An Exercise: Essay

So...I really need to work on essays. Especially timed writings. I started writing an essay using a sample prompt from the Official, but my class was way too distracting. I did this in about 25min total, which is the amount of time alloted in the actual SAT.

<---My brainstorming sheet.

Assignment: Is deception ever justified?

.....ughhhhhhhhhhh.....

Handwritten, this is a little more than one page. I still think it's a little short, but the sample essays seem to be just as short or shorter. I need to improve my vocabulary! And I just need to practice brainstorming. I used to be really good at it, and quite quick at writing decent essays...ughhhhhh...those days are gone.

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Although deception can create harmony amongst people, if not carefully constructed or executed, lies also have the power to destroy relationships. Lies are often fake truths. Therefore, if a relationship is based on a lie, it is based on something that does not exist. The foundation of the relationship is not a foundation it all, but an empty space. We can compare deception to a snowball rolling down a hill. At first, it starts out no larger than, perhaps, a baseball, but as it progresses down, it grows. Eventually, the once seemingly harmless ball of snow becomes an enormous, uncontrollable mass of ice.

When I was young, my teachers used to say, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all". Through my life, I have carried this advice and concluded that rather than deception, omission may be a more responsible choice. Through silence, both honesty and neutrality towards a subject can be achieved.

As a Christian, I strongly believe that lying is unacceptable under any circumstance. However, it is impossible to be completely honest, and, like many things in life, lying can be acceptable in moderation.

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