Sample Issue Essays for AWA - 7 | Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) for GRE PDF Download

"Scholars and researchers should not be concerned with whether their work makes a contribution to the larger society. It is more important that they pursue their individual interests, however unusual or idiosyncratic those interests may seem."

Sample Answer:

• Each society needs leaders to guide, inspire and lead it. They come in the forms of social reformers, researchers, scholars, artists, politicians etc. These people certainly influence the society, either directly or indirectly, even if they continue with their pursuits in isolation. They influence the society and steer changes in the way it thinks and functions. Though I agree with the author when he says that scholars and researchers should pursue their individual interests without weighing its influence over society, I disagree with his idea of pursuing extremely unusual and idiosyncratic interests.
• The relation between a society and its elements is mutual. Each individual of a society contributes towards the beliefs, customs, strengths, weaknesses, ideas, rituals etc of the society. With the advent of technology and the world's becoming closer than ever before, people have more opportunity to influence others, even if their thoughts are radical and idiosyncratic. Even if a person isolates himself from the world, his individuality cannot be disregarded.
• Scholars and researchers are people who think differently. They are unique in their own right owing to their capabilities to think differently from others and deeply enough to give us new discoveries, inventions, literature, studies, theories, philosophies, scholarly works etc. Through their works, they contribute towards the development of society. Even if there is no direct consequence of their works, they inspire people to think differently by triggering the thought process in the minds of people. They cannot be isolated from the society. In fact, a person is branded a scholar or a researcher only if he makes any significant contribution and earns a name for himself in society.
• It takes extensive research to develop anything new. Research is merely the first step towards any development. A research in itself is always fruitful, it depends on the society how it benefits from the research. For instance, the thought of exploiting nuclear energy for solving the energy crises in contrast to using it for warfare is completely the choice of people. The thought process behind it is not to be blamed for the decision that the society takes.
• Take the instances in which scholarly works come under extreme criticism by society. Such situations also contribute in some way or the other towards the development of society. They help to trigger the thought process of people. If the research on cloning was criticized by people, it also gave people a preview of the times to come, where cloning could be practiced by some with unscrupulous intensions. This way we are guarding against such practices and the research is ultimately helping us. Moreover, cloning could be a good option for protecting endangered species.
• A creative mind cannot think to its fullest capacity until it is free from restrictions. If people start thinking of consequences even before they achieve some results of research, they cannot hope to create any such thing that shall not be criticized. Every research is criticized to some extent or the other. Some go against environment, while others go against health. If the fear of criticism cripples the minds of scholars and researchers, they cannot hope to make any remarkable breakthrough. A creative and intelligent mind has to think independently in order to think to its complete potential. Nonetheless, extreme indifference towards the society is not agreeable. One has to keep in mind the long-term social consequences of his thoughts and research. There are restrictions put by different governments for safeguarding against this, but scholars and researchers should also keep a check on themselves.