essay knowledge

Essays About Knowledge: 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

Discover our guide with example essays about knowledge and helpful writing prompts to inspire you and assist with your next piece of writing.

Knowledge refers to information, facts, and skills acquired through education, life experience, and others. It’s critical in achieving power, wisdom, and respect as it lets us be conscious of our surroundings. Our knowledge sets us apart from others as we apply it to every aspect of our lives, such as problem-solving and skill development.

Since knowledge is a broad topic, it’s used in various writings, such as academic and personal essays . Before writing, ensure you understand the subject, know the proper format, and have the main points ready to add to your piece.

5 Essay Examples

1. long essay on knowledge by prasanna, 2. knowledge is power essay for students and children by anonymous on toppr.com, 3. importance of historical knowledge by kristopher fitzgerald, 4. knowledge is power – essay by kirti daga, 5. knowledge is a lifelong process and leads to inventions by ankita yadav, 1. what is knowledge, 2. the true meaning of knowledge is power, 3. the value of knowledge, 4. how to boost knowledge, 5. knowledge vs. wealth, 6. the effect of insufficient knowledge, 7. how does knowledge help me in my everyday life.

“If there is no knowledge or not acquiring knowledge, such a person is merely existing or surviving and not living. Because to live a life, we are bound to make decisions. An appropriate decision can be made if we have the proper knowledge to analyze the problem and decide it.”

Prasanna defines knowledge as a weapon, shield, and the key to life. It’s something that sustains our existence. She deems that apart from books, one can learn from other people, nature, and even things we think are too trivial to matter. Prasanna includes a quote from Alexander Pope to discuss the importance of having extensive knowledge.

She suggests that it’s essential to apply knowledge to enjoy all of its perks. But ultimately, Prasanna believes that while knowledge is limitless, people should prioritize filling their brains with the information they can share with others. You might also be interested in these essays about leadership .

“… We can say that true knowledge help [a] person to bloom. Also, it keeps people away from fights and corruption. Besides, knowledge brings happiness and prosperity to the nation. Above all, knowledge opens the door of success for everyone.”

In this essay, the author refers to knowledge as something that can create and destroy life and balance on the planet. Although many are educated, only a few know the importance of knowledge. The writer further lists some benefits of knowledge, such as making impossible ideas possible, avoiding repeated mistakes, and realizing the difference between good and evil. Ultimately, the author believes that knowledge makes a person richer than billionaires because, unlike money, no one can steal knowledge.  

“Understanding our past is vitally important to the present and future of our civilization. We must find out to grow from our previous successes and errors. It is humanity to make errors, however the less we make, the stronger and smarter we end up being.”

Fitzgerald explains that understanding history is essential to learning from past mistakes. He points to the results of past failures recorded in books, such as death and damages. In addition, historical knowledge improves our lifestyle through modern technologies and efforts to restore the environment.

By studying the history of the world, people can understand the differences in customs and beliefs of different religions. This knowledge gives way to acceptance and appreciation, which are critical to avoiding conflicts originating from ignorant perceptions.

“Knowledge is power because it is intangible whereas money is tangible. An individual with knowledge is better than a fool with money because money cannot buy knowledge whereas knowledge can carve a part which will ultimately help in gaining loads and loads of money.”

In her essay, Daga provides two situations demonstrating how knowledge is more valuable than money. First, she states that wealth, skills, resources, and talent are useless if one doesn’t have the proper knowledge to use them. Meanwhile, even if you have few skills but are knowledgeable enough in a particular field, you have a higher chance of succeeding financially.

The essay also contains information about general knowledge vital to achieving life goals. It incorporates ways to gain knowledge, including reading books and newspapers, watching the latest news, and networking with people. 

“The whole life we learn and gain knowledge. Knowledge increases day by day. We work on the process of learning to gain more knowledge.”

Yadav relates knowledge to something that makes life beautiful. However, unlike an ordinary ornament, knowledge isn’t easily acquired. Knowledge is a lifelong process that people get from experiences, media, books, and others. It has many benefits, such as creating new inventions that improve society and the country. Yadav concludes her essay by saying that knowledge is a valuable asset. It assists people in achieving life goals and honing their moral values.

7 Prompts for Essays About Knowledge

There are many essays that define the word “knowledge”, you can use this prompt to explain the concept of knowledge in your own words. First, explain its textbook definition briefly, then analyze it using your own words and understanding. To conclude your piece, write about how you intend to use knowledge in your life. 

“Knowledge is power” is a famous quotation from Francis Bacon in his book Neues Organon. It’s a powerful quote that sparked various interpretations. For this prompt, you can compile meanings you see online or interview people on what they think the quote means. Then, compare it with the actual intention and origin of the citation.

Tip : Remember to add your analysis and ask the readers to create their interpretation to involve them in the discussion.

Continuous learning makes us better individuals and opens more opportunities for us. When we do what we can to collect knowledge from various media, we also feel a sense of accomplishment. For this prompt, list the reasons why you want to enrich your knowledge. Use this prompt to show the good and bad sides of cultivating knowledge by including what can happen if an individual applies their knowledge to do despicable things. 

You don’t need to follow a strict program or enroll in top universities to build your knowledge. In this essay, enumerate easy ways to enhance someone’s knowledge, such as having a healthy curiosity, being a reasonable observer and listener, and attending gatherings to socialize. Write down all the possible ways and tools someone needs to acquire more knowledge. Then, explain why it’s essential never to stop learning new things.

At the start of your essay, ask your readers what they prefer: Extensive knowledge or ample wealth? Some will choose knowledge because money runs out quickly. They will argue that knowing how to handle cash will help secure and grow their finances. On the other hand, others will choose wealth and insist that they can hire people to manage their sizable assets. Share what your thoughts are on the question and answer it as well. You can look for surveys, interviews, and other research materials to gather data that can support your reasoning.

Identify the effects of having insufficient knowledge about a specific topic or in general terms. Add any negative results that can stem from this deficiency. Then, discuss why people need to get more knowledge today. For example, people automatically believe what they see on social media without fact-checking.

Tip : You can include steps the government and organizations should take to provide people with the correct information to avoid false claims.

For this essay topic, describe how knowledge assists you in your day-to-day life and enhances your experiences. Ensure to tackle how knowledge plays a part in your decision-making and your pathway in life.

For instance, you watched a documentary about greenhouse gasses and learned about light pollution. So, on bright mornings, you turn off all the lights in your house to decrease your bill and protect the environment .

If you want to use the latest grammar software for your paper, read our guide to using an AI grammar checker.

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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• Essay on Knowledge is Power

500 Words Essay On Knowledge is Power

Knowledge is the most substantial element in the world. It can make or break your life alone. Moreover, knowledge is what differentiates humans from animals . With knowledge, one can utilize their skills and make their lives better. When you have knowledge at your disposal, you can accomplish a lot in your life. The essay on knowledge is power will help you learn more about it.

Knowledge is Treasure

There are some people only who understand how important knowledge is. While every educated person may not be intelligent, it is true that every qualified person has an education .

It may seem like a strange statement but it is true. When you have the treasure of knowledge, you can drive a car or even fly an aeroplane. Similarly, you can crack puzzles and solve riddles with knowledge.

Therefore, it allows you to do the little as well as big things. When you have the knowledge, you can stop yourself from falling into the same trap. Also, you cannot buy knowledge. It is very essential to note this in this essay on knowledge is power.

