Are people born with talents and skills, or are they all learned?

The question: Are people born with talents and skills, or are they all learned? Think of extremely talented people, and think of your own unique skills and talents. Use information from Brooks’ essay, but also use your own examples to develop your essay.

Your essay should contain:

1. An introduction with background information, the main idea that answers the question, and key points that would help you to focus, structure, and develop your response.

2. A clear, complete, accurate paragraph summary of Brooks’ essay, “Genius: The Modern View.” This should be your second paragraph.

3. Body paragraphs that develop your key points.

4. A conclusion.

Your impression is your main idea, always. That’s very important. “Impression,” here, is just another word for the main idea. William Raspberry’s impression of college majors is that they don’t matter that much. Someone else might have a different impression, might disagree with Raspberry. The main idea will be what your paper is about. It is a statement of your answer to the question. It will help you to focus your essay.

Your main idea and key points will go in your introduction, with one more important element: Background information. This is extremely important because it allows the reader to understand the context of what is going on.

When you have your introduction, develop your key points into paragraphs. Use a topic sentence to focus each paragraph on a specific point. Use examples and short stories–anecdotes–to develop your body paragraphs. Give details and descriptions of people and places.