Would love to have feedback on GRE Issue Essay...Thanks!

[windstorm]

"Many important discoveries or creations are accidental: it is usually while seeking the answer to one question that we come across the answer to another."

 

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 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.

 

Are the majority of significant discoveries in human history accidental? When considering the stories of chance behind popular innovations such as the microwave or Viagra, it would appear so. And to an extent, chance does play a role in discovery, especially in the fields of science, technology, and medicine, where not everything is known or understood well. However, accidents are not the primary source nor are they the only source of our innovations. Many important discoveries are truly the culmination of background knowledge, observations, creative thinking, perseverance, and having an inquisitive mind and the right equipment. These tools can assist in recognizing the significance of unexpected results, leading to the path of “accidental” discoveries. As the father of microbiology, Louis Pasteur, once said, “Chance favors only the prepared mind.”

 

Consider the research conducted by Dunbar and Fuglesang, which investigated the scientific thought process for interpreting unexpected results between scientists and students. Their study found that scientists actually create conditions for unexpected discoveries, particularly through the scientific method. In general, the scientific method consists of making an observation, asking a question, forming a hypothesis, designing an experiment to test the hypothesis, and analyzing data to draw conclusions on whether the hypothesis is accepted or rejected. In the “designing an experiment” step, scientists attempt to create a controlled experiment, in which typically one variable is allowed to change while other parameters remain constant. This controlled setup is what allows scientists to identify unexpected results. However, these unexpected findings can also be the result of unforeseen biases or flaws in the methodology, such as in the design of the experiment. Fortunately, scientists have a mental toolkit, consisting of background knowledge and experience, to address unexpected results as well as the foresight to recognize the potential of their findings, which can lead to so-called accidental discoveries.

 

For instance, penicillin is widely considered by many people a significant accidental discovery by Alexander Fleming. However, in actuality Fleming did not discover penicillin. Decades before Fleming, scientists like Louis Pasteur and others were able to confirm that bacteria caused diseases but did not know how to kill the bacteria. A few years later, a chance observation by Ernst Duchesne, a French physician in the army, lead to the first study that purposed certain molds were capable of killing bacteria. The chance incident that intrigued Duchesne so much and lead to his breakthrough study occurred when he observed that army stable boys kept saddles in a dark and damp room to encourage mold growth because, according to the boys, the mold helped with saddle sores. However, Ernst Duchesne did not make the connection between the mold and the substance in it that actually killed the bacteria and his research went unnoticed for decades. It was not until Alexander Fleming’s work that penicillin was accidently rediscovered.

 

As the story goes, Fleming left several Petri dishes, containing staph bacteria, in a corner of his lab while he went on vacation for a few months. When he returned, Fleming noticed the some of the Petri dishes had been contaminated with mold, which was typical and normally would have been washed. However, Fleming’s keen eyes noticed that some of the staph bacteria near the mold had been killed, which ignited his curiosity. He conducted more research on the mold itself and found a substance he called penicillin that was capable of killing bacteria. Unfortunately, he was unable to extract the substance to produce large enough quantities that would be beneficial. It was not until a decade or so later, that the extensive work conducted by Howard Florey, Ernst Chain, and several others combined with the funding, technology, and various resources that made penicillin such a significant “accidental” discovery. It was the work done by scientists and researchers before Fleming and after Fleming as well as his background in bacteriology and immunology that were factors leading to the chance discovery of penicillin and its antibiotic properties.

 

Granted this is just one example but it reflects that accidents can have a role, albeit a small one, in many important discoveries and creations of our time, especially in the fields like science, technology, and medicine because of the unknown. However, one has to be very observant and inquisitive as well as be prepared in terms of background knowledge and experience to recognize when one stumbles across a discovery, or rather the answer to another question yet to be asked. Therefore, many important discoveries are really not accidental but rather the culmination of many people’s efforts and perseverance throughout history.

[Alexandria]

Good attempt :-) How did you know these many examples??

[Alexandria]

I think ,you have elaborated the example at quite length. You could have shorten it and might have given some other example too

[windstorm]

Thanks Alexandria! I'm still a bit rusty. I actually did some research and spent way more than 30 minutes to write it. However, I have a strategy for practicing the "analyze an issue" section. Since the GRE website has a list of all the topics it could ask (~150), I grouped them based on common themes like politics, education, etc. Ignoring the time constraint, my plan is to research and write essays for just a few topics in each category. The reason I want to do it this way is because I have difficulty thinking up/developing good examples under pressure. Once I do this, I will then randomly pick a topic to write an essay for in 30 minutes. I'm not sure how others do their practicing but this is my approach. Again, thanks!

 

Also, if you are studying for the GRE, here is a list of 6 different directions that can be asked on the analyze an issue section:

 

-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 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.

 

 

-Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.

 

 

-Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

 

 

-Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented above.

 

 

-Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim AND the reason on which that claim is based.

 

 

-Write a response in which you discuss your views on the policy above and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider the possible consequences of implementing the policy and explain how these consequences shape your position.

 

[Mohit Garg]

Windstorm, can you please share the categories that you have grouped the essays into?