It is a treasure that cannot be bought. You gain it and you earn it with your hard work. Therefore, the real gem is that of knowledge that will make you a successful person in life and help you gain power and respect.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Knowledge is a Bottomless Ocean

Knowledge is like a bottomless ocean . The more you dive deep into it, the deeper it will appear to you. Thus, there are no limits in the world of knowledge. When you desire knowledge, you thirst for riches unknown.

Once you taste the nectar of knowledge, you cannot restrain your desire for it. You only get the desire to gain more wisdom and acquire more knowledge. There is a proverb that tells us that people will worship the king in his kingdom alone but they will worship a man of knowledge all over the world.

In other words, a person with knowledge can find a home in any part of the world. The ocean of knowledge gives us broad thinking and makes us fearless. Moreover, our vision becomes clear through it.

Also, when you get the knowledge of various things like science, medicine, politics, and more, you can work for the betterment of the world. Knowledge gives birth to inventions and discoveries.

Conclusion of Essay on Knowledge is Power

All in all, knowledge allows people to flourish in life. Similarly, it also helps to hold off wars and abuse. It is responsible for bringing peace to the world and helping nations prosper. It can open doors to success and unite people like never before.

FAQ on Essay on Knowledge is Power

Question 1: What does Knowledge is Power mean?

Answer 1: When we say knowledge is power, we mean that a person with education has the power to control his life by making use of his knowledge. Moreover, it helps us overcome hurdles easily.

Question 2: Why is knowledge so important?

Answer 2: Knowledge improves our thinking and helps us solve problems. It is important because it enhances our reasoning and critical thinking to make better decisions in life and choose the correct path.

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• Knowledge is Power Essay

Essay on Knowledge is Power

Knowledge means understanding of something such as facts, information, description and skills. It is the source of power to man and this distinguishes him from other creatures of the universe. Though man is physically weaker than many animals, for he cannot see as far as an eagle, nor carry heavy loads as some animals. Nevertheless he is the most powerful creature on earth. This power basically comes to him from knowledge not from physical strength. ‘Knowledge is power’ means that a man has education and a complete control on his life by using the strength of knowledge. 

The ability to acquire knowledge, preserve and pass it on to the future generation makes man powerful. It enables him to control the forces of nature and use them for his benefit. This power of knowledge, if used wisely can bring happiness to mankind. Knowledge leads to wisdom, respect and consequently power. 

Why is Knowledge Powerful?

Knowledge does not always come with power. Knowledge is the state of awareness or understanding and learning of specific information about something and it is gained from experience or study. This means a person has the resources to express his views dynamically and make intelligent decisions based on his every day situations, awareness and understanding. 

This doesn’t make a man powerful. A man is said to be powerful when he uses his knowledge to mobilize in the right direction. When a man has the ability or capacity to act or perform effectively with his knowledge then he gains Power.

Benefits of Knowledge

Knowledge is important to shape our personality and perfect our behavior and dealings with people. 

Knowledge hones thinking skills. Knowledge is necessary in order to be able to formulate an opinion or develop a line of thought.

A person gets the power to analyze and assert situations by his knowledge. 

With knowledge, a man can master the techniques of adjusting and accommodating with changes in the surroundings and life situations. 

Knowledge helps a man to face adversities and stay balanced.

It is a key to removing the darkness of ignorance.

Knowledge helps in enhancing more options in the professional career of the individuals.

Knowledge helps in boosting confidence in individuals.

Education and knowledge together can provide better governance to the country.

A nation can have true democracy when the citizens of the country are knowledgeable about both social and economic conditions.

Prospective of Knowledge

Education is a key to success and this statement holds true as being knowledgeable can lead to a successful life. Knowledge will never diminish like any physical entities. In fact, the evolution of civilization in our society has happened due to the increase in the knowledge base of humans. Progress in the medical field has been made possible by developing rational thinking through the use of knowledge. Knowledge is the foremost tool of empowerment. It is the key to success in life. Knowledge, along with the power to think and analyze, differentiate men from animals. Knowledge teaches us to be humble and compassionate. People with very humble backgrounds have risen to power and wealth, on the strength of knowledge and skill. Only this can maintain harmony in the society.

Writing the Knowledge is Power Essay

Writing the Knowledge is Power Essay can be quite easy. Before you start the essay, collect all the details about the proverb to understand its meaning. This way, you can curate a meaningful essay with all the right facts and relevant points. Moreover, you should know the correct format for writing an essay. You can refer to the Knowledge is Power Essay available on Vedantu’s website to understand the format and learn more about the topic. Here are some tips to follow while writing your own essay on Knowledge is Power: 

Gather all the information you can from textbooks to the Internet about knowledge before you begin the essay. 

Once you have collected all the details, start your essay with an insightful introduction to the topic to give the readers an idea of what they will be learning from the essay. 

While writing the main body, do not go off-topic and write irrelevant points. Everything you write should be entirely focused on the topic i.e. Knowledge is Power. 

Add a good conclusion at the end to summarize the entire essay and give your final statement about the topic i.e. Knowledge is Power. 

Once you have completed the essay, proofread it to find mistakes and rectify them immediately. 

If you have time, revise the essay and check whether you can add more powerful points to make your writing more effective.

Points to be included in the Knowledge is Power Essay

Before you start writing your Knowledge is Power Essay, you should have a clear understanding of what points to include. This will save a lot of your time and help you finish the essay in much less time. You can gather all the information regarding the topic i.e. Knowledge is Power, and then start writing. Here are the points that you can add in the essay: 

In the introduction, write mainly about that specific proverb, i.e. Knowledge is Power, to give your reader an idea of what you are reading. 

When you come to the main body, add relevant points and explain your opinions on the topic. For example, you can write about why knowledge is considered powerful or the benefits of knowledge. 

Try adding quotes related to the topic in your essay to make it more impactful. You can use these quotes before your opening statement or support the information in the main body. 

While writing your conclusion, add a broad statement that summarizes the essay. Do not add any new ideas or information in the conclusion. You only have to sum up the entire Knowledge is Power Essay at this stage.    

FAQs on Knowledge is Power Essay

1. How Do You Define Knowledge?

Knowledge means understanding of facts, information, description and skills. It refers to awareness of something gained by education or experience. Here are the three different types of knowledge: 

Explicit Knowledge: It refers to the type of knowledge that can be easily documented, stored, curated, and accessed. For example, information available in textbooks, the internet, etc. 

Implicit Knowledge: The practical application of explicit knowledge is known as implicit knowledge. For example, how to drive a car or how to swim. 

Tacit Knowledge: Any knowledge gained from personal experiences and context is known as tacit knowledge. For example, body language, leadership, humour, etc.  

2. Why is Knowledge Considered Powerful?

Knowledge is powerful because a man can mobilize his life into the right direction. Knowledge can be both creator and destructive of our society. Through knowledge only, one can differentiate between right and wrong and make an informed decision. It also helps you plan your future and takes you on the path to success. With more knowledge, you will be able to overcome your weaknesses and gain more self-confidence. It encourages a positive attitude towards life and keeps you motivated to survive and thrive in the real world.

3. Mention Two Benefits Of Knowledge.

Knowledge is something that you gain throughout your life. It comes with an infinite number of benefits and keeps you on the right track. Knowledge encourages you to act morally and help others in any way possible. Moreover, it boosts your confidence to face any difficulty without being dependent on others. The two benefits of knowledge are:

Knowledge shapes our personality and behavior with others.

