Examples that show the thinking.
534 examples and lessons to explore. Find an approach, follow the thinking, and try it in your own writing.
Dorian Gray’s Rebellion Against Age and Moral Convention
A literary analysis of how Dorian’s resistance to age and moral judgment is shaped by both his desire for consequence-free freedom and Lord Henry’s influence, and how Wilde uses that rebellion to criticize a life ruled by sensation and appearance.
Public Opinion and the Judgment of Government Officials
An argument that elected officials should listen and answer to constituents while using independent judgment to test public demands against evidence, constitutional duties, and long-term consequences.
Effective Teachers: Empathy or High Expectations?
An argument that effective teaching requires both empathy and rigorous expectations: care helps teachers understand barriers and build trust, while meaningful academic demands preserve learning and agency.
Pride and Prejudice: What Pride Means to Darcy and the Novel
An analysis of how Pride and Prejudice distinguishes self-respect and responsibility from social arrogance, and how its treatment of pride contrasts with the condemnation of pride at the end of Thomas More’s Utopia.
Five-Year Leadership Limits: Does New Leadership Ensure Success?
An argumentative essay weighing leadership renewal against continuity and experience, using evidence from the presidencies of George Washington and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Choosing a College Major: Interests or Job Availability?
An argumentative essay weighing personal fulfillment against economic realities when choosing a field of study, with a qualified position and historical examples used to clarify the stakes of educational opportunity.
Great Expectations: Pip’s Sentimental Education
An analysis of how Pip’s longing for gentility, Estella’s judgments, and his changing relationship with Joe shape his understanding of loyalty, education, and human worth.
GRE Argument: Does the Faster Pace of Modern Life Create More Problems?
A model argument that weighs the benefits of speed against its costs to deliberation, public oversight, and long-term welfare, using two historical examples.
Assessing Students’ Understanding Beyond Memorized Facts: GRE Issue Essay
An argumentative essay contending that assessment should chiefly reward students’ ability to explain relationships among facts, while preserving factual recall where accuracy, chronology, or foundational knowledge matters.
The Scarlet Letter: Chillingworth’s Assumed Identity and Revenge
An analysis of how Roger Chillingworth’s concealed identity lets him pursue Dimmesdale while deepening the novel’s account of deception, isolation, and revenge.
Measuring Leaders by Citizens’ Well-Being: GRE Issue Essay
An argumentative essay defends citizens’ well-being as the best central measure of leadership while explaining why attribution, institutional performance, and long-term outcomes must also be considered.
GRE Issue Essay on Free College for All Students
An argument that governments should make public college tuition-free for students who meet academic and residency requirements, while using progressive funding and preserving support for other priorities.