SAT 25-minute practice prompts 1. “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” --From George Bernard Shaw, Mrs. Warren’s Profession (1893) Assignment: What is your view of the idea that people make their own opportunities in life and are not controlled by their circumstances? Essay Question Source: Fiske New SAT: Insider’s Guide, 2004

2. The human mind cannot stand prosperity. The solution to one problem often contains the seeds of the next, and today’s dream can easily turn into tomorrow’s nightmare. As an ancient sage once said, “Be careful what you wish for—you may get it.” Assignment: What is your view of the idea that successes and achievements often create more problems than they solve? Essay Question Source: Fiske New SAT: Insider’s Guide, 2004

3. A) While secrecy can be destructive, some of it is indispensable in human lives. Some control over secrecy and openness is needed in order to protect identity. Such control may be needed to guard privacy, intimacy, and friendship. Adapted from Sissela Bok, “The Need for Secrecy” B) Secrecy and a free, democratic government, President Harry Truman once said, don’t mix. An open exchange of information is vital to the kind of informed citizenry essential to healthy democracy. Editorial, “Overzealous Secrecy Threatens Democracy” Assignment: Do people need to keep secrets or is secrecy harmful? Essay Question Source: The College Board, 2004

4. The principle is this: each failure leads us closer to deeper knowledge, to greater creativity in understanding old data, to new lines of inquiry. Thomas Edison experienced 10,000 failures before he succeeded in perfecting the light bulb. When a friend of his remarked that 10,000 failures was a lot, Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 10,000 times; I successfully eliminated 10,000 materials and combinations that didn’t work.” --Myles Brand, “Taking the Measure of Your Success” Assignment: What is your view on the idea that it takes failure to achieve success? Essay Question Source: The College Board, 2004

5. A) “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” --Bertrand Russell B) “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” --Sir Winston Churchill Assignment: Do you agree with the idea that war is never justified? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT Writing Workbook, Kaplan, 2004

6. A) “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” --Martin Luther King, Jr. B) “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.” --Confucius Assignment: Do you agree with the idea that being resilient in response to challenge or failure is essential for success? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT Writing Workbook, Kaplan, 2004

7. A) “The fearless are merely fearless. People who act in spite of their fear are truly brave.” --James A. LaFond-Lewis B) “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” -- Frank Herbert Assignment: Do you agree with the idea that people can exercise control over their fear, or does fear control people? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT Writing Workbook, Kaplan, 2004

8. “Justice is nothing more than the interest of the stronger.” --Thrasymachus Assignment: Is it true that the strong do what they wish? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT Writing Workbook, Kaplan, 2004

9. “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.” --Michelangelo Assignment: Do you believe, with Michelangelo, that it is better to risk failing in the attempt to do something too ambitious, or to succeed at something you were already sure you could do? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT Writing Workbook, Kaplan, 2004

10. “Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes.” --Henry J. Kaiser “The best way out is always through.” --Robert Frost Assignment: Is it true that one can always find opportunity, even in trouble? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT Writing Workbook, Kaplan, 2004

11. “Everything comes if a man will only wait.” --Benjamin Disraeli, Tancred “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” --William Jennings Bryan, Memoirs Assignment: Do you agree that persistence is the major factor in success, and that talent, genius, and education play, at best, secondary roles? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT 2005 Edition, Kaplan, 2004

12. “Life without memory is no life at all, just as an intelligence without the possibility of expression is not really an intelligence. Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action. Without it, we are nothing.” --Luis Bunuel, An Unspeakable Betrayal “Many a man fails to become a thinker for the sole reason that his memory is too good.” --Friedrich Nietzche, Maxims Assignment: Is memory as central as Bunuel believes, or does it merely hold us back? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT 2005 Edition, Kaplan, 2004

13. “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan, ‘Press on!’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” --Calvin Coolidge, Autobiography Assignment: Do you agree that persistence is the major factor in success, and that talent, genius, and education play, at best, secondary roles? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT 2005 Edition, Kaplan, 2004

14. “The weirder you’re going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person.” --P. J. O’Rourke Assignment: Does weird behavior indicate an ordinary or an extraordinary person? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT 2005 Edition, Kaplan, 2004

15. “When I played pro football, I never set out to hurt anybody deliberately…unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something.” --Dick Butkus “Pro basketball has turned into Wrestlemania, which is why I like college basketball and high school basketball. Actually, it’s why I like baseball.” --Frank Layden Assignment: Have professional sports influenced the values of American society? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT 2005 Edition, Kaplan, 2004

16. “A man walking down a crowded street noticed a dog lying by the side of the road that looked like it might be injured; but since everyone else just passed by, the man was satisfied to assume that the dog was fine. The next day he learned that the dog had been hit by a car and lay injured for two hours before a concerned man stopped and took it to the vet. The animal recovered, but the man never forgave himself for leaving it for someone else to help.” --Narawhal Bherundi, Autobiography Assignment: What is your view on individual responsibility in a situation in which many people could have reacted? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT 2005 Edition, Kaplan, 2004

