SAT Essay Practice Prompts

 

Here are a collection of SAT practice essay prompts I've gathered from various sources including online websites and many of the tests I've actually done.

1. Prompt:
   "That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only which gives everything its value."
   Thomas Paine
   
   
   Assignment:
   Do we value only what we struggle for? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations.
   
   
   
   
2. Prompt:
   If we are afraid to reveal our lack of knowledge we will not be able to learn. In order to make progress we must admit where we are now. Such an admission of ignorance is not easy. As Thoreau says, “How can we remember our ignorance which our growth requires, when we are using our knowledge all the time?”
   
   
   Assignment:
   Does the present system of education encourage us to admit our lack of knowledge, or is there too much pressure to demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
   
   
3. Prompt:
   “A little inaccuracy saves a world of explanation.”
   C.E.Ayers
   
   
   Assignment:
   Is it always essential to tell the truth, or are there circumstances in which it is better to lie? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
   
   
   
   
4. Prompt:
   Many societies believe that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human right. But it is also true that attainment of happiness remains elusive. Perhaps Bertrand Russell had it right when he said, “To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.”
   
   
   Assignment:
   What gives us more pleasure and satisfaction: the pursuit of our desires or the attainment of them? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
   
   
   
   
5. Prompt:
   “The price of greatness is responsibility.”
   Winston Churchill
   
   
   Assignment:
   Do we expect too much from our public figures? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
   
   
6. Prompt:
   “A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.”
   Alexander Pope
   
   
   Assignment:
   Do we learn more from finding out that we have made mistakes or from our successful actions? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
   
   
   
   
7. Prompt:
   “What man calls civilization always results in deserts. Man is never on the square – he uses up the fat and greenery of the earth. Each generation wastes a little more of the future with greed and lust for riches.”  Don Marquis
   
   
   Assignment:
   With our modern awareness of ecology are we likely to make sufficient progress in conservation, or are we still in danger of damaging the earth beyond repair? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
   
   
8. Prompt:
   A man who waits to believe in action before acting is anything you like, but he is not a man of action. It is as if a tennis player before returning the ball stopped to think about his views of the physical and mental advantages of tennis. You must act as you breathe.
   Georges Clemenceau
   
   
   Assignment:
   Is it true that acting quickly and instinctively is the best response to a crisis? Or are there times when an urgent situation requires a more careful consideration and a slower response? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
   
   
   
   
9. Prompt:
   There is usually a kernel of truth in the words Oscar Wilde puts in the mouth of his most outrageous characters – they wouldn’t be funny otherwise. One such gem that is worth pondering is: The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.
   
   
   Assignment:
   Is it true that when we most need advice we are least willing to listen to it? Or is good advice always welcome? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
   
   
   
   
10. Prompt:
    “Independence? That’s middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.” Bernard Shaw expected to provoke controversy with these words, but I would agree with him that these days there is too much emphasis on independence. While it is certainly true that excessive dependence on others is not a sign of maturity, total independence of others is neither attainable nor desirable: we need to be mature, and unselfish enough to recognize our interdependence.
    
    
    Assignment:
    Do we put too much emphasis on self-reliance and independence, and are we afraid of admitting that we need other people in our lives? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
    
    
    source:  http://www.majortests.com/sat/essay-topics.php
    
    

    From My Personal Practice

    1. In the 1950s, ads for newly available appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers suggested that such technological innovations would free up the housewife's time, allowing her more leisure. During the advent of personal computers, the same promise that machines would simplify our lives was regularly made or implied. However, people today work harder and are more rushed than they ever were before, and few feel that life has changed for the better.
                                                          adapted from Daryl Stradivarius, "Technical Difficulties"
    
    
    Assignment: Is it possible that things that make our lives easier can also make them more difficult? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
    
    
    
    
    2. In a recent speech, the President stressed the need for increased mathematics and science skills among students today, while saying nothing about humanities and the arts and never mentioning the word "creativity". Yet, it is not practical applications and economic incentives that best drive science forward- it is pure research done primarily for the sake of knowledge. And intellectual curiousity of that caliber requires creative minds, minds nurtured in the humanities and arts.
                                                       adapted from William Deverson, "Newton wrote Poetry"
    
    
    Assignment: How important is creativity in relation to progress in the world today? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations.  
    
