GREIssue高分范文
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GRE Issue高分范文
"Students should memorize facts only after they have studied the ideas, trends, and concepts that help explain those facts. Students who have learned only facts have learned very little."
The speaker makes a threshold claim that students who learn only facts learn very little, then condudes that students should always learn about concepts, ideas, and trends before they memorize facts. While I wholeheartedly agree with the threshold claim, the condusion unfairly generalizes about the learning process. In fact, following the speaker's advice would actually impede the learning of concepts and ideas, as well as impeding the development of insightful and useful new ones.
Turning first to the speaker's threshold daim, I strongly agree that ifwe learn only facts we learn very little. Consider the task of memorizing the periodic table of dements, which any student can memorize without any knowledge of chemistry, or that the table relates to chemistry. Rote memorization of the table amounts to a bit of mental exercise-an opportunity to practice memorization techniques and perhaps learn some new ones. Otherwise, the student has learned very little about chemical dements, or about anything for that matter.
As for the speaker's ultimate claim, I concede that postponing the memorization of facts until after one leams ideas and concepts holds certain advantages. With a conceptual framework already in place a student is better able to understand the meaning of a fact, and to appreciate its significance. As a result, the student is more likely to memorize the fact to begin with, and less likely to forget it as time passes. Moreover, in my observation students whose first goal is to memorize facts tend to stop there--for whatever reason. It seems that by focusing on facts first students risk equating the learning process with the assimilation of trivia; in turn, students risk learning nothing of much use in solving real world problems.
Conceding that students must learn ideas and concepts, as well as facts relating to them, in order to learning anything meaningful, I nevertheless disagree that the former should always precede the latter--for three reasons. In the first place, I see know reason why memorizing a fact cannot precede learning about its meaning and significance--as long as the student does not stop at rote memorization. Consider once again our hypothetical chemistry student. The speaker might advise this student to first learn about the historical trends leading to the discovery of the elements, or to learn about the concepts of altering chemical compounds to achieve certain reactions--before studying the periodic table. Having no familiarity with the basic vocabulary of chemistry, which includes the informarion in the periodic table, this student would come away from the first two lessons bewildered and confused in other words, having learned little.
In the second place, the speaker misunderstands the process by which we learn ideas and concepts, and by which we develop new ones. Consider, for example, how economics students learn about the relationship between supply and demand, and the resulting concept of market equilibrium, and of surplus and shortage. Learning about the dynamics of supply and demand involves (1) entertaining a theory, and perhaps even formulating a new one, (2) testing hypothetical scenarios against the theory, and (3) examining real-world facts for the purpose of confirming, refuting, modifying, or qualifying the theory. But which step should come first? The speaker would have us follow steps 1 through 3 in that order. Yet, theories, concepts, and ideas rarely materialize out of thin air; they generally emerge from empirical observations--i.e., facts. Thus the speaker's notion about how we should learn concepts and ideas gets the learning process backwards.
In the third place, strict adherence to the speaker's advice would surely lead to illconceived ideas, concepts, and theories. Why? An idea or concept conjured up without the benefit of data amounts to little more than the conjurer's hopes and desires. Accordingly, conjurers will tend to seek out facts that support their prejudices and opinions, and overlook or avoid facts that refute them. One telling example involves theories about the center of the universe.
Understandably, we ego-driven humans would prefer that the universe revolve around us.
Early theories presumed so for this reason, and facts that ran contrary to this ego-driven theory were ignored, while observers of these facts were scorned and even vilified. In short, students who strictly follow the speaker's prescription are unlikely to contribute significantly to the advancement of knowledge.
To sum up, in a vacuum facts are meaningless, and only by filling that vacuum with ideas and concepts can students learn, by gaining useful perspectives and insights about facts. Yet,since facts are the very stuff from which ideas, concepts, and trends spring, without some facts students cannot learn much of anything. In the final analysis, then, students should learn facts right along with concepts, ideas, and trends.
GRE Issue高分范文
The speaker asserts that rather than merely highlighting certain sensational events the media should provide complete coverage of more important events .While the speaker's assertion has merit from a normative standpoint,in the final analysis i find this assertion indefensible.