17. “Don’t flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. Except in cases of necessity, which are rare, leave your friend to learn unpleasant things from his enemies; they are ready enough to tell them.” --Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table “A good friend can tell you what is the matter with you in a minute. He may not seem such a good friend after telling.” --Arthur Brisbane, The Book of Today Assignment: Should friends be honest with each other, even if a truthful comment could be hurtful? Essay Question Source: The NEW SAT 2005 Edition, Kaplan, 2004

18. Existentialist Jean Paul Sartre believed in personal freedom, holding that man is free to “write the script” for his own life: he can blame no one else if his life is a “poor performance.” On the other hand, William Blake and others in the Romantic movement felt that the expectations and restraints of society severely limit a person: they believed that schooling, organized religion, and other social institutions imprison a person’s mind and spirit. Assignment: What is your opinion of the claim that there is no such thing as free choice, that to some degree, we are always bound by the rules of society? Essay Question Source: 11 Practice Tests for the New SAT & PSAT, The Princeton Review, 2004

19. Author Betty Friedan wrote in The Feminine Mystique, “The only way for a woman, as for a man, to know herself as a person is by a creative work of her own.” Others feel that self-understanding comes from without: Harvard psychologist Ellen J. Langer states, “In the perspective of every person lies a lens through which we may better understand ourselves.” Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology, is more specific about the role of others in our selfawareness when he states that “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” Assignment: In your opinion, what must we do in order to truly understand ourselves? Essay Question Source: 11 Practice Tests for the New SAT & PSAT, The Princeton Review, 2004

20. Many Americans hold that individuals should be free to decide what they read, watch, and listen to, unrestrained by censorship laws. In a decision on the First Amendment guarantee of the right to possess “obscene” books, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall said that “Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men’s minds.” Yet others believe that citizens, especially minors, should be protected by law from unsuitable subject matter. According to Susan Baker of the Parent’s Music Resource Center, “It is simply the act of a responsible society that recognizes that some material made for adults is not appropriate for children.” Assignment: What is your opinion of the claim that sometimes censorship is justified? Essay Question Source: 11 Practice Tests for the New SAT & PSAT, The Princeton Review, 2004

21. Folk wisdom says that honesty is always the best policy. American author Jessamyn West agrees: “I have done more harm by the falseness of trying to please than by the honesty of trying to hurt.” Yet some people believe that the truth, if it is not cushioned by tact, can hurt. In fact, the Roman writer Ausonius wrote, “Veritas odium parit,” or “Truth produces hatred.” Assignment: What is your opinion of the claim that sometimes honesty is not the best policy? Essay Question Source: 11 Practice Tests for the New SAT & PSAT, The Princeton Review, 2004

22. While most people believe education is essential to life, debate has raged for centuries over what should be taught and why. Educational theorist Paulo Freire has stated that, “Education either functions as an instrument…to…bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women…participate in the transformation of their world.” John Adams, the second president of the United States, categorized education differently when he wrote, “There are two types of education…One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live.” And humanitarian Helen Keller said, “The highest aim of education is tolerance.” Assignment: What, in your opinion, is the purpose of education? Essay Question Source: 11 Practice Tests for the New SAT & PSAT, The Princeton Review, 2004

23. People sometimes refuse to acknowledge or learn from the lessons of history. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel writes, “You’ll try to incite people to learn from the past and rebel, but they will refuse to believe you. They will not listen to you.” But many believe that understanding the past is necessary to life in the present. Swiss Philosopher of History Jacob Burckhardt notes that historical knowledge is not “to make us more clever the next time, but wiser for all time.” Assignment: What is your opinion of the claim that without adequate knowledge of the past, we cannot truly understand the present? Essay Question Source: 11 Practice Tests for the New SAT & PSAT, The Princeton Review, 2004

24. Psychologist William James says that a person who is generally unwilling or unable to make conscious choices is an unhappy person. “There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision” (Principles of Psychology). He agrees with Voltaire, who wrote, “There is a certain inevitable futility in indecision.” Assignment: What is your opinion of the claim that making a bad decision is sometimes better than making no decision at all? Essay Question Source: 11 Practice Tests for the New SAT & PSAT, The Princeton Review, 2004

25. In 1964, U.S. Senator James William Fulbright spoke on the need to view issues from many perspectives: “We must dare to think ‘unthinkable’ thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. We must learn to welcome and not fear the voices of dissent.” Even Mahatma Gandhi, renowned for peace, once pronounced: “Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.” Assignment: What is your opinion of the claim that disagreement leads to progress? Essay Question Source: 11 Practice Tests for the New SAT & PSAT, The Princeton Review, 2004