    
    
    
    3.  People who engage in reckless or self-destructive behavior often justify their actions by saying  they are only hurting themselves and not anyone else. However, eveything a person does has an effect on the world. If a person behaves in an unacceptable way and other people copy that behavior, that person is responsible for the consequences. 
                                                                     adapted from Wim Dannin, "He Told Me To"
    
    
    Assignment: Are people responsible, through the examples they set, for the behaviors of other people? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations.  
    
    
    
    
    4. A collegue of the great scientist James Watson remarked that Watson was always "lounging around, arguing about problems instead of doing experiments". He concluded that "There is more than one way of doing good science". It was Watson's form of idleness, the scientist went on to say, that allowed him to solve "the greatest of all biological problems: the discovery of the structure of DNA". It is a point worth remembering a society overly concerned with efficiency.
                                                                 adapted from John C Polanyi, "Understanding Discovery"
    
    
    Assignment: Do people accomplish more when they are allowed to do things their own way? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations. 
    
    
    
    
    5.  No matter how definite a truth, no matter how resolute a conviction, there is always a "however". 
                                                                                                            Wellesley Dinton 
    
    
    Ever present, contrast is that marvelous balance of beauty and disgust, magnificence and rats. 
                                                                                                            Ralph Waldo Emerson
    
    
    Assignment: What is the value of opposites and contrasts? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support you position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, or observations.  
    
    
    
    
    
    

On the SAT: Critical Reading Long Passage Terror

 

The long passage sections of critical reading in SAT tends to be my least favorite, not that any of the others are my favorites.
These passages also tend to be the ones I get some sleep during- because I always manage to fall asleep while reading the loooong passages.

The long passage sections can either be a comparison of two medium sized passages about one topic, comparing the opinions of the first author with the opinions of the second author OR they can be just one fat, ugly paragraph by itself.

Here's an example of comparison passages:

source: http://perfectscoreproject.com/2011/06/im-having-relationship-issues/

 Now let's look at the questions that follow them:

source: http://perfectscoreproject.com/2011/06/im-having-relationship-issues/

source: http://perfectscoreproject.com/2011/06/im-having-relationship-issues/

 Here's an example of a long passage:

The pioneers of the teaching of science imagined that its
    introduction into education would remove the conventionality,
    artificiality, and backward-lookingness which were characteristic;
    of classical studies, but they were gravely disappointed. So, too, in
5   their time had the humanists thought that the study of the classical
    authors in the original would banish at once the dull pedantry and
    superstition of mediaeval scholasticism. The professional
    schoolmaster was a match for both of them, and has almost
    managed to make the understanding of chemical reactions as dull
10  and as dogmatic an affair as the reading of Virgil's Aeneid.
    The chief claim for the use of science in education is that it
    teaches a child something about the actual universe in which he is
    living, in making him acquainted with the results of scientific
15  discovery, and at the same time teaches him how to think logically
    and inductively by studying scientific method. A certain limited
    success has been reached in the first of these aims, but practically
    none at all in the second. Those privileged members of the
    community who have been through a secondary or public school
20  education may be expected to know something about the
    elementary physics and chemistry of a hundred years ago, but they
    probably know hardly more than any bright boy can pick up from
    an interest in wireless or scientific hobbies out of school hours.
    As to the learning of scientific method, the whole thing is palpably
25  a farce. Actually, for the convenience of teachers and the
    requirements of the examination system, it is necessary that the
    pupils not only do not learn scientific method but learn precisely
    the reverse, that is, to believe exactly what they are told and to
    reproduce it when asked, whether it seems nonsense to them or
30  not. The way in which educated people respond to such quackeries
    as spiritualism or astrology, not to say more dangerous ones such
    as racial theories or currency myths, shows that fifty years of
    education in the method of science in Britain or Germany has
    produced no visible effect whatever. The only way of learning the
35  method of science is the long and bitter way of personal
    experience, and, until the educational or social systems are altered
    to make this possible, the best we can expect is the production of a
    minority of people who are able to acquire some of the techniques
    of science and a still smaller minority who are able to use and
40  develop them.


