Overcoming
Prompts - Timed Essays - Tutorials - Models
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Prompt 1 - The expression “Never, never give up” means to keep trying and neverstop working for your goals. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Tutorial Screencast - Model Essay Prompt 2 - Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People should sometimes do things that they do not enjoy doing. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. Tutorial Screencast - Model Essay |
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...more writing prompts for Overcoming!
About Me - Tell about some of the things that you regularly do that you don't really enjoy doing.
Descriptive - Describe a national difficulty that your country faced? With specific details, explain what the difficulty was and how it has affected the country since. Narrative - Tell about a personal difficulty that you overcame that has had a positive effect on your life. Tell about the events before, during and after the difficulty? Problem / Solution - A friend of yours started a new job but has had a difficult time adjusting to the demands. He's considering quitting. Give him advice on what he should do. |
Abstract - Dorothy Height said,Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals. What did she mean. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Hypothesis - After a difficult loss, what obstacles will a team need to overcome in order to win the next? Support an Opinion - Do you agree or disagree with this statement? "Poverty is easier to overcome today than it has ever been," Use specific details and examples to support your answer. |
Note for Teachers - The purpose of our 30 minute timed writing prompts is to engage learners in a carefully crafted exercise that will improve fluency of both thought and pen. Quality writing effectively expresses how a person feels, or thinks, in response to any given topic. This doesn't just happen, but requires consistent and meaningful practice (time on task)... the aim and focus of our Daily Writing Prompt website. A guide to constructing a 5 paragraph essay, along with a model passage for students to study and dissect can also be found on this page.
Model Essay - Pursuing success is a human. Naturally, success only comes with some measure of persistence, meeting challenges and failures with determination to overcome. There are many popular sayings that discourage quitting and praise persistence. Some people are adverse to giving up at all costs. Others are more measured and can see wisdom in stopping unsuccessful efforts. While there should be patience and effort through some reasonable failure, I disagree with the statement "Never, never give up" as holding to it can waste resources, increase risks and prevent success in other areas.
Some barriers cannot be overcome and continuing regardless wastes resources. There are immutable limits and finite resources of time and energy. Refusal to see when a hurdle cannot be overcome and persisting to expend valuable time irrespective of a lack of success is shortsighted and inefficient; this can prevent you from achievements that can be achieved. Imagine if instead of building a mechanized flying machine, the Wright Brothers instead strapped wings to their arms and tried to fly. This would have been an incredible waste. Some barriers are insurmountable; recognizing these as such prevent unnecessary losses.
Persistence can increase personal risks. There are many things that could be attempted that could result in injury or harm. Sometimes we should consider our failures to be warnings that keep us from trying more dangerous attempts. For example there are times in athletics that an athlete can think that just trying harder will result in success. Without the natural ability or appropriate training, continuing to attempt or increasing the effort can result in injury or possibly even death. Understanding one's natural limits either the result of ability or knowledge is critical to minimizing the potential for harm.
No longer pursuing one thing allows you to start something new. When we stop doing one thing we create space and free resources that could be applied elsewhere. If we refuse to be open to quitting, we may not ever discover where we would be the most successful. There are many stories of people who rethink failure as an opportunity elsewhere. Jesse didn't make his high school baseball team. Instead of trying again, he tried out for track. Within a few weeks he was the best athlete in the state. He later received a track scholarship to university. Had he persisted in an unsuccessful avenue, he may have never realized his true potential for success.
Negotiating towards success, minimizing dangers and maximizing the efficient use of resources are all reasons that there are moments when giving up or quitting are the reasonable and desirable reactions to failure. It is most important that we learn from our failures and sometimes the lesson is to try something new or different. Individuals that persistent in trying new things will find success. Groups and organizations need to avoid being rigid and not overly fearful of the change that should follow failure. Our society should find other ways to encourage reasonable persistence and appropriate surrender.
Some barriers cannot be overcome and continuing regardless wastes resources. There are immutable limits and finite resources of time and energy. Refusal to see when a hurdle cannot be overcome and persisting to expend valuable time irrespective of a lack of success is shortsighted and inefficient; this can prevent you from achievements that can be achieved. Imagine if instead of building a mechanized flying machine, the Wright Brothers instead strapped wings to their arms and tried to fly. This would have been an incredible waste. Some barriers are insurmountable; recognizing these as such prevent unnecessary losses.
Persistence can increase personal risks. There are many things that could be attempted that could result in injury or harm. Sometimes we should consider our failures to be warnings that keep us from trying more dangerous attempts. For example there are times in athletics that an athlete can think that just trying harder will result in success. Without the natural ability or appropriate training, continuing to attempt or increasing the effort can result in injury or possibly even death. Understanding one's natural limits either the result of ability or knowledge is critical to minimizing the potential for harm.
No longer pursuing one thing allows you to start something new. When we stop doing one thing we create space and free resources that could be applied elsewhere. If we refuse to be open to quitting, we may not ever discover where we would be the most successful. There are many stories of people who rethink failure as an opportunity elsewhere. Jesse didn't make his high school baseball team. Instead of trying again, he tried out for track. Within a few weeks he was the best athlete in the state. He later received a track scholarship to university. Had he persisted in an unsuccessful avenue, he may have never realized his true potential for success.
