Sample Persuasive Response Evaluating a Quotation

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1 Sample Persuasive Response Evaluating a Quotation 2009 prompt, Question 3 Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant. Horace Consider this quotation about adversity from the Roman poet Horace. Then write an essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies Horace s assertion about the role that adversity (financial or political hardship, danger, misfortune, etc.) plays in developing a person s character. Support your argument with appropriate evidence from your reading, observation, or experience. 1. Three examples - connect to the theme 2. Asks and answers a question 3. Connects to the prompts 4. Transitions into thesis Opening Paragraph - Theme Nelson Mandela, Stephen Hawking, J.K. Rowling our society loves to hear of the person who triumphs over adversity. But would these talents and achievements have arisen anyway or more easily if the person had lived a life that was not so challenging? Possibly, but I tend to agree with the Roman poet Horace who claimed that adversity has a way of rousing talent from slumber. Although living a relatively easy life may have its benefits, adversity stimulates and sharpens a person in many ways prosperity cannot. 1. Presents an assumption and challenges it 2. Connects to the specific prompt 3. Transitions into thesis Opening Paragraph - Challenge an Assumption Many people assume that an ideal life is one filled with plenty of leisure time and very little loss or suffering. However, this assumption ignores the undying human need to face challenges and overcome them. The Roman poet Horace understood this need; in fact, he claimed that adversity has a way of rousing talent from slumber. Although living a relatively easy life may have its benefits, adversity stimulates and sharpens a person in many ways prosperity cannot.

2 Various Types of Body Paragraphs - Same Example - Four Ways Body # 1 - Deductive Reasoning Example 1. Topic sentence 2. Uses specific, real-world examples 3. Explains how the examples support the point 4. Concluding sentence Quite simply, the way people respond to adversity will either illustrate their talents or reveal the flaws in their character. This concept of action and reaction is clearly demonstrated in the world of science. Biology teaches us that a stimulus will elicit a response, while Newton taught us that one force provokes another in opposition to it. While various life experiences might elicit a response, adversity may be more similar to physics than biology. Physical law does not simply request a response - it demands it. The same principle holds true in life: a person who does not fight back will never overcome adversity, and hardship will prevail. Those who fight back develop their abilities and become better human beings; those who shrink from the challenge fail to grow. Body # 1 - Inductive Reasoning Example 1. Uses specific, real-world examples 2. Identifies a principle related to the argument 3. Explains how the principle relates to the argument 4. Logically leads to a conclusion - topic sentence Biology teaches us that a stimulus will elicit a response, while Newton taught us that one force provokes another in opposition to it. While various life experiences might elicit a response, adversity may be more similar to physics than biology. Physical law does not simply request a response - it demands it. The same principle holds true in life: a person who does not fight back will never overcome adversity, and hardship will prevail. Quite simply, the way people respond to adversity will either illustrate their talents or reveal the flaws that will ultimately limit them. Body # 1 - Refutation / Rebuttal 1. Identifies an argument from the other side 2. Concedes a point 3. Explains why the other side is still wrong 4. Uses specific examples to support the rebuttal 5. Ends with YOUR argument (topic sentence) Those who disagree with Horace might claim that facing adversity weakens a human being. Admittedly, in the short term, this argument has merit. No one wants to experience difficulty, and human beings are bound to feel disappointment or frustration when facing adversity. However, while various life experiences might elicit a short term biological response, adversity may be more similar to physics than biology. Physical law does not simply request a response - it demands it. The same principle holds true in life: a person who wallows in sadness will never overcome adversity, and hardship will prevail. Quite simply, the way people respond to adversity will either illustrate their talents or reveal the flaws that will ultimately limit them. Body # 1 - Define and Argue 1. Defines the problem at hand 2. Logically connects the definition with the argument 4. Uses specific examples to support the argument 5. Ends with YOUR argument (topic sentence) In order to understand the effects of adversity, one must first define it. Adversity refers to any difficulties or misfortunes that a person might face in life. This definition makes it clear that adversity is not something a human being can avoid; therefore, all human beings must be prepared to respond to it. Consider the world of science - the human experience with adversity is similar to what Newton taught us: one force provokes another in opposition to it. The same principle holds true in life: a person must fight back against adversity. A person who wallows in sadness will never overcome adversity, and hardship will prevail. Quite simply, the way people respond to adversity will either illustrate their talents or reveal the flaws that will ultimately limit them.

3 Body # 2 1. Transitions into the paragraph by using a transition from the previous paragraph 2. Connects to the argument about adversity 3. Uses specific, real-world examples 4. Logically leads to a conclusion Not only does adversity force us to overcome minor difficulties and misfortunes, it also forces us to rely on our basic survival instincts. Survival, of course, is a powerful motivator. Evolutions runs on it; in this sense every organism on the planet responds to adversity. This survival imperative is so powerful, it has been used beyond the biological creatures into which it is hard-coded. Computers now make use of genetic algorithms, wherein competing solutions to a problem say, the correct shape of an aircraft wing are selected, mathematically- bred, and mutated into a new generation. Adversity, it seems, elicits talents from more than just humans. In order to survive, everything - even machines - must find a way to overcome adversity.

4 Body # 3 1. Transitions into the paragraph by introducing the other side s point of view 2. Explains why the other side s argument is flawed 3. Uses an example from literature to support the rebuttal 4. Concluding sentence suggests the gains that come from facing hardship On the other hand, those who face little adversity in life may have an increased amount of leisure time for free thought. One might think that this would lead to greater personal growth. However, the prosperous man has no pressing needs or emergencies that actually require him to develop talents to counter adversity, and without some form of pressure, human beings tend to stagnate. The novel Brave New World provides a literary example of this phenomenon. The people in this utopia are always fed. They are always happy. There is infinite entertainment in all imaginable forms. But there is no growth. When the leader of this society asks an outsider if he truly wants pain, death, and hardship, the savage simply replies, I claim them all, and took with him all the good things the prosperous lacked love, family, Shakespeare, and much more.

5 Conclusion 1. Continues the discussion from the end of the previous paragraph 2. Connects the discussion to the topic 3. Logically builds to a restatement of the thesis (position) In fiction, a character often ends a story realizing far more than he did when he began. The conflicts and resolutions he has been through have forced this realization on him. Character development is not merely a literary construct it exists in life. We cannot live and we cannot grow without understanding that we are not living perfectly and that we have a need to grow. Awakening this impulse for growth is the true value of adversity.