26. Nearly twenty years ago, President Ronald Reagan said to scientists and Nobel laureates, “You on the cutting edge of technology have already made yesterday’s impossibilities the commonplace realities of today.” In the same year, C.P. Snow expressed a more ambivalent view: “Technology…brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other.” (NY Times) Assignment: What is your opinion of the claim that the benefits of new technology always outweigh the costs? Essay Question Source: 11 Practice Tests for the New SAT & PSAT, The Princeton Review, 2004

27. Some people believe that there is only one foolproof plan, perfect solution, or correct interpretation. But nothing is ever that simple. For better or worse, for every so-called final answer there is another way of seeing things. There is always a “however.” Assignment: Is there always another explanation or another point of view? Essay Question Source: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT, The College Board, 2004

28. Honesty is an important value in every relationship. Whether interacting with a friend, a roommate, a spouse, a parent, or another loved one, individuals expect others to be honest and feel betrayed when they are deceived. --Adapted from Jennifer Gescheidler, et al., “Deception of Parents during Adolescence" Deception can actually make it easier for people to get along. In a recent study, for example, one out of every four of the lies told by participants was told solely for the benefit of the other person. In fact, most lies are harmless social untruths in which people pretend to like someone or something more than they actually do (“Your muffins are the best!”). --Adapted from Allison Kornet, “The Truth About Lying” Assignment: Is deception ever justified? Essay Question Source: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT, The College Board, 2004

29. To change is to risk something, making us feel insecure. Not to change is a bigger risk, though we seldom feel that way. There is no choice but to change. People, however, cannot be motivated to change from the outside. All of our motivation comes from within. Assignment: What motivates people to change? Essay Question Source: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT, The College Board, 2004

30. Technology promises to make our lives easier, freeing up time for leisure pursuits. But the rapid pace of technological innovation and the split second processing capabilities of computers that can work virtually nonstop have made all of us feel rushed. We have adopted the relentless pace of the very machines that were supposed to simplify our lives, with the result that, whether at work or play, people do not feel like their lives have changed for the better. --Adapted from Karen Finucan, “Life in the Fast Lane” Assignment: Do changes that make our lives easier not necessarily make them better? Essay Question Source: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT, The College Board, 2004

31. A mistakenly cynical view of human behavior holds that people are primarily driven by selfish motives: the desire for wealth, for power, or for fame. Yet history gives us many examples of individuals who have sacrificed their own welfare for a cause or a principle that they regarded as more important than their own lives. Conscience—that powerful inner voice that tells us what is right and what is wrong—can be a more compelling force than money, power, or fame. Assignment: Is conscience a more powerful motivator than money, fame, or power? Essay Question Source: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT, The College Board, 2004

32. The old saying, “be careful what you wish for,” may be an appropriate warning. The drive to achieve a particular goal can dangerously narrow one’s perspective and encourage the fantasy that success in one endeavor will solve all of life’s difficulties. In fact, success can sometimes have unexpected consequences. Those who propel themselves toward the achievement of one goal often find that their lives are worse once “success” is achieved than they were before. Assignment: Can success be disastrous? Essay Question Source: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT, The College Board, 2004

33. A better understanding of other people contributes to the development of moral virtues. We shall be both kinder and fairer in our treatment of others if we understand them better. Understanding ourselves and understanding others are connected, since as human beings we all have things in common. --Adapted from Anne Sheppard, Aesthetics: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Art Assignment: Do we need other people in order to understand ourselves? Essay Question Source: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT, The College Board, 2004

34. There is, of course, no legitimate branch of science that enables us to predict the future accurately. Yet the degree of change in the world is so overwhelming and so promising that the future, I believe, is far brighter than anyone has contemplated since the end of the Second World War. --Adapted from Allan E. Goodman, A Brief History of the Future: The United States in a Changing World Order Assignment: Is the world changing for the better? Essay Question Source: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT, The College Board, 2004

35. “Tough challenges reveal our strengths and weaknesses.” This statement is certainly true; adversity helps us discover who we are. Hardships can often lead us to examine who we are and to question what is important in life. In fact, people who have experienced seriously adverse events frequently report that they were positively changed by their negative experiences. Assignment: Do you think that ease does not challenge us and that we need adversity to help us discover who we are? Essay Question Source: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT, The College Board, 2004

36. Traditionally the term “heroism” has been applied to those who have braved physical danger to defend a cause or to protect others. But one of the most feared dangers people face is that of disapproval by their family, peers, or community. Sometimes acting courageously requires someone to speak out at the risk of such rejection. We should consider those who do so true heroes. Assignment: Should heroes be defined as people who say what they think when we ourselves lack the courage to say it? Essay Question Source: The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT, The College Board, 2004