I am taking the SAT for the first time tomorrow (wish me luck!) and took a practice test online. Here's the essay I wrote. The prompt was about whether or not people do better when they are allowed to work their own way or on their own terms. When people are allowed to do things their own way, on their own terms, and on their own time, their creativity is allowed to flourish and brilliant things may happen like with James Watson discovery DNA. For example, look at high schools. 90% of the time a student will learn better if they're actually enjoying what they're are doing. When they're are allowed to read books they choose, they learn more and comprehend better. When they get to have control over their projects and their writing, they try harder because it's all about them. You can also look at the teachers in a high school. Many times teachers will zone out and not put a lot of effort into their lesson plans or into helping students because they're bogged down by the rules of an unprioritzed administration or one that has unrealistic expectations. That is what's happened at my high school in Bryant. Many of the great teachers are retiring because they feel the standards of the school are ridiculously high or that the administration's rules aren't fair. Another expmple would be in the workplace. If workers are put on too tight of a leash, they aren't allowed to develop any new skills or become better at their job. Employers have to give employees the chance to use their own problem solveing skills and develop as a person to be able to increase their knowledge of their career field. Also the same goes for scientists just like in the excert given. When scientists in history made monumental scientific discoveries, they didn't do so conventionally. Thomas Jefferson tried over 50 different ways to make a light bulb and after about 5 he wasn't going by the book anymore. Like the quote said, James Watson thought creatively on his own constantly and through his own methods, he discover ed the structure of DNA. There are many literary examples of what happens when individualism isn't nurtured in people. One is George Orwells's 1984. In this novel, Orwell predicts a bleak future that shows the dangers of comformity. It also shows how creativity and the need for difference cannot be squashed in humans when the character Winston rebells against his government. Another good example is Anthem by Ann Rand. In this novel, Rand creates a dystopia that is completely controlled by a harsh government with no room for intellectual growth or creative development. The main character in this book also demonstrates the inborn individualism we all have when he escapes his government. It is obvious if you look at history and the world today, people function best on their own terms. In fact, they thrive. We as humans have our own thoughts and our own mind and we don't grow as intellectuals when our individualism is taken away by the status quo's standards. We are beings with inborn creativity and no rule or standard can suppress that.