Knowledge with proper education can provide better governance to a nation.

4. Why is Less Knowledge Dangerous?

Less knowledge or half knowledge is very dangerous as it leads a man to a benighted condition for the rest of his life. He will never be able to excel in any field to the fullest. Less knowledge can mislead a person into making wrong decisions that have a negative impact on his/her life. Usually, people with less knowledge are only aware of the major aspects of a subject. They do not focus on the minor aspects, which gives them an unbalanced view of that particular subject.

5. From where can I get the Knowledge is Power Essay?

You can get the Knowledge is Power Essay from Vedantu’s official website and mobile app. Vedantu provides you with the Knowledge is Power Essay without charging you anything. You can just visit our website and search for the essay to get access to it. Moreover, we offer a huge variety of study material for the English language to help students get better at the subject. You will find various topics of grammar, letter writing, speech writing, and much more only on Vedantu.com. Use all this study material to improve your writing skills and gain more knowledge about the English language.

• September 22, 2011

The Knowledge Problem

Studying knowledge is one of those perennial topics—like the nature of matter in the hard sciences—that philosophy has been refining since before the time of Plato. The discipline, epistemology, comes from two Greek words episteme (επιστημη) which means knowledge and logos (λογος) which means a word or reason. Epistemology literally means to reason about knowledge. Epistemologists study what makes up knowledge, what kinds of things can we know, what are the limits to what we can know, and even if it’s possible to actually know anything at all.

Coming up with a definition of knowledge has proven difficult but we’ll take a look at a few attempts and examine the challenges we face in doing so. We’ll look at how prominent philosophers have wrestled with the topic and how postmodernists provide a different viewpoint on the problem of knowledge. We’ll also survey some modern work being done in psychology and philosophy that can help us understand the practical problems with navigating the enormous amounts of information we have at our disposal and how we can avoid problems in the way we come to know things.

Do We Know Stuff?

In order to answer that question, you probably have to have some idea what the term “know” means. If I asked, “Have you seen the flibbertijibbet at the fair today?” I’d guess you wouldn’t know how to answer. You’d probably start by asking me what a flibbertijibbet is. But most adults tend not to ask what knowledge is before they can evaluate whether they have it or not. We just claim to know stuff and most of us, I suspect, are pretty comfortable with that. There are lots of reasons for this but the most likely is that we have picked up a definition over time and have a general sense of what the term means. Many of us would probably say knowledge that something is true involves:

• Certainty – it’s hard if not impossible to deny
• Evidence – it has to based on something
• Practicality – it has to actually work in the real world
• Broad agreement – lots of people have to agree it’s true

But if you think about it, each of these has problems. For example, what would you claim to know that you would also say you are certain of? Let’s suppose you’re not intoxicated, high, or in some other way in your “right” mind and conclude that you know you’re reading an article on the internet. You might go further and claim that denying it would be crazy. Isn’t it at least possible that you’re dreaming or that you’re in something like the Matrix and everything you see is an illusion? Before you say such a thing is absurd and only those who were unable to make the varsity football team would even consider such questions, can you be sure you’re not being tricked? After all, if you are in the Matrix, the robots that created the Matrix would making be making you believe you are not in the Matrix and that you’re certain you aren’t.

What about the “broad agreement” criterion? The problem with this one is that many things we might claim to know are not, and could not be, broadly agreed upon. Suppose you are experiencing a pain in your arm. The pain is very strong and intense. You might tell your doctor that you know you’re in pain. Unfortunately though, only you can claim to know that (and as an added problem, you don’t appear to have any evidence for it either—you just feel the pain). So at least on the surface, it seems you know things that don’t have broad agreement by others.

These problems and many others are what intrigue philosophers and are what make coming up with a definition of knowledge challenging. Since it’s hard to nail down a definition, it also makes it hard to answer the question “what do you know?”

What is Knowledge?

As with many topics in philosophy, a broadly-agreed-upon definition is difficult. But philosophers have been attempting to construct one for centuries. Over the years, a trend has developed in the philosophical literature and a definition has emerged that has such wide agreement it has come to be known as the “standard definition.” While agreement with the definition isn’t universal, it can serve as a solid starting point for studying knowledge.

The definition involves three conditions and philosophers say that when a person meets these three conditions, she can say she knows something to be true. Take a statement of fact: The Seattle Mariners have never won a world series.  On the standard definition, a person knows this fact if:

• The person believes the statement to be true
• The statement is in fact true
• The person is justified in believing the statement to be true

The bolded terms earmark the three conditions that must be met and because of those terms, the definition is also called the “tripartite” (three part) definition or “JTB” for short. Many many books have been written on each of the three terms so I can only briefly summarize here what is going on in each. I will say up front though that epistemologists spend most of their time on the third condition.

First, beliefs are things people have. Beliefs aren’t like rocks or rowboats where you come across them while strolling along the beach. They’re in your head and generally are viewed as just the way you hold the world (or some aspect of the world) to be. If you believe that the Mariners never won a world series, you just accept it is as true that the Mariners really never won a world series. Notice that accepting that something is true implies that what you accept could be wrong. In other words, it implies that what you think about the world may not match up with the way the world really is. This implies that there is a distinction between belief and truth . There are some philosophers—notably postmodernists and existentialists—who think such a distinction can’t be made which we’ll examine more below. But in general, philosophers claim that belief is in our heads and truth is about the way the world is. In practical terms, you can generally figure out what you or someone else believes by examining behavior. People will generally act according to what they really believe rather than what they say they believe—despite what Dylan says .

Something is true if the world really is that way. Truth is not in your head but is “out there.” The statement, “The Mariners have never won a world series” is true if the Mariners have never won a world series. The first part of that sentence is in quotes on purpose. The phrase in quotes signifies a statement we might make about the world and the second, unquoted phrase is supposed to describe the way the world actually is. The reason philosophers write truth statements this way is to give sense to the idea that a statement about the world could be wrong or, more accurately, false (philosophers refer to the part in quotes as a statement or proposition ). Perhaps you can now see why beliefs are different than truth statements. When you believe something, you hold that or accept that a statement or proposition is true. It could be false that’s why your belief may not “match up” with the way the world really is. For more on what truth is, see the Philosophy News article, “ What is Truth? ”

Justification

If the seed of knowledge is belief, what turns belief into knowledge? This is where justification (sometimes called ‘warrant’) comes in. A person knows something if they’re justified in believing it to be true (and, of course, it actually is true). There are dozens of competing theories of justification. It’s sometimes easier to describe when a belief isn’t justified than when it is. In general, philosophers agree that a person isn’t justified if their belief is:

• a product of wishful thinking (I really wish you would love me so I believe you love me)
• a product of fear or guilt (you’re terrified of death and so form the belief in an afterlife)
• formed in the wrong way (you travel to an area you know nothing about, see a white spot 500 yards away and conclude it’s a sheep)
• a product of dumb luck or guesswork (you randomly form the belief that the next person you meet will have hazel eyes and it turns out that the next person you meet has hazel eyes)

Because beliefs come in all shapes and sizes and it’s hard to find a single theory of justification that can account for everything we would want to claim to know. You might be justified in believing that the sun is roughly 93 million miles from the earth much differently than you would be justified in believing God exists or that you have a minor back pain. Even so, justification is a critical element in any theory of knowledge and is the focus of many a philosophical thought.

