242 ❯ STEP 5. Build Your Test-Taking Confidence
1 2 3 4 5 1Thoreau Passage—Student Sample A
In this passage, Henry David Thoreau clearly states that progress is made from
generation to generation. However, Thoreau discredits his elders, writing “They have
told me nothing, and probably cannot tell me anything.” Instead, I would like to argue
that the knowledge of those who are older and wiser is of great value. To illustrate this
thesis, three examples will be used, first, a doctoral student, second, the protagonist of
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and third, the twentieth-century poet, T. S. Eliot.
The doctoral student in question is studying physics, the science of motion. In order
to reach graduate school, the student must first graduate from elementary, middle and high
school. During those years, the student learns to read, an ancient art taught him by a
teacher—one who is older than he is and can impart knowledge to him. The numerous
teachers he will have impart laws of mathematics, science, and nature. He must learn
these rules established by scientists like Descartes, Einstein, and Aristotle. Eventually,
he will reach college, where professors will continue to introduce the student to fields
like calculus and quantum mechanics. Knowledge of all these fields is necessary for the
student to pursue his doctoral work; he must obtain information of the past in order to
formulate his own ideas in the future.
From another perspective, Victor Frankenstein, the title character in Mary Shelley’s
chef d’oeuvre spends his childhood reading metaphysical scientists of the Middle Ages. He
later attends university, where his professor instructs him in the natural sciences. Victor
then spends years assembling the theories of his elders into a new form, one that will let
him re-create life. Bringing the monster to life is a collaborative effort of his creativity and
the genius of those who live before him.
Finally, T. S. Eliot firmly believed that one must first study literature before
creating it. Evidence of this theory is most clearly demonstrated in the opening lines
of The Wasteland, which reference the beginning of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
Other allusions to Shakespeare, Greek tragedy, and far Eastern religions are scattered
throughout the text. By recognizing the significant contributions of his elders, Eliot
derived his own place in history. These allusions demonstrate that Eliot felt learning
from others was crucial to forming his opinion.
In conclusion, all three examples refute Thoreau’s statement that “Age is no better,
hardly so well-qualified for an instructor of youth.” The doctoral student, Victor
Frankenstein, and T. S. Eliot all illustrate the importance of learning from the past as a
means of promoting the present.Thoreau Passage—Student Sample B
Do old people offer valuable advice? Why of course they do! Life has not changed
so much that old people cannot relate to teenage life today. Experience is key to giving
advice. The ability to empathize and understand is very important for an older person to
give advice to a younger person. Henry David Thoreau’s point of view in “Walden” is
that old people are not capable of offering decent advice. He is incorrect in holding this