1. The author implies that the 'professional schoolmaster' (line 7) has
A. no interest in teaching science
B. thwarted attempts to enliven education
C. aided true learning
D. supported the humanists
E. been a pioneer in both science and humanities.
2. The author’s attitude to secondary and public school education in the sciences is
A. ambivalent
B. neutral
C. supportive
D. satirical
E. contemptuous
3. The word ‘palpably’ (line 24) most nearly means
A. empirically
B. obviously
C. tentatively
D. markedly
E. ridiculously
4. The author blames all of the following for the failure to impart scientific method through the education system except
A. poor teaching
B. examination methods
C. lack of direct experience
D. the social and education systems
E. lack of interest on the part of students
5. If the author were to study current education in science to see how things have changed since he wrote the piece, he would probably be most interested in the answer to which of the following questions?
A. Do students know more about the world about them?
B. Do students spend more time in laboratories?
C. Can students apply their knowledge logically?
D. Have textbooks improved?
E. Do they respect their teachers?
6. Astrology (line 31) is mentioned as an example of
A. a science that needs to be better understood
B. a belief which no educated people hold
C. something unsupportable to those who have absorbed the methods of science
D. the gravest danger to society
E. an acknowledged failure of science
7. All of the following can be inferred from the text except
A. at the time of writing, not all children received a secondary school education
B. the author finds chemical reactions interesting
C. science teaching has imparted some knowledge of facts to some children
D. the author believes that many teachers are authoritarian
E. it is relatively easy to learn scientific method.

 Answers:

1.		B
2.		E
3.		B
4.		E
5.		C
6.		C
7.		E

Source:  For More Practice on Critical Reading

Here's a basic list of things to do while reading the passages:

1. underline transitional words
2. Circling, Boxing, and Underlining

1. Underlining Transitional Words

Most of the SAT Passages do not openly say "Hey Guys! This is my main idea". If that were the case, we'd all be getting 2400s. Most passages go in a weird way to state their main ideas; they say, for example, "People often consider ice cream to be unhealthy because of the contents of fat it contains. However, some health experts argue agaisnt this idea."

In this example, "However" is the transitional word. It tells you that the author's main idea isn't "Ice cream is bad" but actually "Ice cream is good". Those sly authors.
Of course, the passages won't be as simple as the example I gave you but the idea is the same.

Here are some transitional words to look out for:

Opposition
Although
However
In spite of
Rather than
Nevertheless
On the other hand
But

Support
Moreover
Besides
Additionally
Furthermore
In fact

Result
Therefore
Consequently
Accordingly
Because
When
So

2. Circling, Boxing, and Underlining

 When you come across a passage do not start straight off by reading the passage. We've been told countless times by our teachers to read the questions first, SO DO IT. It helps a lot by quickly previewing the anticipated questions, underlining what the questions are asking for, such as "main idea", "tone/mood", "what author's purpose was". Then go to the passage and underline or box or circle the needed content.

When you get a question like this:

3. The word ‘equanimity’ (line 41) most nearly means
A. status
B. happiness
C. justice
D. complacency
E. composure

First of all, it's obvious the question is asking for a definition of the word. However, many people fail to understand that many, many words have many, many different meanings that we are unfamiliar with. The best way to approach these types of questions would be to cover up the answer choices (DO NOT LOOK AT THEM, go to line 41, read the sentence the word is in, then come up with a word that you think could replace the word in the sentence.

So here's the sentence "equanimity" was in:

Under such circumstances Mr. Harding could not but feel
    that he was an Englishman who did not know how to
  live. This new doctrine of Mr. Slope and the rubbish
    cart sadly disturbed his equanimity.

You can replace the word "equanimity" with
-inner peace
-calmness

The answer was E) Composure
The goal of coming up with your own synonyms is to avoid choosing answers just because you know the definition. Just because you know the definition doesn't mean it's right because the question asks for the meaning of the word the way it is used by the author.

In my experience doing SAT questions I came across many authors who used random words and made up their definitions. They used words with completely wrong defnitions to write a sentence but it works because 1) it's their book, they can do what they want
2) it gives the same idea in the context of the sentence

Same with answering SAT questions, never answer questions based on your opinion; it's always about the author's opinion.

The author could write about how slavery benefitted America, an idea that is cruel and horrible, and although you, yourself believe the author's ideas are wrong, you have to stand in the perspective of the author in order to correctly answer the questions.