People-centered Knowledge

You might notice that the description above puts the focus of knowing on the individual. Philosophers talk of individual persons being justified and not the ideas or concepts themselves being justified. This means that what may count as knowledge for you may not count as knowledge for me. Suppose you study economics and you learn principles in the field to some depth. Based on what you learn, you come to believe that psychological attitudes have just as much of a role to play in economic flourishing or deprivation as the political environment that creates economic policy. Suppose also that I have not studied economics all that much but I do know that I’d like more money in my pocket. You and I may have very different beliefs about economics and our beliefs might be justified in very different ways. What you know may not be something I know even though we have the same evidence and arguments in front of us.

So the subjective nature of knowledge partly is based on the idea that beliefs are things that individuals have and those beliefs are justified or not justified. When you think about it, that makes sense. You may have more evidence or different experiences than I have and so you may believe things I don’t or may have evidence for something that I don’t have. The bottom line is that “universal knowledge” – something everybody knows—may be very hard to come by. Truth, if it exists, isn’t like this. Truth is universal. It’s our access to it that may differ widely.

Rene Descartes and the Search for Universal Knowledge

A lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea that there isn’t universal knowledge. Philosopher Rene Descartes (pronounced day-cart) was one of them. When he was a young man, he was taught a bunch of stuff by his parents, teachers, priests and other authorities. As he came of age, he, like many of us, started to discover that much of what he was taught either was false or was highly questionable. At the very least, he found he couldn’t have the certainty that many of his educators had. While many of us get that, deal with it, and move on, Descartes was deeply troubled by this.

One day, he decided to tackle the problem. He hid himself away in a cabin and attempted to doubt everything of which he could not be certain. Since it wasn’t practical to doubt every belief he had, Descartes decided that it would be sufficient to subject the foundations of his belief system to doubt and the rest of the structure will “crumble of its own accord.” He first considers the things he came to believe by way of the five senses. For most of us these are pretty stable items but Descartes found that it was rather easy to doubt their truth. The biggest problem is that sometimes the senses can be deceptive. And after all, could he be certain he wasn’t insane or dreaming when he saw that book or tasted that honey? So while they might be fairly reliable, the senses don’t provide us with certainty—which is what Descartes was after.

Unfortunately, this left Descartes with no where to turn. He found that he could be skeptical about everything and was unable to find a certain foundation for knowledge. But then he hit upon something that changed modern epistemology. He discovered that there was one thing he couldn’t doubt: the fact that he was a thinking thing. In order to doubt it, he would have to think. He reasoned that it’s not possible to doubt something without thinking about the fact that you’re doubting. If he was thinking then he must be a thinking thing and so he found that it was impossible to doubt that he was a thinking being.

This seemingly small but significant truth led to his most famous contribution to Western thought: cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). Some mistakenly think that Descartes was implying with this idea that he thinks himself into existence. But that wasn’t his point at all. He was making a claim about knowledge. Really what Descartes was saying is: I think, therefore I know that I am.

The story doesn’t end here for Descartes but for the rest of it, I refer you to the reading list below to dig deeper. The story of Descartes is meant to illustrate the depth of the problems of epistemology and how difficult and rare certainty is, if certainty is possible—there are plenty of philosophers who think either that Descartes’ project failed or that he created a whole new set of problems that are even more intractable than the one he set out to solve.

Postmodernism and Knowledge

Postmodern epistemology is a growing area of study and is relatively new on the scene compared with definitions that have come out of the analytic tradition in philosophy. Generally, though, it means taking a specific, skeptical attitude towards certainty, and a subjective view of belief and knowledge. Postmodernists see truth as much more fluid than classical (or modernist) epistemologists. Using the terms we learned above, they reject the idea that we can ever be fully justified in holding that our beliefs line up with the way the world actually is. We can’t know that we know.

Perspective at the Center

In order to have certainty, postmodernists claim, we would need to be able to “stand outside” our own beliefs and look at our beliefs and the world without any mental lenses or perspective . It’s similar to wondering what it would be like to watch ourselves meeting someone for the first time? We can’t do it. We can watch the event of the meeting on a video but the experience of meeting can only be had by us. We have that experience only from “inside” our minds and bodies. Since its not possible to stand outside our minds, all the parts that make up our minds influence our view on what is true. Our intellectual and social background, our biases, our moods, our genetics, other beliefs we have, our likes and dislikes, our passions (we can put all these under the label of our “cognitive structure”) all influence how we perceive what is true about the world. Further, say the postmodernists, it’s not possible to set aside these influences or lenses. We can reduce the intensity here and there and come to recognize biases and adjust for them for sure. But it’s not possible to completely shed all our lenses which color our view of things and so it’s not possible to be certain that we’re getting at some truth “out there.”

Many have called out what seems to be a problem with the postmodernist approach. Notice that as soon as a postmodernist makes a claim about the truth and knowledge they seem to be making a truth statement! If all beliefs are seen through a lens, how do we know the postmodernists beliefs are “correct?” That’s a good question and the postmodernist might respond by saying, “We don’t!” But then, why believe it? Because of this obvious problem, many postmodernists attempt to simply live with postmodernist “attitudes” towards epistemology and avoid saying that they’re making claims that would fit into traditional categories. We have to change our perspective to understand the claims.

Community Agreement

To be sure, Postmodernists do tend to act like the rest of us when it comes to interacting with the world. They drive cars, fly in airplanes, make computer programs, and write books. But how is this possible if they take such a fluid view of knowledge? Postmodernists don’t eschew truth in general. They reject the idea that any one person’s beliefs about it can be certain. Rather, they claim that truth emerges through community agreement. Suppose scientists are attempting to determine whether the planet is warming and that humans are the cause. This is a complex question and a postmodernist might say that if the majority of scientists agree that the earth is warming and that humans are the cause, then that’s true. Notice that the criteria for “truth” is that scientists agree . To use the taxonomy above, this would be the “justification condition.” So we might say that postmodernists accept the first and third conditions of the tripartite view but reject the second condition: the idea that there is a truth that beliefs need to align to a truth outside our minds. 

When you think about it, a lot of what we would call “facts” are determined in just this way. For many years, scientists believed in a substance called “phlogiston.” Phlogiston was stuff that existed in certain substances (like wood and metal) and when those substances were burned, more phlogiston was added to the substance. Phlogiston was believed to have negative weight, that’s why things got lighter when they burned. That theory has since been rejected and replace by more sophisticated views involving oxygen and oxidation.

So, was the phlogiston theory true? The modernist would claim it wasn’t because it has since been shown to be false. It’s false now and was false then even though scientists believed it was true. Beliefs about phlogiston didn’t line up with the way the world really is, so it was false. But the postmodernist might say that phlogiston theory was true for the scientists that believed it. We now have other theories that are true. But phlogiston theory was no less true then than oxygen theory is now. Further, they might add, how do we know that oxygen theory is really the truth ? Oxygen theory might be supplanted some day as well but that doesn’t make it any less true today.

Knowledge and the Mental Life

As you might expect, philosophers are not the only ones interested in how knowledge works. Psychologists, social scientists, cognitive scientists and neuroscientists have been interested in this topic as well and, with the growth of the field of artificial intelligence, even computer scientists have gotten into the game. In this section, we’ll look at how work being done in psychology and behavioral science can inform our understanding of how human knowing works.

