In any field of endeavor, it is impossible to make a significant contribution
without first being strongly influenced by past achievements in that field.
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.
The premise that significant contributions in any field can only be made through
the influence from past achievements in that field holds true in the modern
world. Modern appliances, advanced medicine, and improved fuel efficiency are
founded on earlier models. The next big thing is simply a version of the last big
thing. It may be thinner, smaller, faster, or more intuitive, but, fundamentally, it
is the same thing. The ubiquitous television sets in people’s homes today are
probably hanging on the wall and have plasma or LCD screens. These bigger,
brighter versions essentially perform the same function as the older, bulkier
vacuum tube models; they bring moving pictures into our homes. The Band-Aids
found in every medicine chest come in a variety of sizes, colors, with or without
an antibacterial cream embedded, and even in liquid form. These superior
bandages also perform the same function as their predecessors; they cover cuts
and scrapes. In actuality, everything new is not very original. They are
adaptations.
One must turn to the ancient world to recognize that the greatest contributions in
any field of endeavor have come through discovery rather than invention or
advancement. Early man discovered fire and realized he could use it to cook his
food, warm his cave, and keep predators at bay. Eventually, he learned how to
create it, preserve it, and carry it with him as he migrated to better hunting
grounds or more temperate climates. Modern man has witnessed the harnessing
of fire to create steam that powered ships and locomotives. It still heats our
homes and cooks our food, but it also takes us into outer space.
At some point ancient man realized that round objects move more effectively
over the ground than do square or rectangular objects, that the power of water
could help man to accomplish tasks more easily, and that the leaves, roots, and
bark of plants and trees provided relief from pain and other maladies. Thus, we
have the wheel, grist mills on local streams, and aspirin in tablet form. Were it
not for Franklin’s flying a kite during a thunder storm or Fleming’s discovery of
penicillin, we would live in the dark and die from bacterial infections. When
bold seafarers from Scandinavia and Western Europe sailed east and failed to
fall off the edge of the earth, they discovered the fishing banks off the coast of
Newfoundland and treasures in Mexico and opened the doors to modern-day
travel.
In the final analysis, it is appropriate to assert that no one can contribute
significantly in any field of endeavor without first being influenced by past
achievements in that field. While those contributions generally improve the
quality of our lives, it is likely that the next important discovery will have a
profound effect.
Comments
Essay evaluations by e-grader
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, first, if, may, so, still, thus, while
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 12.0 19.5258426966 61% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 8.0 12.4196629213 64% => OK
Conjunction : 27.0 14.8657303371 182% => OK
Relative clauses : 11.0 11.3162921348 97% => OK
Pronoun: 42.0 33.0505617978 127% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 61.0 58.6224719101 104% => OK
Nominalization: 5.0 12.9106741573 39% => More nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2391.0 2235.4752809 107% => OK
No of words: 461.0 442.535393258 104% => OK
Chars per words: 5.18655097614 5.05705443957 103% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.63367139033 4.55969084622 102% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.75290721327 2.79657885939 98% => OK
Unique words: 279.0 215.323595506 130% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.605206073753 0.4932671777 123% => OK
syllable_count: 710.1 704.065955056 101% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.59117977528 94% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 15.0 6.24550561798 240% => Less pronouns wanted as sentence beginning.
Article: 6.0 4.99550561798 120% => OK
Subordination: 2.0 3.10617977528 64% => OK
Conjunction: 10.0 1.77640449438 563% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 6.0 4.38483146067 137% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 21.0 20.2370786517 104% => OK
Sentence length: 21.0 23.0359550562 91% => OK
Sentence length SD: 63.820361553 60.3974514979 106% => OK
Chars per sentence: 113.857142857 118.986275619 96% => OK
Words per sentence: 21.9523809524 23.4991977007 93% => OK
Discourse Markers: 2.33333333333 5.21951772744 45% => More transition words/phrases wanted.
Paragraphs: 35.0 4.97078651685 704% => Less paragraphs wanted.
Language errors: 0.0 7.80617977528 0% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 9.0 10.2758426966 88% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 5.13820224719 97% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 7.0 4.83258426966 145% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.152921478168 0.243740707755 63% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.041056499856 0.0831039109588 49% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0950336738178 0.0758088955206 125% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0375165860431 0.150359130593 25% => Maybe some paragraphs are off the topic.
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0901637783198 0.0667264976115 135% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 14.0 14.1392134831 99% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 58.62 48.8420337079 120% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.92365168539 111% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 10.3 12.1743820225 85% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 12.82 12.1639044944 105% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.82 8.38706741573 105% => OK
difficult_words: 121.0 100.480337079 120% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 8.5 11.8971910112 71% => OK
gunning_fog: 10.4 11.2143820225 93% => OK
text_standard: 9.0 11.7820224719 76% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Maximum six paragraphs wanted.
Rates: 58.33 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 3.5 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.
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, first, if, may, so, still, thus, while
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 12.0 19.5258426966 61% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 8.0 12.4196629213 64% => OK
Conjunction : 27.0 14.8657303371 182% => OK
Relative clauses : 11.0 11.3162921348 97% => OK
Pronoun: 42.0 33.0505617978 127% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 61.0 58.6224719101 104% => OK
Nominalization: 5.0 12.9106741573 39% => More nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2391.0 2235.4752809 107% => OK
No of words: 461.0 442.535393258 104% => OK
Chars per words: 5.18655097614 5.05705443957 103% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.63367139033 4.55969084622 102% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.75290721327 2.79657885939 98% => OK
Unique words: 279.0 215.323595506 130% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.605206073753 0.4932671777 123% => OK
syllable_count: 710.1 704.065955056 101% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.59117977528 94% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 15.0 6.24550561798 240% => Less pronouns wanted as sentence beginning.
Article: 6.0 4.99550561798 120% => OK
Subordination: 2.0 3.10617977528 64% => OK
Conjunction: 10.0 1.77640449438 563% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 6.0 4.38483146067 137% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 21.0 20.2370786517 104% => OK
Sentence length: 21.0 23.0359550562 91% => OK
Sentence length SD: 63.820361553 60.3974514979 106% => OK
Chars per sentence: 113.857142857 118.986275619 96% => OK
Words per sentence: 21.9523809524 23.4991977007 93% => OK
Discourse Markers: 2.33333333333 5.21951772744 45% => More transition words/phrases wanted.
Paragraphs: 35.0 4.97078651685 704% => Less paragraphs wanted.
Language errors: 0.0 7.80617977528 0% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 9.0 10.2758426966 88% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 5.13820224719 97% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 7.0 4.83258426966 145% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.152921478168 0.243740707755 63% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.041056499856 0.0831039109588 49% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0950336738178 0.0758088955206 125% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0375165860431 0.150359130593 25% => Maybe some paragraphs are off the topic.
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0901637783198 0.0667264976115 135% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 14.0 14.1392134831 99% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 58.62 48.8420337079 120% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.92365168539 111% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 10.3 12.1743820225 85% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 12.82 12.1639044944 105% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.82 8.38706741573 105% => OK
difficult_words: 121.0 100.480337079 120% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 8.5 11.8971910112 71% => OK
gunning_fog: 10.4 11.2143820225 93% => OK
text_standard: 9.0 11.7820224719 76% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Maximum six paragraphs wanted.
Rates: 58.33 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 3.5 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.