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Please rate my Issue essay (In any field of endeavor, it...)
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21 Aug 2016, 11:45
21 Aug 2016, 11:45
2
In any field of endeavor, it is impossible to make a significant contribution without first being strongly influenced by past achievements within that field.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
The author of the topic states an assertion that it is impossible to make large and meaningful contributions to one's field of work without the prior existence of past successes. While some may argue that this statement holds true all the time, others may counter that claim by providing examples of individuals who made significant contributions to their field of work without prior success. In my essay, I will highlight both sides of the argument, and also provide a sound reasoning for my claims.
On one hand, the assertion seems probable. After all, the age old saying "practice makes perfect" is etched in our memories for a reason. There exists a concept in organizational and social psychology called "positive reinforcement", which refers to feelings of positivity and confidence that stem from prior positive actions. Positive reinforcement is a common determinant of employee and human motivation. For example, if you work as a software engineer and you successfully code 100 bits of data in under 5 minutes (an above average feat), then you would be "positively motivated" to continue coding even more. The same applies to other areas of life. if you look at sports (such as the Olympic games), our players are made to practice extremely hard before qualifying for the Olympics. This level of skill doesn't come without prior success on the field. Even in other areas such as the arts and sciences, one needs to achieve surmountable amount of success to catapult their career trajectory. It is for this reason that job promotions exist (to separate the "dooers" from the "sayers")
Another reason why past sucess might be a strong indicator of future success can be the fact that past success is mostly only obtained by a series of trials and errors. These experiences teach us the meaning of failure, and also teach us what our strengths and weaknesses are. It is only when we are more self aware that we can do our best in whatever we do.
However, it is also fair to say that while the above two reasons might hold true in most cases, one cannot assert that it is impossible to achieve career success without past achievement. Take a walk down memory lane and reflect on what great world leaders of the past have done. Legendary world icons like Mahatma Gandhi, Rosalie Parks and Martin Luther King (to name a few) did not have prior experience in leading a revolution. They did what their heart and mind was set out to do. They may have been powerful individuals, but they surely didn't achieve success by having prior experience in fighting for human rights. Similarly, in the performing arts, there is a term for people who achieve what is known as "overnight success". They are called "one hit wonders". A good example of this was teen sensation Rebecca Black, who uploaded a video of herself playing a song called "Friday" in 2009 that became an internet sensation. She had no experience in the music industry, but still managed to make an impact in it. JK Rowling is another fantastic example of someone who produced one of the greatest children's novels of the modern time, with no prior successful writing experience.
Thus, it can be said that while achieving success in one's field does add a lot of weight to one's credibility, it is not a prerequisite to success. Success is a combination of hard work, determination and luck. For some, luck plays in their favour better than others. For others, luck doesn't, and it is those people that aren't as lucky as others, who have to work harder, faster and better to get ahead in life.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
The author of the topic states an assertion that it is impossible to make large and meaningful contributions to one's field of work without the prior existence of past successes. While some may argue that this statement holds true all the time, others may counter that claim by providing examples of individuals who made significant contributions to their field of work without prior success. In my essay, I will highlight both sides of the argument, and also provide a sound reasoning for my claims.
On one hand, the assertion seems probable. After all, the age old saying "practice makes perfect" is etched in our memories for a reason. There exists a concept in organizational and social psychology called "positive reinforcement", which refers to feelings of positivity and confidence that stem from prior positive actions. Positive reinforcement is a common determinant of employee and human motivation. For example, if you work as a software engineer and you successfully code 100 bits of data in under 5 minutes (an above average feat), then you would be "positively motivated" to continue coding even more. The same applies to other areas of life. if you look at sports (such as the Olympic games), our players are made to practice extremely hard before qualifying for the Olympics. This level of skill doesn't come without prior success on the field. Even in other areas such as the arts and sciences, one needs to achieve surmountable amount of success to catapult their career trajectory. It is for this reason that job promotions exist (to separate the "dooers" from the "sayers")
Another reason why past sucess might be a strong indicator of future success can be the fact that past success is mostly only obtained by a series of trials and errors. These experiences teach us the meaning of failure, and also teach us what our strengths and weaknesses are. It is only when we are more self aware that we can do our best in whatever we do.
However, it is also fair to say that while the above two reasons might hold true in most cases, one cannot assert that it is impossible to achieve career success without past achievement. Take a walk down memory lane and reflect on what great world leaders of the past have done. Legendary world icons like Mahatma Gandhi, Rosalie Parks and Martin Luther King (to name a few) did not have prior experience in leading a revolution. They did what their heart and mind was set out to do. They may have been powerful individuals, but they surely didn't achieve success by having prior experience in fighting for human rights. Similarly, in the performing arts, there is a term for people who achieve what is known as "overnight success". They are called "one hit wonders". A good example of this was teen sensation Rebecca Black, who uploaded a video of herself playing a song called "Friday" in 2009 that became an internet sensation. She had no experience in the music industry, but still managed to make an impact in it. JK Rowling is another fantastic example of someone who produced one of the greatest children's novels of the modern time, with no prior successful writing experience.
