorough introduction and supporting example.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): I think you have described your counterargument here in the proper amount of detail. The only suggestion I could give is to give more of a lead-in to your Refuting Paragraph for introductory purposes.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Great resolution criteria. Maybe a couple sentences of conclusion just to strengthen your overall essay.

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

The primary goal of every student is to be able to understand the concepts being taught and attain academic success, so as to excel in his field of study. Academic success comprises of not only attaining high scores on exams but also entails understanding the concepts and acquiring knowledge. Hard work is the primary key to academic successs. It entails numerous hours of effort put in to master and thoroughly understand and memorize concepts being studied. For instance when learning a topic such as the human anatomy, hard work is key to be able to master this field. Intelligence will not allow a student to innately know the human anatomy, the different type of muscles or the different number of cranial nerves. However, repetitive hard work will enable the student to memorize and retain the relative knowlege required to gain academic success. It instills a disciplined work ethic in students and a strive to achieve goals. Concepts taught in university vary on the level of difficutly. However if hard work is put in, the student not only succeeds at understanding the concept but also learns how to deal with challenging topics with the appropriate amount of hardwork dedicated towards it. Furthermore, intelligence can only help with minute details, such as the speed of understanding a topic, however it does not guarantee success as it does nothing to further that intelligence. HOwever, hard work leads to learning and understand of new concepts; success is measurable to how well a student grasps and applies concepts and that is possbile by hard work.

 

Nevertheless, it could be argued that intelligence also leads to academic success. For instance, when studying a subject such as calculus which is made up of abstract concepts, intelligence helps out a lot. In order to understand complex math concepts, intelligence is essential to grasp those concepts promptly. Even if numerous hours of hard work are put in, if a student doesn't understand the concept he probably will not be able to attain academic success in that particular topic no matter how many hours of hard work he puts in. However intelligence will allow that student to understand and apply the core concepts of calculus more promptly and accuracy. Grasping of asbtract concepts quickly will allow the student to divert his attention and energy to a different section of the topic, thus allowing him to go thorough the topics of study quickly and accurately, thus ensuring success.

 

It can be concluded that academic success cannot be pinned to either hard work or intelligence, instead it varies with the topic of study. For an infromation packed course such as anatomy, hard work is essential as the number of hours put in to study are key to understanding and memorizing the relevant information. However with a course such as calculus that runs on the understanding of abstract concepts, intelligence is essential . Since intelligence will enable a student to grasp the abstract concepts quickly, it will ensure academic success.

[anitarama]

Score: 5.5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Great introduction and detailed example.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): Another strong example.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Your Resolution Paragraph could be longer, allowing for more exploration of your criteria. Remember to tie in both of your examples directly to your criteria to prove it.

 

A students success depends more on hard work than on intelligence

 

Over the past few decades, academic success- and the factors that contribute to it- have been a hot topic in North America. George Bush’s “no child is left behind” campaign seemed to stress the importance of external influences in student achievement. Briefly, academic success refers to performing at a high level on quantitative measures of achievement. So, an academically successful student should have higher grades, and stay in school for longer. Some argue that academic success depends mostly on hard work by the student, and less on intrinsic ability, or intelligence. A landmark study conducted by Rosenthal and Jacobsen showed just that. At the beginning of the year, they arbitrarily divided students into several categories of “intelligence,” and told those students teachers that students in one particular category were especially likely to “bloom” in the upcoming year. Indeed, at the end of the school year, these bloomers did in fact perform better academically and saw a greater increase in IQ, despite being randomly placed in that category. It was later found that these bloomers received more challenging assignments from the teachers, and had been encouraged to work harder. Thus, academic success was dependent on hard work.

 

Conversely, there are times when academic success depends more on intelligence than hard work. Although putting in more effort can make an individual perform higher than their base level, there is a ceiling effect. Intelligence is largely genetically determined within a range of 10 IQ points, as measured by the Wheschler Intelligence Scale. Additionally, even when all other factors are controlled for, there is still an extremely high correlation between intelligence and all forms of academic success, including grades earned and level of education reached. This explains how some individuals can put in very little effort and still succeed academically.

 

Ultimately, whether academic success depends more on hard work or intelligence depends on an individual’s IQ range. That is, whether their IQ is average, or above average. A student of average intelligence, who works hard, will perform at the upper end of their IQ range, thus becoming more academically successful. Perhaps, we can then say that hard work can determine academic success, but only within the pre-set limits of intelligence; it’s all relative.

[anitarama]

I think that if you explicitly were to reference your essay in the context of scientific studies the essay would still stand as is.

 

Score: 4.5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): It is best not to use yourself or "I" in your essay. If you can think of a third-party example, that would be best.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): Once again, try not to use yourself as an example unless you are unable to think of any others.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Your criteria is good.

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

Describe a specific situation in which a student's academic success might depend more on intelligence than on hard work. Discuss what you think determines whether a student's academic success depends more on hard work or on intelligence.

 

 

Academic success is used by admissions committee of many professional schools including medicine, pharmacy and business. These schools realize that academic success is a bad criteria to use because academic success often depends on the hard work used doe by a student. Success in academics is to be able to get good marks in courses taken in school. It is the ability to do good on tests and projects assigned by your teachers. Both of these tasks can be accomplished by hard work. Hard work is when a student places their school above all else and works towards achieving success at schools as their primary task. Often academic success is achieved by all students who work towards achieving the best they can in class. During my time in high school, I was not able to get very high marks. I was an average science student, achieving usual grades in the 70 range. However, as time passed and I moved on to University, I realized that achieving grades is an easy task. I started doing lots of practice and started spending more and more time towards school. As soon as I made school a top priority, the mark started increasing. I now realize that academic success is a result of hard work done by a student towards their academic career.