If you get a question that asks specific material on a specific line:

6. The tone of the sentence 'New men....live' (lines 34-37) is
A. objective
B. ironic
C. derogatory
D. expository
E. ambivalent

1) you should already have underlined a bunch of tone words (ie: dark, grumpy, sunshine, iridescent)
2) Go to the lines the question gave you and read 2-3 sentences before it to get a background.

On the SAT Grind: The Break Down

 

You probably don't know and don't care but I am a high school junior.

I've recently taken the November 2, 2013 SAT because that's what juniors do and received a 610 on critical reading, a 700 on math, and 680 on writing for a grand total of 1990, a pretty average score to the least.

I plan on retaking the SAT II some time again in January 2014. But enough about that. I'm going to do a series of posts on this blog about the SAT to help all those other juniors out there gain some insight.

So here's the breakdown for you:

There are three subjects (duh):
1. Critical Reading
2. Math
3. Writing

These three subjects break down into subtopics:

1.Critical Reading
a. vocabulary fill-in-da-blank
b. short passage questions
c. long passage questions

2. Math
a. Algebra
b. geometry
c. numerical operations

3. Writing
a. THE ESSAY (dun dun dun)
b. sentence find-da-error
c. correct the sentence
d. correct the passage

And these subtopics break down into even smaller subsubtopics!:D depending on the skill they're testing.

Personally, I find math the easiest to score points on (I'm in calculus), and critical reading tends to be the one I just give up on life on or fall asleep during.

Each test has about 10 sections
(1) Essay
(3) Math sections
(3) Critical Reading sections
(2) Grammar sections
and (1) survey FAKE section where they get statistics for the SAT on. You never know which section is the FAKE section so you end up doing it for nothing and it's not even going to be scored -___-

2400 is the perfect, golden score
that means,
800 on CR
800 on Math
and
800 on Writing

To get an 800 on the CR, you have to get all the questions correct.
To get an 800 on the Math, you can miss 1 question
To get an 800 on the Writing, can you either
a. get 12 (full score) on the essay + miss 1-2 on the multiple choice
or 
b. get 10-11 on the essay + perfect score on the multiple choice

Isn't that nice? You get to choose!

Sarcasm aside, I intend to post tips, tricks, formats, and helpful info on the SAT.
I hope they help!

On the SAT Grammar Grind: Idioms

raining cats and dogs

Idioms are your not so friendly little monsters if you forget them when the day of the SAT comes along. Remember them and they pile up points for you on the writing section of the test.

Here are some of the common ones...

Idioms with Prepositions 

To be familiar with

To agree with

To disagree with 

To be consistent/inconsistent with something

To enter into

To have insight into

To take an interest in

To have an interest in

To arrive in/at

To succeed in

To have confidence in
To be consistent in (one's action)
To believe in 
To trust in 

To consist of

To accept an offer of

To be convinced of

To be suspicious of 

To gain the respect of

To have an understanding of

To be suspicious of

To have memories of

To take the form of

To gain the trust/mistrust of

To be characteristic of 

To the dismay of
To be in favor of 

In the hope of
At the expense of 


To count on 
To work on 
To stumble (up)on

To turn to

The key to 

To be available to + infinitive
To be indifferent to 

To be prized for

To be grown for

To endure/last for

To call for

To receive compensation for
To argue for 
To blame for 

To predate by

To be engaged by

To be complicated by
To abide by 

To be apparent from

To defend from
To differ from 
To protect from/against 

To protest + noun, no preposition 


To wonder about 
To think about 
To wonder about 

Idioms with Gerund

Regarded as/as being
Viewed as/as being
Seen as/as being 
In the hope of being
Effective in/at being
Enjoy being
Capable of being 
To have difficulty (in) being
Stop being
Insist on being
Deny being
Report being
Consider being
Postpone being
Practice being
Avoid being 
Admit to being 
Resent being
Before being
After being
Without being
While being
Stop being

Idioms with Infinitive

Considered to be
Tempted to be 
Cease to be
Seem to be
Wish to be 
Fail to be
Neglect to be
Refuse to be
Attempt to be
Offer to be
Prepare to be
Arrange to be
Claim to be
Aim to be
Deserve to be
Proceed to be
Agree to be 
Appear to be
Promise to be 
Intend to be
Threat to be
Strive to be
Choose to be
Decide to be 

