Consider this statement:

Progress often complicates as much as it simplifies.

Write a unified essay in which you perform the following tasks. Explain what you think the above
statement means. Describe a specific situation in which progress might simplify more than it
complicates. Discuss what you think determines whether progress complicates or simplifies.
Sample Essay #1
Progress often complicates as much as it simplifies is a true statement. If a person
wants to progress in life they need to simplify things, not make them more complicated.
Many times people cant progress because there are so many complicated things to think
about and the person cant achieve their goals due to the things. But sometimes
progress is able to make life simpler. It all depends on what a person wants.
SCORE = 1
Explanation of score:
This response provides no coherent explanation of the prompt statement, no description of a situation
that runs counter to the statement, and no discussion of factors that help determine when one or the
other of the conflicting perspectives might hold true. Thus, the response fails to demonstrate an
understanding of the rhetorical assignment or an ability to organize a response. Its brevity also
prevents a reasonable evaluation of the writers ability to use language effectively.
Sample Essay #2
The statement progress often complicates as much as it simplifies means that
progress can bring unanticipated problems to our lives when it is supposed to make life
easier. For instance, if you are used to paying bills online and your computer crashes or
gets a virus then you cant use this technology or progress to make your life run more
smoothly. Instead you have to write out the check, and mail the payment in. This takes
time that could be better spent doing other things, so life is more complicated now
because you expect your technology to work and it cant.
Progress simplifies our lives if we can do things in fewer steps and with less effort.
Back when there was no electricity or gas to use for stoves, women had to spend most
of their day preparing food and tending to wood- burning fires to keep the heat up in
the house and for cooking. Meals had to be gotten ready for, and as soon as one meal
got eaten the next one had to be prepared. With the invention of gas-burning stoves,
womens labor lessened and they did not have to spend their entire lives in preparations
or in clean up. This is an example of when progress definiteily simplified life.
The determining factor of whether progress complicates as much as it simplifies

depends on how much a person comes to rely it. If a person is used to paying bills online
and he or she is no longer able to do so because of some kind of system crash, then he
or she has complicated his or her life. On the other hand, if a person has progress
introduced into his or her life, as in the case of time and labor-saving appliances, then
they have actually simplified life. It all really depends on the situation and kind of
progress.
SCORE = 3
Explanation of score:
This response is organized, for the most part clearly written, and attends to all three of the writing
assignments tasks. It falls short of adequate mainly in the development and reconciliation of its ideas.
The first paragraph uses online bill-paying as an illustration of technological progress intended to
simplify life, but describes a scenario in which this ostensible advance might actually make a simple
task more complicated. The writers Task 2 counter example is that of the gas stove, which greatly
simplified meal preparation. But the writer fails to consider what happens when the stove fails.
Doesnt life go back to being complicated, just as it does when the computer crashes in the first
example? How is this example of life-simplifying technological progress different from the example it
is meant to contravene?
The writer deserves credit for providing two vivid examples to illustrate these points, but the failure to
think through both scenarios renders the essay only somewhat satisfying, particularly in the final
paragraph. More development of the Task 1 and Task 2 discussions might have fleshed out their
implications, uncovered some fundamental differences between the two examples, and provided the
writer with a more plausible perspective for Task 3 that could address the conflicting ideas inherent in
the writing tasks. As it stands, the lack of development substantially undermines the essays overall
effectiveness.
The conclusion is likewise only somewhat satisfying, because of the logical flaw at the essays core.
Both computers and gas stoves are labor-saving devices that simplify life; if they fail, life goes back to
being complicated again. Given this presentation of ideas, there is really nothing for the writer to
resolve in Task 3.
Sample Essay #3
On the face of it, progress is supposed to be a good or helpful force in peoples lives.
However, the statement asserts--perhaps rightfully--that progress or even
development, the building of one thing upon another, may actually complicate or
entangle peoples lives the more intent they are on progressing or developing. With more
and more so-called expedited means of communication, for instance, we are constantly
at the beck and call of our technology, whether its a tweet, a text, an email available
through our cell phones, or even a now-quaint phone message. Such availability does not
make our communications any simpler, let alone better. Instead, we are constantly