Thus far, we’ve looked at the structure of knowledge once beliefs are formed. Many thinkers are interested how belief formation itself is involved our perception of what we think we know. Put another way, we may form a belief that something is true but the way our minds formed that belief has a big impact on why we think we know it. The science is uncovering that, in many cases, the process of forming the belief went wrong somewhere and our minds have actually tricked us into believing its true. These mental tricks may be based on good evolutionary principles: they are (or at least were at some point in our past) conducive to survival. But we may not be aware of this trickery and be entirely convinced that we formed the belief in the right way and so have knowledge. The broad term used for this phenomenon is “cognitive bias” and mental biases have a significant influence over how we form beliefs and our perception of the beliefs we form. 1

Wired for Bias

A cognitive bias is a typically unconscious “mental trick” our minds play that lead us to form beliefs that may be false or that are directed towards some facts and leaving out others such that these beliefs align to other things we believe, promote mental safety, or provide grounds for justifying sticking to to a set of goals that we want to achieve. Put more simply, mental biases cause us to form false beliefs about ourselves and the world. The fact that our minds do this is not necessarily intentional or malevolent and, in many cases, the outcomes of these false beliefs can be positive for the person that holds them. But epistemologists (and ethicists) argue that ends don’t always justify the means when it comes to belief formation. As a general rule, we want to form true beliefs in the “right” way.

Ernest Becker in his important Pulitzer Prize winning book The Denial of Death attempts to get at the psychology behind why we form the beliefs we do. He also explores why we may be closed off to alternative viewpoints and why we tend to become apologists (defenders) of the viewpoints we hold. One of his arguments is that we as humans build an ego ( in the Freudian sense; what he calls “character armor”) out of the beliefs we hold and those beliefs tend to give us meaning and they are strengthened when more people hold the same viewpoint. In a particularly searing passage, he writes:

Each person thinks that he has the formula for triumphing over life’s limitations and knows with authority what it means to be a man [N.B. by ‘man’ Becker means ‘human’ and uses masculine pronouns as that was common practice when he wrote the book], and he usually tries to win a following for his particular patent. Today we know that people try so hard to win converts for their point of view because it is more than merely an outlook on life: it is an immortality formula. . . in matters of immortality everyone has the same self-righteous conviction. The thing seems perverse because each diametrically opposed view is put forth with the same maddening certainty; and authorities who are equally unimpeachable hold opposite views! (Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death, pp. 255-256. Free Press.)

In other words, being convinced that our viewpoint is correct and winning converts to that viewpoint is how we establish ourselves as persons of meaning and significance and this inclination is deeply engrained in our psychological equipment. This not only is why biases are so prevalent but why they’re difficult to detect. We are, argues Becker and others, wired towards bias. Jonathan Haidt agrees and go so far as to say that reason and logic is not only the cure but a core part of the wiring that causes the phenomenon.

Anyone who values truth should stop worshipping reason. We all need to take a cold hard look at the evidence and see reasoning for what it is. The French cognitive scientists Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber recently reviewed the vast research literature on motivated reasoning (in social psychology) and on the biases and errors of reasoning (in cognitive psychology). They concluded that most of the bizarre and depressing research findings make perfect sense once you see reasoning as having evolved not to help us find truth but to help us engage in arguments, persuasion, and manipulation in the context of discussions with other people. (Haidt, Jonathan. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion (p. 104). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.)

Biases and Belief Formation

Research in social science and psychology are uncovering myriad ways in which our minds play these mental tricks. For example, Daniel Kahneman discusses the impact emotional priming has on the formation of a subsequent idea. In one study, when participants were asked about happiness as it related to their romantic experiences, those that had a lot of dates in the past would report that they were happy about their life while those that had no dates reported being lonely, isolated, and rejected. But then when they subsequently were asked about their happiness in general, they imposed the context of their dating happiness to their happiness in general regardless of how good or bad the rest of their lives seemed to be going. If a person would have rated their overall happiness as “very happy” when asked questions about general happiness only, they might rate their overall happiness as “somewhat happy” if they were asked questions about their romantic happiness just prior and their romantic happiness was more negative than positive.

This type of priming can significantly impact how we view what is true. Being asked if we need more gun control or whether we should regulate fatty foods will change right after a local shooting right or after someone suffers a heart scare. The same situation will have two different responses by the same person depending on whether he or she was primed or not. Jonathan Haidt relates similar examples.

Psychologists now have file cabinets full of findings on ‘motivated reasoning,’ showing the many tricks people use to reach the conclusions they want to reach. When subjects are told that an intelligence test gave them a low score, they choose to read articles criticizing (rather than supporting) the validity of IQ tests. When people read a (fictitious) scientific study that reports a link between caffeine consumption and breast cancer, women who are heavy coffee drinkers find more flaws in the study than do men and less caffeinated women. (Haidt, p. 98)

There are many other biases that influence our thinking. When we ask the question, “what is knowledge?” this research has to be a part of how we answer the question. Biases and their influence would fall under the broad category of the justification condition we looked at earlier and the research should inform how we view how beliefs are justified. Justification is not merely the application of a philosophical formula. There are a host of psychological and social influences that are play when we seek to justify a belief and turn it into knowledge. 2 We can also see how this research lends credence to the philosophical position of postmodernists. At the very least, even if we hold that we can get past our biases and get “more nearer to the truth,” we at least have good reason to be careful about the things we assert as true and adopt a tentative stance towards the truth of our beliefs.

In a day when “fake news” is a big concern and the amount of information for which we’re responsible grows each day, how we justify the beliefs we hold becomes a even more important enterprise. I’ll use a final quote from Haidt to conclude this section:

And now that we all have access to search engines on our cell phones, we can call up a team of supportive scientists for almost any conclusion twenty-four hours a day. Whatever you want to believe about the causes of global warming or whether a fetus can feel pain, just Google your belief. You’ll find partisan websites summarizing and sometimes distorting relevant scientific studies. Science is a smorgasbord, and Google will guide you to the study that’s right for you. (Haidt, pp. 99-100)

Making Knowledge Practical

Well most of us aren’t like Descartes. We actually have lives and don’t want to spend time trying to figure out if we’re the cruel joke of some clandestine mad scientist. But we actually do actually care about this topic whether we “know” it or not. A bit of reflection exposes just how important having a solid view of knowledge actually is and spending some focused time thinking more deeply about knowledge can actually help us get better at knowing.

Really, knowledge is a the root of many (dare I say most) challenges we face in a given day. Once you get past basic survival (though even things as basic as finding enough food and shelter involves challenges related to knowledge), we’re confronted with knowledge issues on almost every front. Knowledge questions range from larger, more weighty questions like figuring out who our real friends are, what to do with our career, or how to spend our time, what politician to vote for, how to spend or invest our money, or should we be religious or not, to more mundane ones like which gear to buy for our hobby, how to solve a dispute between the kids, where to go for dinner, or which book to read in your free time. We make knowledge decisions all day, every day and some of those decisions deeply impact our lives and the lives of those around us.

So all these decisions we make about factors that effect the way we and others live are grounded in our view of knowledge—our epistemology . Unfortunately few spend enough time thinking about the root of their decisions and many make knowledge choices based on how they were raised (my mom always voted Republican so I will), what’s easiest (if I don’t believe in God, I’ll be shunned by my friends and family), or just good, old fashioned laziness. But of all the things to spend time on, it seems thinking about how we come to know things should be at the top of the list given the central role it plays in just about everything we do.