Thus, it can be said that while achieving success in one's field does add a lot of weight to one's credibility, it is not a prerequisite to success. Success is a combination of hard work, determination and luck. For some, luck plays in their favour better than others. For others, luck doesn't, and it is those people that aren't as lucky as others, who have to work harder, faster and better to get ahead in life.
Re: Please rate my Issue essay (In any field of endeavor, it...)
[#permalink]
23 Aug 2016, 18:09
23 Aug 2016, 18:09
Very well structured and great examples.
This would definitely get you a 4.5 - 5
This would definitely get you a 4.5 - 5
Re: Please rate my Issue essay (In any field of endeavor, it...)
[#permalink]
20 Jun 2020, 10:15
20 Jun 2020, 10:15
please can you review my essay
It's believed that experience is the best teacher one can have, it guides and roots learnings deep into their heart. Humankind has always evolved, and history is its proof. Conversely, there have been many endeavors that have been achieved at the very first attempt, and therefore it is not that ‘every’ endeavor as stated in the statement needs the strong influence of the past.
After the failure of India’s mission “chandryan” to reach the moon, the whole world had lost hope in the space-organization of India. Later, just a few months, India announced its mission to Mars. Mars where no space organization had ever made up to. So, it was a completely new mission with no prior experience regarding various factors of the atmosphere of Mars. Yet it was a successful mission at the very first attempt. This example proves that at times, there doesn't need to be any prior experience to achieve your goal, surely experience can guide u well but is not a desideratum.
Like the previous examples, there are various fields such as Nanotechnology, particle acceleration, Nuclear power generation which does not always provide a rule book based on previous experiences to solve every problem. After the incident at the Nuclear plant of Chernobyl, it was believed that worst of the case was over and now we have a better understanding of what precautions to take and the way we can manage if anything goes wrong. Right when everything was going perfect, Japan experienced a new challenge one like never before. There was a meltdown due to the natural calamity tsunami. No one had any idea how to resolve such a problem when facing a tsunami, millions of lives were at stake and the country was already facing devastation due to the tsunami. Still, Japan succeeded in controlling the meltdown and restricting its spread saving millions of lives, not just of humans but also of the animal kingdom.
It's not true that we succeeded always without experience. Appolo mission is one of the best examples which portrays that we learn a lot form the past failures and experiences, resulting in a better performance the next time. Plus, we do need experience in several fields to make better decisions one of which is health care. We still heavily depend on earlier studies and experiment to develop our health care sector, but the words ‘every’ and ‘must’ does make the statement ambiguous.
It's believed that experience is the best teacher one can have, it guides and roots learnings deep into their heart. Humankind has always evolved, and history is its proof. Conversely, there have been many endeavors that have been achieved at the very first attempt, and therefore it is not that ‘every’ endeavor as stated in the statement needs the strong influence of the past.
After the failure of India’s mission “chandryan” to reach the moon, the whole world had lost hope in the space-organization of India. Later, just a few months, India announced its mission to Mars. Mars where no space organization had ever made up to. So, it was a completely new mission with no prior experience regarding various factors of the atmosphere of Mars. Yet it was a successful mission at the very first attempt. This example proves that at times, there doesn't need to be any prior experience to achieve your goal, surely experience can guide u well but is not a desideratum.
Like the previous examples, there are various fields such as Nanotechnology, particle acceleration, Nuclear power generation which does not always provide a rule book based on previous experiences to solve every problem. After the incident at the Nuclear plant of Chernobyl, it was believed that worst of the case was over and now we have a better understanding of what precautions to take and the way we can manage if anything goes wrong. Right when everything was going perfect, Japan experienced a new challenge one like never before. There was a meltdown due to the natural calamity tsunami. No one had any idea how to resolve such a problem when facing a tsunami, millions of lives were at stake and the country was already facing devastation due to the tsunami. Still, Japan succeeded in controlling the meltdown and restricting its spread saving millions of lives, not just of humans but also of the animal kingdom.
It's not true that we succeeded always without experience. Appolo mission is one of the best examples which portrays that we learn a lot form the past failures and experiences, resulting in a better performance the next time. Plus, we do need experience in several fields to make better decisions one of which is health care. We still heavily depend on earlier studies and experiment to develop our health care sector, but the words ‘every’ and ‘must’ does make the statement ambiguous.
