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Their question: “Our greatest ability as humans is not to change the world but to change ourselves (essay selected via checkmark)”
The essay's whole thesis is that self-transformation must precede changing the world, anchored on Gandhi's 'Be the change' and the Kabir 'look within' doha, exactly the demand of the 2013 PYQ 'Be the change you want to see in others.'
Key learnings from their answer
- ›Both essays open with a concrete anecdote rather than a definition, Essay 1 ('Wonder is the beginning of wisdom') starts with Michael Faraday's curiosity, and Essay 2 ('change ourselves') opens with Gandhi plus the Kabir doha 'Bura jo dekhan main chala... Jo dil khoja aapno, mujhse bura na koye.' -> Open an essay with a person and a moment that already embodies the theme, so the introduction shows the idea in action instead of merely stating it.
- ›The quotations are chosen to mirror the exact prompt, not just decorate it: Socrates' 'the more I know, the more I get to know that I do not know' is placed in the wonder/wisdom essay, and the Kabir doha about looking into one's own heart ('Jo dil khoja aapno') anchors the 'change ourselves' essay. -> Pick quotes that restate the question's core idea in different words, a theme-matched quote doubles as a thesis; a generic 'inspiring' quote adds nothing.
- ›Essay 2 contains an explicit roadmap paragraph that previews benefits, challenges and ways, then delivers them with 'Firstly/Secondly/Thirdly' enumeration and underlined keywords. -> Plant a one-line signpost early that tells the examiner the three things your body will cover, then deliver in that exact order, it makes a long prose essay navigable without turning it into bullet points.
- ›The example bank is deliberately spread across domains, science (Faraday, Edison, Kepler, NASA spinoffs, Bardeen), exploration/history (Magellan, fall of Constantinople, Napoleon crossing the Alps) and social reformers (Baba Amte, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Valmiki), rather than clustering in one field. -> Stock 3-4 distinct domains of examples per theme so consecutive paragraphs feel multi-dimensional and you never lean on the same kind of evidence twice.
What they cited: Gautam Buddha — Channa, the Madhyam Marg (Middle Path) · Mahatma Gandhi — Satyagraha · Valmiki (formerly Ratnakar) · Baba Amte — work with leprosy patients · Raja Ram Mohan Roy — abolition of Sati
Quotes used: “Gandhi — 'Be the change you wish to see in the world'” “Kabir doha — 'Bura jo dekhan main chala, Bura na miliya koye; Jo dil khoja aapno, Mujhse bura na koye'”