Upon first impression the speaker's claim seems quite compelling ,for two reasons.First ,without the benefit of a complete, unfiltered, and balanced account of a current evnets ,it is impossible to develop an informed and intelligent opinion about important social and political issue and , in turn, to contribute meaningfully to our democratic society ,which relies on broad participation in an ongoing debate about such issues to steer a proper course.the end result of our being a largely uninformed people is that we relegate the most important decisions to a handful of legislators,jurists ,and executives who may not know what is best for us.
Second,by focusing on the "sensational"-by which i take the speaker to mean comparatively shocking, entertaining , and titillating events which easily catch one's attention-from trashy talk shows and local news broadcasts to The National Enquixer and People Magazine.This trend dearly serves to undermine a society's collective sensibilities and renders a society's members more vulnerable to demagoguery; thus we should all abhor and resist the trend.
However,for serveral reasons i find the media's current trend toward highlights and the sensational to be justifiable.First ,the world is becoming an increasingly eventful place;thus with each passing year it becomes a more onerous task for the media to attempt full news coverage.Second ,we are becoming an increasingly busy society.The average U.S.worker spends nearly 60 hours per week at work now;and in most families both spouses work. Compare this startlingly busy pace to the pace a generation ago,when one bread-winner worked just over 40 hours per week.We have far less time today for news, so highlights must suffice .third,the media does in fact provide full coverage of important events;anyone can find such coverage beyond their newspaper's front page,on daily PBS news programs, and on the Internet.I would wholeheartedly agree with the speaker if the sensational highlights were all the media were willing or permited to provide;this scenario would be tantamount to thought control on a mass scale and would serve to undermine our free society.However , i am aware of no evidence of any trend in this direction.To the contrary,in my observation the media are informing us more fully than ever before;we just need to seek out that information.
On balance,then, the speaker's claim is not behave-regardless of its merits from a normative standpoint begs the question.
GRE Issue高分范文
Long black coat, large sunglasses, face buried deeply down in the turned-up collar and hurried steps denying any attempt to stop them---no, don't be alarmed; this is not a criminal at large, but only a public figure escaping the voyeuristic eyes and cameras of omnipresent tabloid reporters.
Yet it is only one side of the coin. When you come back home, what greets you in newspapers, on TV or on the Internet, are a sargasso sea of so-called exclusive news telling tales about privacies of public figures. Not only tabloids are selling what they find by voyeurism, public figures, especially singers, movie stars and such alike in show businesses, are also themselves brandishing their underwear, so as to attract the eyes and attention of the public and to remain in the spotlight.
It is a human nature to have the propensity to pry into other people's lives, especially the private lives of famous public figures, for their public lives are all so shining, so different from those of ours, that we cannot help but want to know what they are really like in real daily life and if they too have such sorrows and happiness as those common to us. By peeping into the private lives of public figures, our curiosity is satisfied, our distance from those "shining guys shortened", and our self-assurance secured by knowing that those "shining guys", too, are no more than ordinary humans.
Whereas those "shining guys", on the one hand, detest to be mixed up with ordinary human beings for they are naturally arrogant and supercilious--the inevitable by-products of fame and fortune--and strive to sustain their status and mystery, on the other hand, they have to please the public, for they know quite clearly that attention of the public is the very basis of their fame and fortune, whatever the causes of that attention. Thus, having a private life or not having a private life should not be a big bother to singers and movie stars. Actually, they sometimes are themselves selling their privacies in exchange for fame and fortune.
Yet for politicians, it is a different and a little bit complicated story. As leaders of our government, surely they have more significant responsibilities to shoulder and their behaviors matter more to the society and to every one of us. Considering the onerous tasks of politicians, should we, the public, and the mass media leave them alone and let them concentrate on their job, or thinking of the interests of the public, should the mass media act as a supervisor to those politicians and let the public be informed of their misdeeds?