Negotiating towards success, minimizing dangers and maximizing the efficient use of resources are all reasons that there are moments when giving up or quitting are the reasonable and desirable reactions to failure. It is most important that we learn from our failures and sometimes the lesson is to try something new or different. Individuals that persistent in trying new things will find success. Groups and organizations need to avoid being rigid and not overly fearful of the change that should follow failure. Our society should find other ways to encourage reasonable persistence and appropriate surrender.
Model Essay - In the modern world we are no longer captive to many of the elements that surround us. It is easy for us to change our space and the things we are doing and how we do them. As a result some people say that modern man should no longer do things unless they enjoy doing them. Others continue to insist that the human experience is a challenge to overcome even if it means doing things that at least initially are not enjoyable. While certainly we should strive to do things that we enjoy or that are comfortable or even pleasurable, people should sometimes do things that they do not enjoy doing so they can enjoy potential positive outcomes, maintain social relationships and learn to enjoy things we previously disliked.
Often things that we don't enjoy have positive outcomes. Exercising results in health and working results in a salary. If one abstains from doing these things that may in the moment be less enjoyable they also never experience the positive consequences of these activities. Imagine that a person doesn't enjoy eating vegetables. If they exercise their right to completely avoid eating them, naturally their body would not get the nutrients that these healthy foods provide. Some of these benefits can not be obtained through other means. Consequence is immune to preference and if we desire to enjoy good things in our life we have to persist in doing difficult or challenging things.
Many of our relationships depend on us doing things we don't enjoy. Something that makes our relationships precious is that we have to earn them through sacrifice. A person that only does the things they enjoy never makes these sacrifices. Their self-serving will poison their relationships. For example, in families we are often presented with situations in which we do things that we would otherwise not do to provide for someone. A parent for example will wake up to comfort a frightened child or clean up after a messy child or prepare meals and clean house to provide for the physical needs of their child. In doing these less enjoyable activities a person preserves their relationship with the people they care for most.
Preferences change as we force our exposure to them. There are things that we initially don't enjoy simply because we are not familiar with them. Given time and experience we can learn to appreciate and thus enjoy previously less enjoyable activities or things. We see this often in the foods that people enjoy. For example the first few days in a foreign country many people dislike the foods that they try. However if they stay in that place for a long period of time and force themselves to eat these things frequently most if not all things will become things they enjoy. These foods that they initially rejected or could eat very little of will become foods that they want to eat and miss greatly after they return home. Thus we see that avoiding many things is shortsighted because that only perpetuates our lack of enjoyment.
So that we expand our preferences, strengthen our relationships and receive the naturally consequences of making healthy decisions, we should occasionally do things that we don't enjoy. Naturally this is not all ways easy and there are times when the things that we dislike are things that we should avoid. But as individuals persist through initial discomforts or inconveniences they will learn gain strength and skills to tackle even greater challenges. Our social context will improve as well as people think less of how they might enjoy something and more about how it may affect them and those around them. As a cultural we would benefit greatly as we discourage cultural norms that are solely pleasure seeking and self-serving and encourage those that encourage people to overcome their own self-imposed limitations.
Often things that we don't enjoy have positive outcomes. Exercising results in health and working results in a salary. If one abstains from doing these things that may in the moment be less enjoyable they also never experience the positive consequences of these activities. Imagine that a person doesn't enjoy eating vegetables. If they exercise their right to completely avoid eating them, naturally their body would not get the nutrients that these healthy foods provide. Some of these benefits can not be obtained through other means. Consequence is immune to preference and if we desire to enjoy good things in our life we have to persist in doing difficult or challenging things.
Many of our relationships depend on us doing things we don't enjoy. Something that makes our relationships precious is that we have to earn them through sacrifice. A person that only does the things they enjoy never makes these sacrifices. Their self-serving will poison their relationships. For example, in families we are often presented with situations in which we do things that we would otherwise not do to provide for someone. A parent for example will wake up to comfort a frightened child or clean up after a messy child or prepare meals and clean house to provide for the physical needs of their child. In doing these less enjoyable activities a person preserves their relationship with the people they care for most.
Preferences change as we force our exposure to them. There are things that we initially don't enjoy simply because we are not familiar with them. Given time and experience we can learn to appreciate and thus enjoy previously less enjoyable activities or things. We see this often in the foods that people enjoy. For example the first few days in a foreign country many people dislike the foods that they try. However if they stay in that place for a long period of time and force themselves to eat these things frequently most if not all things will become things they enjoy. These foods that they initially rejected or could eat very little of will become foods that they want to eat and miss greatly after they return home. Thus we see that avoiding many things is shortsighted because that only perpetuates our lack of enjoyment.
So that we expand our preferences, strengthen our relationships and receive the naturally consequences of making healthy decisions, we should occasionally do things that we don't enjoy. Naturally this is not all ways easy and there are times when the things that we dislike are things that we should avoid. But as individuals persist through initial discomforts or inconveniences they will learn gain strength and skills to tackle even greater challenges. Our social context will improve as well as people think less of how they might enjoy something and more about how it may affect them and those around them. As a cultural we would benefit greatly as we discourage cultural norms that are solely pleasure seeking and self-serving and encourage those that encourage people to overcome their own self-imposed limitations.