About Worry about Complain about Wonder about Curious about Think about Bring about To be particular about Against Protect against Defend against At Succeed at Adept at By Confused by Followed by Predate by Puzzled by Perplexed by Impressed by Amazed by Awed by Surprised by Stunned by Shocked by Outraged by Encouraged by Accompanied by

For Named for Recognized for Known for Famous for Celebrated for Have a tolerance for Strive for Compensate for Responsible for Watch for Look out for Wait for Last for Endure for Prized for Necessary for Criticize for Blame for Advocate for From Protect from Defend from Far from Different from Refrain from Apparent from Prevent x from doing y Opposite from Into Enter into Have insight into In Interested in Succeed in Have confidence in Engage in Take pride in In x as in y

On Based on Draw on Insist on Focus on Rely on Reflect on Dwell on Over Have power over Have control over Mull over Of Have an appreciation of Suspicious of A mastery of A command of Capable of Incapable of In recognition of Devoid of A proponent of A source of An offer of An understanding of A knowledge of Approve of Disapprove of In awe of Take advantage of Composed of Comprised of Consist of Convinced of Characteristic of Typical of In awe of In the hopes of A variety of A plethora of An abundance of To be a native of On the verge of Combination of x and y

To Recommend to Listen to Try to – not try and Prefer something to something else Devoted to In contrast to In opposition to A threat to Central to Unique to Similar to Parallel to As an alternative to Inured to Be native to Put questions to In addition to As opposed to Toward Biased toward A tendency toward With Familiar with Unfamiliar with Identify with Correlate with Sympathize with Consistent with Inconsistent with Preoccupied with Cope with/Coping with

Creative Mode: Mimic Writing

For this excerise, we were instructed to mimic the "voices", or writing styles, of many famous writers and using this, write our own verisons of the opening line of the bible.

So for example, we took the Genesis excerpt from the bible, emotionless and descriptionless, added the author's voice to it, capturing the essence, tone, and syntax of the writer.

This was our basis piece:

Genesis from the King James Bible
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face
of the deep. And  the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called  the light Day, and the darkness He called night. And the
evening and the morning were the first day.

These were the authors I tried to mimic:
-Nathaniel Hawthorne                 (Scarlet Letter)   
-Martin Luther King Jr.                ("Letter to Birmingham Jail")
-Patrick Henry                            ("Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death")
-Neil Postman                             (Amusing Ourselves to Death)
-Sandra Cisneros                        (Only Daughter)

Can you tell which mimic piece I wrote matches which author's writing style?

1.        

1. 

From the vast expense of empty Darkness and Sky, God, in his ultimate edifice of power, created the heavenly lands, tranquil yet magnificent. A face, painted brilliant blue, lapped with waves, was spread across the void. Eternal light swept across the land upon his request. Thou saw the pure, heavenly light, that it was made right, deemed that it ought to be divided from the delicate evil of the night, so that the two, black and white, would touch but never inter collide. Thus the two born twins, of black velvety vile and joyous light, were named Day and Night. At that point, the intervals of hours were firmly divided, with this deed performed, the first day and night were established, and forced to carry their  roles til the termination of eternity.

2.        

2.

 Ever since I was a child, I can firmly remember, my father’s insistence to take my six brothers and I to church every Sunday, rain or shine. Priest Francis taught the young kids about bible scriptures, stories told the great wisdom of Solom or the mystical Garden of Eden. Oddly, my favorite was the one he told of the creation of Earth, how God, I presumed because he  was lonely, created la cielo, Heaven, and la tierra, Earth. God crammed much toil in his creation, shaping the formless land into sculpture, creating light where light was absent. He severed the light from the darkness and laid the sunken vastness down with millas y millas of sparkling clear ocean. God named the divisions la luz del dia and la noche for Day and Night. Sometimes when the Day starts to sputter out rain, I wonder if it’s crying from aloneness, a loneliness that it can’t shuddered off.

3.        

3. 

My fellow brethren, this is the opportunity of which we have become allowed with, to be able to transform God’s creation of the Heaven and Earth into one lit with the light of equality. Right now, as far as I can see, it is as if the Earth were still without form, void in every corner, darkness upon our faces to one another, the oceans drained away. Is this what God intended? To have our fellow brothers and sisters walk among us, live among us, while discriminating one another? The tide of the waters will change and flow through the valleys to become the seas, the void will shape into strong mountains of justice, and God will lead us to bring in new light to this dark, dark land! The Night will never again overcome our righteousness; the Darkness and Day will be separated and all these 340 years we have waited, we will finally be blessed to see the Light.

