As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of
humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain
your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your
position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not
hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
The statement linking technology negatively with free thinking plays on recent human
experience over the past century. Surely there has been no time in history where the
lived lives of people have changed more dramatically. A quick reflection on a typical day
reveals how technology has revolutionized the world. Most people commute to work in
an automobile that runs on an internal combustion engine. During the workday, chances
are high that the employee will interact with a computer that processes information on
silicon bridges that are .09 microns wide. Upon leaving home, family members will be
reached through wireless networks that utilize satellites orbiting the earth. Each of
these common occurrences would have been inconceivable at the turn of the 19th
century.
The statement attempts to bridge these dramatic changes to a reduction in the ability
for humans to think for themselves. The assumption is that an increased reliance on
technology negates the need for people to think creatively to solve previous quandaries.
Looking back at the introduction, one could argue that without a car, computer, or
mobile phone, the hypothetical worker would need to find alternate methods of
transport, information processing, and communication. Technology short circuits this
thinking by making the problems obsolete. However, this reliance on technology does
not necessarily preclude the creativity that marks the human species. The prior
examples reveal that technology allows for convenience. The car, computer, and phone
all release additional time for people to live more efficiently. This efficiency does not
preclude the need for humans to think for themselves. In fact, technology frees
humanity to not only tackle new problems, but may itself create new issues that did not
exist without technology. For example, the proliferation of automobiles has introduced
a need for fuel conservation on a global scale. With increasing energy demands from
emerging markets, global warming becomes a concern inconceivable to the horse-and-
buggy generation. Likewise, dependence on oil has created nation-states that are not
dependent on taxation, allowing ruling parties to oppress minority groups such as
women. Solutions to these complex problems require the unfettered imaginations of
maverick scientists and politicians.
In contrast to the statement, we can even see how technology frees the human
imagination. Consider how the digital revolution and the advent of the internet has
allowed for an unprecedented exchange of ideas. WebMD, a popular internet portal for
medical information, permits patients to self-research symptoms for a more informed
Page 10 | Analytical Writing Assessment | www.collegepond.com
doctor visit. This exercise opens pathways of thinking that were previously closed off to
the medical layman. With increased interdisciplinary interactions, inspiration can arrive
from the most surprising corners. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the architects of the UN
Millennium Development Goals, based his ideas on emergency care triage techniques.
The unlikely marriage of economics and medicine has healed tense, hyperinflation
environments from South America to Eastern Europe. This last example provides the
most hope in how technology actually provides hope to the future of humanity. By
increasing our reliance on technology, impossible goals can now be achieved. Consider
how the late 20th century witnessed the complete elimination of smallpox. This disease
had ravaged the human race since prehistorical days, and yet with the technology of
vaccines, free thinking humans dared to imagine a world free of smallpox. Using
technology, battle plans were drawn out, and smallpox was systematically targeted and
eradicated. Technology will always mark the human experience, from the discovery of
fire to the implementation of nanotechnology. Given the history of the human race,
there will be no limit to the number of problems, both new and old, for us to tackle.
There is no need to retreat to a Luddite attitude to new things, but rather embrace a
hopeful posture to the possibilities that technology provides for new avenues of human
imagination.
- As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take In 66
- Colleges and universities should require their students to spend at least one semester studying in a foreign country Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim In developing and supporting your position 58
- The purpose of an education is to prepare students for financially rewarding careers Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take In developing and 50
- Fifteen years ago Omega University implemented a new procedure that encouraged students to evaluate the teaching effectiveness of all their professors Since that time Omega professors have begun to assign higher grades in their classes and overall student 60
- As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take In 58
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 26, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Emerging
... With increasing energy demands from emerging markets, global warming becomes a conce...
^^^^^^^^
Line 29, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Dependent
...s created nation-states that are not dependent on taxation, allowing ruling parties to...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 39, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Doctor
...ing Assessment | www.collegepond.com doctor visit. This exercise opens pathways of ...
^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
actually, but, however, if, likewise, look, may, so, for example, in contrast, in fact, such as, in contrast to
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 13.0 19.5258426966 67% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 16.0 12.4196629213 129% => OK
Conjunction : 14.0 14.8657303371 94% => OK
Relative clauses : 14.0 11.3162921348 124% => OK
Pronoun: 29.0 33.0505617978 88% => OK
Preposition: 87.0 58.6224719101 148% => OK
Nominalization: 32.0 12.9106741573 248% => Less nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 3645.0 2235.4752809 163% => OK
No of words: 633.0 442.535393258 143% => Less content wanted.
Chars per words: 5.75829383886 5.05705443957 114% => OK
Fourth root words length: 5.01592376844 4.55969084622 110% => OK
Word Length SD: 3.14677825791 2.79657885939 113% => OK
Unique words: 361.0 215.323595506 168% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.570300157978 0.4932671777 116% => OK
syllable_count: 1128.6 704.065955056 160% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.8 1.59117977528 113% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 7.0 6.24550561798 112% => OK
Article: 13.0 4.99550561798 260% => Less articles wanted as sentence beginning.
Subordination: 0.0 3.10617977528 0% => More adverbial clause wanted.
Conjunction: 7.0 1.77640449438 394% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 9.0 4.38483146067 205% => Less preposition wanted as sentence beginnings.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 35.0 20.2370786517 173% => OK
Sentence length: 18.0 23.0359550562 78% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively short.
Sentence length SD: 35.1257101025 60.3974514979 58% => The essay contains lots of sentences with the similar length. More sentence varieties wanted.
Chars per sentence: 104.142857143 118.986275619 88% => OK
Words per sentence: 18.0857142857 23.4991977007 77% => OK
Discourse Markers: 3.17142857143 5.21951772744 61% => OK
Paragraphs: 50.0 4.97078651685 1006% => Less paragraphs wanted.
Language errors: 3.0 7.80617977528 38% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 19.0 10.2758426966 185% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 7.0 5.13820224719 136% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 9.0 4.83258426966 186% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.264050312482 0.243740707755 108% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0615772138883 0.0831039109588 74% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0562334249537 0.0758088955206 74% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0506432921991 0.150359130593 34% => Maybe some paragraphs are off the topic.
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0572889489842 0.0667264976115 86% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 14.7 14.1392134831 104% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 36.28 48.8420337079 74% => OK
smog_index: 11.2 7.92365168539 141% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 12.7 12.1743820225 104% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 15.83 12.1639044944 130% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 9.87 8.38706741573 118% => OK
difficult_words: 214.0 100.480337079 213% => Less difficult words wanted.
linsear_write_formula: 8.5 11.8971910112 71% => OK
gunning_fog: 9.2 11.2143820225 82% => OK
text_standard: 10.0 11.7820224719 85% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Maximum six paragraphs wanted.
Rates: 66.67 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 4.0 Out of 6
---------------------
Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.