having to monitor these devices just to keep up with our busy lives. Maybe if we turned
off some of these apparatuses we might have a simpler and therefore better time of
it?
To be fair though, for every Luddite grumbling about the simpler times of days gone by,
there is a counter example demonstrating that the complexity often accompanying
progress is not inherently troubling or troubled. This generation of children and college
students dont know life before ipods, texting, video-streaming, and the like. Are we
unable to focus because of the many demands so-called instant communication places
upon us? Not necessarily. Perhaps the person who is busy texting at dinner while
listening to a harangue from her parent at the same time, has a leg up on the person
who can only hear the dog barking. The multi-tasking teen has in essence unconsciously
adapted to take in multiple sensory details at once and to prioritize some while filtering
out others. This is a complex way of living, sure, but it is something we all do. New
communication devices and modes simply emphasize this everyday filtering on a new
level.
The key to determining the relationship between complexity and progress depends on
the extent to which an individual can accommodate and incorporate complexity as a part
of their daily fabric. For some people complexity is a negative to be avoided, and
therefore so must progress. Its only progress if it moves people in a forward direction,
if it makes peoples lives better. For those who find complexity to be a hindrance rather
than a challenge to be embraced, progress will likely pass them by and good riddance to
it. By contrast, for those who can take on new technologies, progress engenders
forward movement and development. That we do this almost unthinkingly over the
course of a lifetime may be the most complicated feat we accomplish collectively, and it
hasnt been bemoaned as overly laborious. Instead, its called life.
SCORE = 5
Explanation of score:
One key element of the scoring rubric that distinguishes a 5 essay from a 4 essay is the presence of
some clearly communicated complexity and depth of ideas. This response achieves such complexity
by challenging a basic presupposition of the prompt statement: the notion that the simple is always
preferable to the complicated. This writer makes us think twice about that hidden assumption by
suggesting that the complications created by all the new gadgets in our lives may help us develop new
skills, and in some measure improve us. Contrary to the prompts assumption, there is no reason to
take as given that simpler is better.
In addition to uncovering some of the prompts complexity, the writer provides a cohesive, organized,

and focused essay. Some sentences are flawed (For some people complexity is a negative to be
avoided, and therefore so must progress), but overall the writing is vivid and clear. Furthermore, the
writer exhibits a lively vocabulary (Luddite grumbling, harangue, bemoaned, etc.). Essays that
earn a score of 5 or 6 typically succeed in communicating nuanced ideas through the proficient use of
language.

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Learning how to count to ten seems like a great accomplishment to young children. However, as children progress through
school and are exposed to more information and facts, the seemingly overwhelming amount of knowledge can lead to
complication in a student's life. At the time when the average student is graduating from high school, he or she will be faced with
complicated decisions such as whether or not to pursue further schooling as well as what type of career choice he or she would
ultimately like to have. Such complicated decisions may have a long-lasting impact on the life of student.
Conversely, as adults progress through life, decisions seem to be simplified and have much less of an impact of his or her life.
For those who have already retired from their careers, whether to play golf and relax by the swimming pool seems to be the daily
decisions that must made by such adults. Accordingly, as adults progress through life, decisions are simplified and people get to
relax and enjoy "easy living."
Whether or not progress complicates or simplifies one's life depends on the age of that person, and at what stage he or she is in
their life. For children, progress often tends to complicate life and leads to important decisions that will have a long-lasting
effect. On the other hand, progress most often simplifies life for adults and generally leads to decisions that affect them on a
daily basis. Although progress in life may seem overwhelming at times, life will eventually be simplified so "easy living" can be
enjoyed as people age.