Updated January, 2018: Removed dated material and general clean up; added section on cognitive biases. Updated March, 2014: Removed reference to dated events; removed section on thought experiment; added section on Postmodernism; minor formatting changes

• While many thinkers have written on cognitive biases in one form or another, Jonathan Haidt in his book The Righteous Mind and Daniel Kahneman in his book Thinking Fast and Slow have done seminal work to systemize and provide hard data around how the mind operates when it comes to belief formation and biases. There is much more work to be done for sure but these books, part philosophy, part psychology, part social science, provide the foundation for further study in this area. The field of study already is large and growing so I can only provide a thumbnail sketch of the influence of how belief formation is influenced by our mind and other factors. I refer the reader to the source material on this topic for further study (see reading list below). ↩
• For a strategy on how we can adjust for these natural biases that our minds seem wired to create, see the Philosophy News article, “ How to Argue With People ”. I also recommend Carol Dweck’s excellent book Mindset . ↩

For Further Reading

• Epistemology: Classic Problems and Contemporary Responses (Elements of Philosophy) by Laurence BonJour. One of the better introductions to the theory of knowledge. Written at the college level, this book should be accessible for most readers but have a good philosophical dictionary on hand.
• Belief, Justification, and Knowledge: An Introduction to Epistemology (Wadsworth Basic Issues in Philosophy Series) by Robert Audi. This book has been used as a text book in college courses on epistemology so may be a bit out of range for the general reader. However, it gives a good overview of many of the issues in the theory of knowledge and is a fine primer for anyone interested in the subject.
• The Theory of Knowledge: Classic and Contemporary Readings by Louis Pojman. Still one of the best books for primary source material. The edited articles have helpful introductions and Pojman covers a range of sources so the reader will get a good overview from many sides of the question. Written mainly as a textbook.
• The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature   by Steven Pinker. While not strictly a book about knowledge per se, Pinker’s book is fun, accessible, and a good resource for getting an overview of some contemporary work being done mainly in the hard sciences.
• The Selections From the Principles of Philosophy by René Descartes . A good place to start to hear from Descartes himself.
• Descartes’ Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict between Faith and Reason by Russell Shorto. This book is written as a history so it’s not strictly a philosophy tome. However, it gives the general reader some insight into what Descartes and his contemporaries were dealing with and is a fun read.
• On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt. One get’s the sense that Frankfurt was being a bit tongue-in-cheek with the small, engaging tract. It’s more of a commentary on the social aspect of epistemology and worth reading for that reason alone. Makes a great gift!
• On Truth by Harry Frankfurt. Like On Bullshit but on truth.
• A Rulebook for Arguments by Anthony Weston. A handy reference for constructing logical arguments. This is a fine little book to have on your shelf regardless of what you do for a living.
• Warrant: The Current Debate   by Alvin Plantinga. Now over 25 years old, “current” in the title may seem anachronistic. Still, many of the issues Plantinga deals with are with us today and his narrative is sure to enlighten and prime the pump for further study.
• Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. The book to begin a study on cognitive biases.
• The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. A solid book that dabbles in cognitive biases but also in why people form and hold beliefs and how to start a conversation about them.
• The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker. A neo (or is it post?) Freudian analysis of why we do what we do. Essential reading for better understanding why we form the beliefs we do.
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck. The title reads like a self-help book but the content is actually solid and helpful for developing an approach to forming and sharing ideas.

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• Knowledge Is Power Essay

Knowledge is Power Essay

500+ words essay on knowledge is power.

An individual gets knowledge from every experience in life. The knowledge that a child receives in school decides his/her future life and place in society. Knowledge is related to knowing something. It is a sum of human understanding of the world, whether it is physical, biological, social, mental or spiritual. In simple terms, knowledge is the sum of human understanding of the material and mental reality, and power is defined as the capacity to make someone do something that he/she wants. So, knowledge makes us powerful. With the help of this essay, students will know the importance of knowledge and how it helps people to gain power. With the help of knowledge, we can easily solve any kind of problem in our lives. They can also refer to the list of CBSE essays to practise essays on different topics and improve their writing section.

What Does “Knowledge is Power” Mean?

Knowledge is Power is a proverb. It means that knowledge is more powerful than any type of physical strength. Knowledge empowers people to achieve great results. A knowledgeable person is respected in society. From the annals of history, we can see that great scholars and preachers like Aristotle and Swami Vivekananda are remembered even today. Good teachers and professors are still admired in society as they have ample knowledge that they share with students. With good knowledge and hard work, it is never too late to amass wealth to become so powerful.

To understand ‘knowledge is power’ more clearly, let’s take an example. Suppose a group of people get lost in a dark jungle, and only one of them knows the path out of the woods. So, he will show the path to others, and the rest of them will follow him. So, knowledge here made him win and gained him the power to lead the group members. In a similar way, society can also be taken as a jungle. In society, people get power with knowledge. Everyone silences to the knowledgeable person in society, and no one follows an ignorant person.

Relationship between Knowledge and Power

The sloka from Sanskrit exemplifies the greatness of education or knowledge. It clearly states the relationship between knowledge and power:

विद्यां ददाति विनयं,

विनयाद् याति पात्रताम्।

पात्रत्वात् धनमाप्नोति,

धनात् धर्मं ततः सुखम्॥

Vidya Dadati Vinayam,

Vinaya yaati Patrataam |

Patratvad Dhanamaapnoti,

Dhanaad Dharamam Tatah Sukham ||

The meaning of shloka is that through learning/knowledge, we get humility. Through humility, we get worthiness. From worthiness, we get wealth. From wealth, we do good deeds, and good deeds give us happiness. In simple words, it means that knowledge helps an individual to grow in society. It makes a person humble and disciplined. With humility and proper discipline, a person gets the height of achievement in life. With the achievement of success, a person is termed as powerful in society.

Knowledge is a very powerful tool which can be used in our daily life to improve ourselves, thereby, society and nation. It comes after many experiences. Sometimes a bad experience also teaches a very important lesson in life.

Students must have found this essay on ‘knowledge is power’ useful for improving their essay writing skills. They can get the study material and the latest update on CBSE/ICSE/State Board/Competitive Exams at BYJU’S.

Frequently Asked Questions on Knowledge is Power Essay

Why is knowledge an important resource.

The education and knowledge that a student receives at school (at a young age) help the child build his future and career in an appropriate, successful manner.

What is the meaning of the phrase ‘Knowledge is power’?

It means that knowledge and wisdom are stronger assets than physical or financial strength. It is important for a person to acquire knowledge before aiming for other things.

Does knowledge indicate only textual reading?

Knowledge automatically means impartition of moral values, ethics, behavioural etiquette, etc. Textual reading is only a basic and primary form of knowledge.

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Knowing How: Essays on Knowledge, Mind, and Action

John Bengson and Marc A. Moffett (eds.), Knowing How: Essays on Knowledge, Mind, and Action , Oxford University Press, 2011, 401pp., $85.00 (hbk), ISBN 9780195389364.