4.        

4. 

It is hard to imagine such a time when the chains of Darkness and void have not been coiled around our ankles, although I can presume in the near future years, if I may speak truthfully, that these bounds will hold our dispositions down no longer. The Majesty of Heaven, one I revere above all earthly kings, will rise and sever the chains, and wash away the snares of our enemies, cleanse the ground with oceans and seas till only the truth is left. The lamp of God shall light my steps by which my feet are guided and soon after the light will illuminate the whole of the world. Such Darkness and Light will be transfixed apart from one another, but until then we cannot find peace nor hope.

5.        

5. 

There was a considerable amount of contemplation that must have proceeded before the creation of the Heaven and Earth, which in their simplest forms include very complex internal systems. The beginning stages of God’s creation, the land, was, obviously, without form and completely void of any living creatures. The waters were put into the sunken down areas which comprised of most of the terrestrial land (the waters in the Red Sea will later be raised by Moses as described in the Old Testament with modern backings from Ron Wyatt). After the water was instilled, the light was put forth and indeed, it was a relief after the darkness that prevailed constantly. The light was separated by certain unexplainable means of maneuvering from the darkness and God named them, generically, Day and Night. 

 Answers: 

1.  Nathaniel Hawthorne

2. Sandra Cisneros

3. MLK

4. Patrick Henry

5. Neil Postman

 

SOAPSTONE: "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!"

For all of you out there who are not familiar with SOAPSTONE, it is an acronym for writing analytical pieces on short pieces.

It stands for...

S: speaker
O: occasion
A: audience
P: purpose
S: syntax
Tone: well, its tone.

Here's SOAPSTONE applied to Patrick Henry's famous "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!"speech.

(soapstone, rock...kind of similar)

 Speaker:

Patrick Henry is an undeniably articulate speaker who can rally up passionate patriotism in his audience. Throughout his “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, he epitomizes the ideal courageous, god-fearing patriot. Henry addresses his audience respectfully, but he professionally delivers his points on the ignorance of the colonists towards the English crown. Overall, Patrick Henry is a brilliant motivational speaker who incorporates effective rhetoric in his speech.

Occasion:

Patrick Henry is addressing the speech to the audience of the Virginian Convention in hopes to persuade them to bid war against the English crown. During the time of his speech, America, as a country, did not yet come into existence. The colonists were divided on the topic of war. British oppression was exercised, heavy taxes were issued without representation and British militants were stationed to “protect” the colonists. The period was tension-filled; Henry had to address his audience carefully, persuading not forcing them.

Audience:

The audience of the Virginian Convention was defined as important white men with status in the colonies. As shown by Henry’s many references to God in his speech, the men in the audience were most likely god-fearing as well. Not all of the audience members agreed with Henry from the start, they all had mixed opinions. In example, “I hope it will not be thought disrespectful of those worthy gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite of theirs, I shall speak my sentiments freely and without reserve.” He addresses the audience in a manner that shows respect toward their perspective but simultaneously pointing out their stupidity in opinions.

Purpose:

The purpose of this speech is explicit. Henry wishes to persuade his fellow colonists to take up arms against King George III, gaining independence from Great Britain. He uses various, complex forms of rhetoric and parallelism to persuade the Convention to see from his mindset. Henry induces his audience to sever ties with England and fight for freedom.

Syntax:

Obviously shown from the astute usage of sentence structure and subtle emphasizes on certain motif words, Patrick Henry is a brilliant orator. His sentences are full of short interruptions which pause to respectfully address the audience and create pauses that allow the audience to fully absorb his points. Certain words are emphasized by repetition. He utilizes rhetorical questions, for example, “Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not…?” He uses rhetorical questions to give specific ideas to the audience without forcing them to accept it but rather guiding them to believe it. Henry also incorporates parallel structured sentences into his speech, listing out the offences of the English crown in a manner that magnifies its faults, “We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and implored interposition to arrest”.

Tone:

Henry’s speech is extremely well-thought out. It shows the careful ways he manipulated his words to form direct but respectful remarks towards his audience. His tone is urging. Henry wishes his audience to take up arms against the crown urgently. Throughout his speech he displays passionate patriotism, rising to a climax of it at the end of his last lines, “Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!”