496 McGRAW-HILL’S SAT
Sample Essays: Practice Essay 10
Consider carefully the issue discussed in the following passage, then write an essay that answers the
question posed in the assignment.We love best not what gives the greatest pleasure, but what comes through the
greatest effort, because this effort provides meaning. A plastic medallion received
after completing a marathon is not just a $2.00 trinket, but the representation of months
of effort and sacrifice. The best things in life are not free, but come at the expense of
hard work.Assignment: Do we love things most that come at a great cost, or are the best things in life
truly free?Write an essay in which you answer this question and discuss your point
of view on this issue. Support your position logically with examples from literature,
the arts, history, politics, science and technology, current events, or your experience
or observation.Sample: 4 points out of 6
We love best not that which gives great pleasure, but what comes through great effort. What do we mean by
“love”? For one may love one’s mother, chocolate and fine art, all in different ways and all of which usually come
with little effort. But perhaps love means “value,” as in one loves freedom and one loves life. It is often observed
that those who have had to fight for freedom love it more, and those who have recovered from near death acci-
dents or disease have a greater love of freedom and life.
It is an American phenomenon that freedoms are valued so highly because so many Americans have suffered
religious or political persecution and suffered great hardship to escape to this country. However, there are many
things one loves which are not achieved through great effort, and there are many things achieved through great
effort that one comes to hate. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam expresses a way to achieve love, contentment
and happiness without effort. It suggests the less effort the better. John Ruskin said, “Life without work is guilt,
life without art is brutality,” suggesting that effort and love are two separate things.
The Calvinists, and the Protestant ethic, suggest that the only thing worth achieving is achieved through hard
work. Or perhaps, they suggest that hard work in itself gives satisfaction. Although something achieved through
effort is valued (loved) more highly than the same thing received as a gift, many things are loved intensely with-
out regard to the effort expended.
Although some have discarded the Cartesian duality of mind and body, perhaps it is a real separation. Great
effort satisfies the body primarily. The body loves to work. Love, on the other hand, satisfies the mind or the soul.
As Ruskin suggests, if I work hard to achieve a pot of gold, I may find love of riches does not satisfy, but if I
work hard to create a work of art, and craft a beautiful shaped and molded chair, I may find that I love this chair
more than any other in the world.
Evaluation:This essay presents a thoughtful point of view but fails to take a clear stance on whether what we love
most are things that are free or that come at a great cost. It goes back and forth so often that the reader feels as if she
is watching a tennis match. Still, there are things that the author does well, such as discussing intriguing examples
of Calvinism and freedom and citing interesting authorities such as Omar Khayam and John Ruskin. The author
demonstrates a good facility with language but does not adequately focus the essay to achieve one of the highest
scores.