 

When I was placed under a laboratory environment however, the hard work did not seem to work. Working in the lab for hours and hours did not get me good conclusive results. I was able to get many results, but I was unable to get conclusive results that would help me prove my hypothesis. At this point I realized that working in a lab requires more than hard work, it also requires creativity. The creative aspect of a researcher is obvious when he or she is able to come up with great methods to test a difficult hypothesis. Creativity is according to psychology a type of intelligence. Albert Einstein is a perfect example for intelligent achieving academic success. Albert Einstien is known for his intelligent thinking, not his hard work in school. His creative thinking is what helped him come up with the theory of relativity. In this case, the Intelligence of the researcher is much more useful than hard work.

 

In a person's life, both hard work and intelligence are important. While the scientist is undergoing his or her learning of basics as they do in high school and during undergraduate studies, the hard work is very much important. But when the scientist moves on do to individual research and work, their ability to do think intelligently and their ability to carry out intelligent analysis becomes critical. A researcher will only receive support for research if their project is attainable and that is only done via creative thinking. Scientists are some of the most creative thinkers and their success is determined by how creative they are and how high their intelligence. A persistent researcher will never be as successful as Albert Einstein if they do not have any intelligent thinking power.

[anitarama]

Score: 5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Good definitions and example.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): A more in-depth explanation of your example would have made this paragraph even stronger.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Solid resolution criteria.

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

Pursuing higher education, through university and college programs, is a prominent career path for many young adults in economically-developed societies. It is natural to ponder what are the underlying factors that determine success in these programs? Often "success" refers to both high grades and the achievement of merit-based awards indicanting superior performance relative to their peers. Some argue that establishing strong study habits characterized by long working hours and tedious study are the most important factors that determine student success. For example, the performance of many students in undergraduate science programs primary depends on hard work rather than a unique intelligence. Students are taught the steps and formulas required to solve complex science problems, then are expected to apply these techniques in practice questions, and finally display their skills in tests that often mirror the examples from lectures and assignments. A very small component of the tests in science programs require novel derivations of formula, and students may often file complaints against professors that present an inordinate amount of material on tests that have not been adaquately covered in lectures and assignments. The success of students in physical science programs comes as a result of working hard to cover all of the assigned material in preparation for exams.

 

On the other hand, others argue that an innate "natural intelligence", sets some students apart from others. This is more often observed in programs that revolve around creative ability, such as that of artistic design. In these programs, students are expected to create novel works and infact discouraged from regurgerating material that they would have observed before. Here, if students do not have novel ideas, no amount of hard work can bring them success.

 

In determining the degree to which "hard work" or intelligence contribute to academic sucess, then, we can consider the manner in which students are graded as a distinguishing factor. When grading is determined using technical and tangible criteria, such as those involved in marking schemes for tests in any science program, we can expect hard work to play a major role in student success. Students are expected to learn the material that is on these tests and high-ranking students are those that can outwork their peers in incorporating the material from all of their courses. However, when grading is more subjective, such as that in art-based programs, then students are more relient on natural creative ability to succeed.

[anitarama]

Score: 5.5/6

 

Task 1 (Supporting): Good example and explanation.

 

Task 2 (Refuting): Very strong example for your Refuting Paragraph.

 

Task 3 (Resolution): Well-explained resolution criteria.

 

A student's academic success depends more on hard work than on intelligence.

 

 

The success of a student usually depends on their motivation and drive to do their best and therefore reach their potential. Students have the capability to overcome the barriers of natural intelligence with hard work and determination to reach their goals. Intelligence in this case can be defined as one's natural ability. If every student allowed themselves to succumb to this "natural ability" and did not try and work hard to achieve more, then very few people would ever accomplish anything. For example, take a child who is not naturally very good at math. They do not have that natural intelligence that allows them to be proficient in the subject automatically. However with hard work, studying math concepts, doing many practice problems, and even eliciting the outside help of a tutor, a child can overcome these barriers of natural intelligence. In this case the student's success in math would depend more on hard work and the time they are willing to put in, rather than natural intelligence.

 

However, there are certain situations where a student's academic success can depend more on intelligence than on hard work. There are instances when natural ability or intelligence just cannot be overcome, even with hard work. Take for example, a medical student who wishes to become a neurosurgeon. They have worked hard to learn everything there is to know about the parts of the brain and every intricate function it has. They have read every book on how to perform surgeries and watched many different surgeries performed by neurosurgeons. However, when the student tries to put their knowledge into practice, they find that they simply do not have "the hands" for neurosurgery. In this situation, no matter how hard the student works, they will not be able to overcome this barrier and be a successful neurosurgeon. In this case natural ability/intelligence overrules hard work.

 

Therefore, what determines if a student's academic success depends more on hard work or on intelligence. The answer is, the nature of the education determines this factor. If the education is more classroom based, then hard work will more heavily determine a student's academic success. However, if the education is more practical or hands on, then intelligence/natural ability will determine academic success. In the example regarding the child struggling in math, this type of education is classroom based. It requires understanding and memorizing certain topics. If a student is not naturally "intelligent" in these areas, hard work and determination can allow them to overcome these barriers of natural ability. In the example regarding the medical student wanting to become a neurosurgeon, no amount of hard work will change their natural ability in surgery. This is practical/hands on education, where intelligence and natural ability determine success more than hard work does.