Writing Essays

1. Sample essay:

Every week millions of people buy lottery tickets, hoping their small investment will make them rich. They often believe that if they won a million dollars, their troubles would be over. If they actually got the money, would their dreams come true?

Whether people live "happily ever after" when they win the lottery probably depends on what their dreams are. Money can buy some things but not others.

Cash buys houses, cars, and college educations; it pays for medical treatment and clears up overdue bills. Money also purchases travel and new experiences. A million dollars could allow someone to quit a tough, boring job and try for something better. It could provide a feeling of security.

On the other hand, winning so much money could actually cause some problems. A person who quit working might eventually become bored or lose some self-respect. Family members might squabble over what should be purchased. Long-lost friends, relatives, and even complete strangers are likely to want a handout. The winner must then decide whom to help and whom to offend.

Despite all these drawbacks, I would rather win the money than not. The difficulties of having to manage a million dollars are troubles I would like to have.

2. Sample essay:

"After the baby is born, things will never be the same." People say that to expectant parents-and they are right!

It will be a long time before those parents can again sleep late in the morning. A baby wakes early, screaming for food. The toddler thinks 6 a.m. is the right time to start the day. After that come early school mornings.

It will be years before the parents can go anywhere together on the spur of the moment. Every outing must be planned ahead so that a baby-sitter can be found. The budget will be stretched, the work load will get heavier, and by the time parents can be alone, they may be too tired to talk.

Still, people want children. Why?

One reason is that children are a link to the future. They will probably be here after the parents are gone. In addition, their children will live after them.

A deeper reason for wanting children, perhaps, is that the more people we have to love, the more fulfilled our lives can be. By giving to a child, people enrich their own lives. In the end, we live not only for ourselves, but for others.

3. Sample essay:

It hurts to look at a paycheck and see how much of it was taken out for income tax. That money could have paid some important bills. It is easy to dream of doing away with the income tax and keeping all that money for ourselves.

If there were no income tax, however, the government would have a lot less to spend. The money we send to Washington seems to fall into a black hole and disappear. Actually, though, many people depend on it. The money pays the salaries of government employees, who provide services from drug control to highway building. It supports our military defense. Also, much of the money is returned to people in the form of student loans, veterans' benefits, and payments to farmers, for example. The government has been working to cut its budget lately. With every cut, someone complains loudly.

So if the income tax were eliminated, other taxes would have to make up for it. Paying those other taxes would also hurt. Sales taxes fall most heavily on poor people. Taxes on manufacturers only result in higher prices to consumers.

Income taxes are not fun to pay. But doing without them would be worse. In my opinion, income taxes should be made as fair as possible. Then we each must "bite the bullet" and do our share.

4. Sample essay:

Television has changed both the way we spend our time and what we know about the world. Some of the changes brought by television have improved our way of life, but others have made it worse.

People today on the average spend several hours a day watching television. In times past, they would sit on their front steps and visit on nice evenings. This neighborly visiting built close friendships, but it seldom takes place any longer. Even though families may all watch TV together, they may not communicate much. Some women have called themselves "sports widows" because their husbands spend every spare minute watching televised football, baseball, and other sports.

On the other hand, people have learned more about the world because of television. People in small towns know more about the city, and people in cities have learned about the country. Politicians, celebrities, wars, and disasters appear in the living room. Programs take viewers to the bottom of the sea, the tops of mountains, and even outer space.

Some people think television leads to violence, immorality, and greed for possessions. I am not sure whether this is true. However, good or bad, TV is here to stay. It is up to each

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of us to make the most of its opportunities and avoid its problems.

5. Sample essay:

When lack of money prevents us from having something we want very much, it is tempting to dream of being rich. It is hard to keep in mind that Americans are already wealthy compared with people in many other parts of the world. Our modern conveniences would have been the envy of kings in times past. Just the same, most people would like a larger. Whether most people are capable of making a lot of money is another question.

People in average circumstances can often get ahead through education, hard work, and careful money management. But getting ahead is not the same as actually becoming rich.

Only a small percentage of Americans could be called truly wealthy. Some people joined this group from ordinary beginnings. Usually they have done it by carefully riding some major development in the economy on its way up. In the past, great fortunes have been made in oil, steel, and railroads. Recently, some people have made millions in computers and real estate.

Usually, though, it takes money to make money. Big investors often start rich and then get richer.

Most of us cannot strike oil or start the next new technical breakthrough. Most people are not born into wealthy families, either. In America it certainly is possible to become more prosperous. But unless someone wins the lottery, real wealth is not very likely to come along.

6. Sample essay:

You come home alone after a long day at work. You open the door to your home. No one is there. Is it blessed silence you hear - or echoing emptiness?

The millions of people who live alone today may have either experience. Some love living alone, yet others wish they didn't have to.

When they open that door at night, people who live alone do not have to put up with demands or listen to someone's noise or meet anyone's dinner deadlines. They do not have to debate about which TV program to watch or stay off the phone because someone else is expecting an important call. No one else messes up their kitchen.

But when they are sick, no one else will bring them an aspirin or call the doctor. Preparing dinner for one can be difficult, and eating dinner for one night after night can be very lonely. Perhaps no one really cares what they did all day. If they are feeling sad, there may be no one to cheer them up. Some people who live alone say the worst times come when something very good happens because there is no one to share the joy.

During the course of a lifetime, one may sometimes live with others and sometimes live alone. Each way of life has its advantages. Learning to take advantage of them is one key to contentment.

7. Sample essay:

Sports includes both national teams and the teams for the rest of us. The national teams are mainly concerned with winning and with money. The other teams are mainly concerned with winning and with money. The other teams provide different satisfactions.

Being on a team helps people learn teamwork - to rely on others and to do their own part as well. Players learn both to win and to lose. When the team loses, the members learn that they can come back from a loss. They look for the reasons they were beaten, work on their weaknesses, and try again. When the team wins, the members can learn to be gracious winners and good sports.

Sports are also for play. Most of us have work to do most of the time. Now and then we need to have fun. Sports can provide the time to relax.

If a team helps people learn to work together, lose win, and have fun, it's a winner regardless of the score. But if players on a winning team have not worked together, if they feel that winning makes them better than others, if there was no joy in the sport, those winners are losers.

Having the winning score is important. Being a winner as a person is worth even more.

8. Sample essay:

Advertisers who directly attack their competitors may amuse me if they do it cleverly. However, they have probably lost me as a customer.

Companies who attack their rivals remind me of people who boost their egos by criticizing others. When people do this, I often suspect they have little to offer and may even have something to hide. I would rather find out what is good about a person, not what is bad about someone else.

Similarly, I like advertising that lets me know about products that might meet my needs. I don't place much faith in ads telling me what may be wrong with a rival product. I tend to suspect that the information could be biased.

I also believe advertisers are foolish to name their rivals because by doing so they give the competing product free publicity. If the competition is worth attacking, I tend to think it may actually have something to offer.

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