Reviewed by Erhan Demircioglu, University of Pittsburgh

The growing and well-deserved interest in the nature and grounds of knowledge-how in recent years is crowned with this excellent collection of original essays from some of the most able philosophers working in the field. The collection is balanced in two respects: it contains essays defending opposing accounts on knowledge-how, and it also contains essays that are devoted to delineating the broad implications and applications of taking a particular stand on the topic. All essays in the book are written with admirable clarity, awaken a desire to ponder the ongoing debates, and are rich in examples. The essays cover difficult topics, but they are rewarding, as one would expect from high quality works on a topic probing the intersection of knowledge, language, mind, and action.

The book opens with a long (52 pages) state-of-the-debate essay written by the editors, John Bengson and Marc A. Moffett. The length of the essay is consistent with, and justified by, its primary goal of providing an exhaustive outline of the central philosophical positions and questions about knowledge-how. Bengson and Moffett aim, among other goals, to make explicit the core contentions of the opposing views aptly named 'intellectualism' and 'anti-intellectualism' after Ryle's (1945) and (1949).  They also identify specific instances of these generic views, rehearse the now-standard arguments for and against, and gesture at the echoes that a philosophical theory of intelligence may generate in converging areas of inquiry.

The rest of the book is divided into four parts. Part I, "Ryle's Legacy," consists of two chapters -- one by Paul Snowdon and one by Jennifer Hornsby -- that evaluate Ryle's attack on intellectualism and his alternative conception of knowledge-how. Part II, "Philosophical Considerations," includes five chapters. Three of these chapters (by Yuri Cath, Berit Brogaard, and Bengson and Moffett) focus on the question whether knowledge-how is a species or kind of knowledge-that. The remaining two attempt to identify some issues that recent discussions of knowledge-how have ignored or overlooked: Julie Annas distinguishes between two kinds of knowledge-how, and Alva Noë discusses a "third realm" that lies between the entirely subjective realm of mere taste and the entirely objective realm of the rule-governed. Part III, "Linguistic Perspectives," brings together three essays, by Jonathan Ginzburg, David Braun, and Laura A. Michaelis, on the syntax and semantics of knowledge-how constructions and their relevance to the debate between intellectualism and anti-intellectualism. Part IV, "Implications and Applications," includes four chapters, by Katherine Hawley, Michael Tye, Michael Devitt, and Ian Rumfitt, discussing the significance of philosophical work on knowledge-how for ethics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and philosophy of logic.

There is no essay in this collection that does not deserve wide notice and sustained study. Unfortunately, in a review of this length it is impossible to discuss all the essays with the depth of thought they themselves exhibit. In what follows I will examine some of the issues that I find especially interesting.

Let me start with what Snowdon calls "the central mystery of Ryle's approach" (67). The mystery is how to account for "the relation between the debate about intellectualism and the debate about the nature of know how" (67). Ryle's "Knowing How and Knowing That" opens with a preamble in which a doctrine he subsequently calls 'intellectualism' is characterized as the view that "intelligence concepts" such as "clever," "wise," "prudent," "sensible," and "skillful" are applied to practical actions in virtue of being accompanied by "internal acts of considering propositions" (Ryle 1945, 1). "What stands out is," as Snowdon observes, "that in the preamble Ryle never mentions know how" (62, emphasis original). Why is this? How does Ryle's attack on intellectualism sit with what he has to say about the relation between knowing how and knowing that?

This is not in fact much of a mystery if mysteries are supposed to be extremely resistant to a solution (or dissolution). What we have here is more like a puzzle crying for a substantial interpretation. Snowdon himself gives a brief sketch of a solution to the puzzle (67), and Bengson and Moffett provide a more detailed interpretation of how to understand how Ryle sees the bearing of his rejection of intellectualism on his thesis that knowing how cannot be defined in terms of knowing that (7-9, 19). The answer these three philosophers give to this question is basically that intellectualism is a general thesis about mind and action, a thesis which can be tested by evaluating one of its instances -- i.e., the idea that knowing how is a species of knowing that. On this approach, intelligence has many varieties, of which knowledge-how is merely an instance. If this is so, then if knowledge-how cannot be accounted for solely in terms of knowledge-that, then intellectualism fails.

An alternative approach to the puzzle would be to take Ryle as holding that having intelligence is having knowledge-how and also that intelligence concepts like "clever," "wise," and "acute," are disguised adverbs that qualify the object of knowledge-how in question. Some evidence for these two claims can be found, respectively, in the following passages:

When a person knows how to do things of a certain sort, we call him 'acute', 'shrewd', 'scrupulous' (Ryle 1945, 14).

Intelligently to do something . . . is not to do two things, one "in our heads" and the other perhaps in the outside world; it is to do one thing in a certain manner. It is somewhat like dancing gracefully (Ryle 1945, 3).

On this approach, "Michael is a wise chess player" can be read as expressing, roughly, that Michael knows how to play chess wisely, and "Michael is (now) wisely playing chess" can be read as expressing, roughly, that Mike's knowing how to play chess wisely is (now) actualized, given that on Ryle's view, knowledge-how is a disposition that may be actualized (1945, 14). I do not mean to suggest that this is the correct interpretation of how Ryle construes the relation between intelligence and knowledge-how, but only that this is one alternative interpretation.

Unfortunately, however, neither interpretation sits well with Ryle's main argument against intellectualism, namely, the famous regress argument. The problem is that the regress argument loses its spell when applied against the thesis that knowledge-how can be accounted for solely in terms of knowledge-that. Let me explain. Ryle's regress argument starts with asking the question what makes the supposedly intelligence-conferring "internal act of considering propositions" themselves intelligently performed. It seems that such an act must itself be intelligently performed because otherwise it does not appear to be capable of conferring intelligence to any practical action. However, if it is intelligently performed, then it appears that, according to intellectualism, there must be another internal act of considering a proposition which confers intelligence to the initial act in question. Since the same reasoning applies to this further internal act, a regress ensues.

Now suppose that what makes a practical action an exercise of knowledge-how (and what therefore makes it intelligent) is a piece of knowledge-that. If we attempt to apply the regress argument against this supposition, then we need to argue that the piece of knowledge-that in question must itself be "intelligently performed", which may possibly mean, for all I can see, that the belief which is a part of that piece of knowledge is justified . Now, of course, there is a good old epistemic regress problem with respect to the justification of our beliefs. But this is not a special problem for the intellectualist but a general problem for all philosophers of knowledge. If Ryle's regress argument against intellectualism reduces to a general epistemic regress problem when applied to the intellectualist-looking thesis that knowledge-how is to be accounted for solely in terms of knowledge-that, then it does not have any special force against that thesis. However, Ryle's regress argument is designed to have such a special force against intellectualism. So, what is thought to count against intellectualism cannot, by itself, be supposed to count against the thesis in question. This implies that the relation between intellectualism and the alleged intellectualist-looking thesis is harder to specify than what the above interpretations suggest. So, the puzzle appears to remain unsolved.

Let me now turn to a related topic, the question whether knowledge-how is a species of knowledge-that. Jason Stanley and Timothy Willamson (2001) made a strong case for the thesis that knowledge-how is "simply a species of propositional knowledge" (441). Cath, in his essay in this collection, provides some persuasive reasons against this thesis. He argues that knowledge-that is typically or standardly taken to be subject to some conditions which knowledge-how need not satisfy, such as the anti-luck condition, the (undefeated) justification condition, and the belief condition. So, there are cases where knowledge-how and knowledge-that come apart .