As officials elected by the public and paid for by the public, politicians should undoubtedly under the supervision of the public and answer for the public. And the public, surely enough, have the right to ask for honest dealings of all kinds of issues of the government. When a politician's private affairs, such as using what power he has to secure a higher position and a higher salary for his girl friend as the Director of the World Bank did, undermine the interests of the public, the public have the right to know such scandals and reconsider their faith been laid on the politician.
But what complicates the problem is that mass media, a commercial institution, is not always so just and serves only the interests of the public and the society--its shareholders' interests have the first and foremost priority. As a result, reporters all too often pry into the private lives of politicians, trying to dig out something provocative that could serve to stimulate the public's appetite and skyrocket the sales of the newspaper.
Private life of a politician is also a vital card in the hands of his opponents. During the presidential election, private lives of presidential candidates have been snooped, exposed, exaggerated, distorted, fabricated and attacked. President Clinton's affair with L. Monica almost costs him his presidency, while helps start his wife, Hilary Clinton's political career.
All these cause pressure on politicians. Concededly, moderate pressure can help politicians remain high-spirited, discreet and prudent with their behaviors, too much pressure surely strains their nerves too much and thus undermines their energy and spirit, and therefore their working efficiency.
However, a politician also takes advantage of his own private life to establish a wanted image of himself, to win him the critical vote, or to convey a particular political gesture. For instance, the former president of Argentina, Peron married 26-year old Evita, an actress who came from the lower rung of the social ladder, to indicate his determination to stand by the poor and fight for their rights, and this private affair won Peron hearts and faith of millions of peasants and, consequently, the presidency of Argentina.
Thus, private lives of public figures are a two-edged sword--proper use of it could bring magnificent benefits for them, while abuse of it could leave them cut and injured, even fatally.
GRE Issue高分范文
"The primary goal of technological advancement should be to increase people's efficiency so that everyone has more leisure time."
The speaker contends that technology's primary goal should be to increase our efficiency for the purpose of affording us more leisure time. I concede that technology has enhanced our efficiency as we go about our everyday lives. Productivity software helps us plan and coordinate projects; intranets, the Internet, and satellite technology make us more efficient messengers; and technology even helps us prepare our food and access entertainment more efficiently. Beyond this concession, however, I find the speaker's contention indefensible from both an empirical and a normative standpoint.
The chief reason for my disagreement lies in the empirical proof: with technological advancement comes diminished leisure time. In 1960 the average U.S. family included only one breadwinner, who worked just over 40 hours per week. Since then the average work week has increased steadily to nearly 60 hours today; and in most families there are now two breadwinners. What explains this decline in leisure despite increasing efficiency that new technologies have brought about? I contend that technology itself is the culprit behind the decline. We use the additional free time that technology affords us not for leisure but rather for work. As computer technology enables greater and greater office productivity it also raises our employers' expectations--or demands--for production. Further technological advances breed still greater efficiency and, in turn, expectations. Our spiraling work load is only exacerbated by the competitive business environment in which nearly all of us work today. Moreover, every technological advance demands our time and attention in order to learn how to use the new technology. Time devoted to keeping pace with technology depletes time for leisure activities.
I disagree with the speaker for another reason as well: the suggestion that technology's chief goal should be to facilitate leisure is simply wrongheaded. There are far more vital concerns that technology can and should address. Advances in bio-technology can help cure and prevent diseases; advances in medical technology can allow for safer, less invasire diagnosis and treatment; advances in genetics can help prevent birth defects; advances in engineering and chemistry can improve the structural integrity of our buildings, roads, bridges and vehicles; information technology enables education while communication technology facilitates global participation in the democratic process. In short, health, safety, education, and freedom--and not leisure--are the proper final objectives of technology. Admittedly, advances in these areas sometimes involve improved efficiency; yet efficiency is merely a means to these more important ends.
In sum, I find indefensible the speaker's suggestion that technology's value lies chiefly in the efficiency and resulting leisure time it can afford us. The suggestion runs contrary to the overwhelming evidence that technology diminishes leisure time, and it wrongly places leisure ahead of goals such as health, safety, education, and freedom as technology's ultimate aims.
GRE Issue高分范文相关文章: