Gre analytical Writing issue essay Topic 101

GRE Analytical Writing ISSUE Essay Topic - 166 
"The concept of 'individual responsibility' is a necessary fiction. Although societies must hold 
individuals accountable for their own actions, people's behavior is largely determined by forces 
not of their own making." 
GRE AWA Analytical Writing ISSUE Essay Sample 
Solution - 166 
People develop their behavior depending on the way in which they have been brought up, their 
environment and the society in which they live. The behavior of people is determined by external 
elements, but people have the liberty of making the choice to behave in a particular manner and 
they are solely responsible for their behavior. The external forces do not determine the behavior 
of people in a major way as people can take the decision to fight the external forces and behave 
in a manner that opposes the forces. Therefore, it is true to an extent that the behavior of people 
is influenced by forces that may not be under their control, but it is highly unjustified to assume 
that the concept of 'individual responsibility' is a necessary fiction. 
Individual responsibility plays a very important role in determining the behavior of people. Take 
for instance the behavior of students. External forces like the requirement of doing well in one's 
studies for getting a good job play a significant role in determining a student's behavior with 
respect to his studies. However, it is ultimately the student's individual responsibility that will 
determine the exact nature of his behavior. A particular student can choose not to be influenced 
by this external force and he may decide not to devote time to his studies despite the irreversible 
effects it may have on his career. On the other hand, there may be a student who chooses to be 
influenced by this external force and he puts in his level best in studying for doing well in his 
life. Thus, it can be seen that the behavior of students with respect to their studies is not 
influenced as much by an external force as compared to their own individual responsibilities. 
It is true that external forces like those pertaining to society, schools, parents, law etc. determine 
the behavior of people to a significant extent. People stay within a set of laid down norms as per 
the laws that have been enforced. People of a particular country may be more responsible 
towards cleanliness by not throwing garbage on the streets as the laws of their country prohibit 
them from behaving in such a manner. When the same people go to another country where there 
are no such laws, it is their sense of individual responsibility that will come into play and they 
may choose to behave in a particular manner depending on how responsible they are towards 
keeping their environment clean. 
There are people who choose to break the laws that have been enforced and this is evident by the 
crime rate that exists in almost all societies. What about the effect of external forces on these 
people? These people may have no control over the external forces like law and order, but they 
have decided not to let the external forces determine their behavior. Moreover, they have taken 

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the decision to ignore the responsibilities that they should shoulder and so they alone are 
responsible for their conduct. No other force can be held responsible for their behavior. 
A society which chooses not to blame the individuals for their actions can never thrive. There 
will be mass disobedience of rules and the framework of law and order of the society will break 
down. Therefore, it is essential that individuals be held responsible for their behavior as they are 
the ones who have chosen to behave in that particular manner. In sum, it can be said that more 
than external forces, it is the individual's responsibility that determines his behavior. 

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