To get a sense of Cath's arguments, consider his "Lucky Light Bulb" case. Charlie wants to learn how to change a light bulb and consults a copy of The Idiot's Guide to Everyday Jobs . However, unbeknownst to Charlie, all the copies of the book except his are filled with misleading instructions, and Charlie is extremely lucky to have the accurate one. Charlie reads his copy and grasps the instructions therein perfectly. So, there is a way, call it 'w 1 ', such that Charlie now believes that w 1 is a way for him to change a light bulb. Intuitively, Charlie now knows how to change a light bulb but he does not know that w 1 is a way for him to change the light bulb. This is because Charlie's belief is only accidentally true: Charlie could have easily bought a copy filled with misleading instructions and thus have easily come to believe something false about ways of changing a light bulb. However, Charlie's being epistemically lucky with respect to the truth of his belief about w 1 does not seem to be a reason to think he thereby fails to possess the corresponding knowledge-how.

This is a beautiful and strong argument. I am inclined to think that it shows what it is intended to show: that knowledge-how is not subject to some constraints that are traditionally associated with knowledge-that. If that is so, then it seems that there are two options for the intellectualist: either to argue that there is a kind of knowledge-that that is not subject to the traditional constraints mentioned above and that knowledge-how is a species of this non-traditional kind of knowledge-that, or to maintain that traditional constraints hold for all cases of knowledge-that and to retreat to a somewhat weaker intellectualist thesis that knowledge-how is a matter of standing in an intentional relation to a proposition other than the knowledge-that relation. Cath provides a sketch for the latter, while Brogaard argues for the former in her contribution to the volume. Unfortunately for the intellectualist, neither option appears to be promising. Let me first say a couple of things about Cath's suggestion, and then I will turn to Brogaard's account.

Cath offers the following "seeming analysis" of knowledge-how:

S knows how to Φ if, and only if, there is some way w to Φ such that:

(a) S stands in the seeming relation to the proposition that w is a way to Φ, and

(b) S entertains the proposition that way w is a way to Φ under a practical mode of presentation (133).

The notion of "a practical mode of presentation" is adapted from Stanley and Willamson's proposal on knowledge-how, and let us not worry about what it is. The "seeming" relation in question is, Cath takes it, different from believing. "It can seem to one," Cath says, "that p even when one fails to believe that p" (133). Let us also not worry whether there is indeed such a propositional attitude that is considerably weaker than believing. What is striking about Cath's proposal is that nothing on the right-hand side of the biconditional appears to be capable of accounting for, or amounting to, knowledge . If knowledge-how is a form of knowledge, and if no form of knowledge can be accounted for by the relations of seeming (which is weaker than believing) and entertaining under a practical mode of presentation, then Cath's proposal appears to be inadequate. The problem is not merely that, on Cath's proposal, there is no mention of traditional conditions for knowledge such as justification and belief. After all, Cath's primary aim in his paper is to show that those conditions need not be satisfied by knowledge-how. The problem is that what is offered in place of those constraints does not even come close to being able to provide a plausible analysis of any form of knowledge, let alone, in our case, of knowledge-how.

Cath's proposal is perhaps, as Brogaard suggests, that 'know' "ambiguously denot[es] sometimes a knowledge state and sometimes an intellectual seeming state" (145). If this is the correct reading of Cath's proposal, then it is also not without problems. First, I do not think there are any convincing reasons to think that when 'know' is followed by 'that' and 'how', it turns out to have different meanings, namely, knowing and seeming, respectively. 'Know' appears to uniquely denote one kind of state, however the nature of that state is cashed out and even though the object it takes on different occasions may differ in kind (e.g., a proposition, an ability, or an individual). Notice that there are knowledge- wh constructions such as 'know why', 'know where', and 'know when', as well as constructions like 'know that' and 'know how'. Are we to say, following Cath's proposal, that 'know' denotes different states in these constructions?

Second, if 'knowledge-how' were to denote seeming (under a practical mode of presentation), then it would be impossible to have seeming without knowledge-how. But it appears that there are such cases. Consider Susan, who is an anxious driver who gets overexcited and loses control whenever she tries to parallel park her car. It is the same story each time: her car is tired of the accidents Susan has every time she tries to parallel park it. This is so despite the fact that Susan took every theoretical and practical lesson from the best drivers available in the country. Now, there appears to be some way w to parallel park Susan's car such that Susan stands in the seeming relation (under a practical mode of presentation) to the proposition that w is a way to parallel park her car. Yet, intuitively, Susan does not know how to parallel park her car (as the numerous accidents she has had bear witness). If that is so, then knowledge-how and seeming (under a practical mode of presentation) may come apart, which implies that knowledge-how is not seeming.

Let me now turn to Brogaard's account of knowledge-how, which offers a radical reconceptualization of knowledge-that. Brogaard argues that there are primitive knowledge- that states that are not belief entailing and also that some knowledge-how states are primitive non-belief entailing knowledge-that states:

If s knows how to A but does not have a belief to the effect that doing P 1 , P 2 , P 3 , . . . in S is a way for s to A, then it is plausible that s, at least at some level of information processing , has information to the effect that doing P 1 , P 2 , P 3 , . . . in S is a way for s to A" (155, emphasis mine).

The following quotation succinctly captures her main thesis:

If s is in an ability state with the content of 'doing P 1 , P 2 , P 3 , . . .,  in S is a way for s to A', and ability states are knowledge states, then there is a way w (namely, doing P 1 , P 2 , P 3 , . . . in S) such that s knows that w is a way for s to A. For example, it is plausible that my hamster Harry is in an ability state with the representational content of 'doing P 1 , P 2 , P 3 , . . . , in S is a way for me to find my food bowl.' So if ability states are knowledge states, then there is a way w such that my hamster Harry knows that w is a way for him to find his food bowl (157).

Brogaard's discussion of the relation between ability and knowledge-how is not as clear as one would like, but she appears to assume, with some plausibility, that the ability to A is to know how to A. According to Brogaard, her hamster Harry's knowledge-how can be thought of as incorporating pieces of knowledge- that even if he fails to have the relevant beliefs , insofar as he can be plausibly attributed a representational state carrying the relevant information processed at some level . Brogaard provides some arguments to the effect that such an attribution is plausible, and accordingly concludes that intellectualism buttressed with a novel conception of knowledge-that is not threatened by the possibility of knowledge-how states that are not accompanied by relevant beliefs.

There are, I think, many problems with Brogaard's overall account. I will mention only one of them that appears to me especially important. I see no reason why the anti-intellectualist as such should deny that having knowledge-how is accompanied by or even requires having an information-carrying state at some level . It seems reasonable to attribute some information-carrying states at some level to creatures with certain abilities that are not capable of having beliefs (just as, for instance, it seems reasonable to attribute some information-carrying states at some level to creatures with certain perceptual capacities that are not capable of having beliefs). Brogaard's hamster Harry's feet may be thought of as carrying the information at some level that the grass is wet; his retinas may be thought of as carrying the information at some level that his master is coming towards him; his ears may be thought of as carrying the information at some level that a cat nearby is meowing; and so on. These pieces of information are processed at a sub-personal level in that they are not access-conscious (Block 1998). But do the commitments of the anti-intellectualist include claims such as that when a subject has knowledge-how, there are no states at any level that can be plausibly thought of as carrying information?  Surely not. Or, if yes, anti-intellectualism is much stronger (and much more implausible) than what it is generally taken to be, and intellectualism comes close to being a truism.

So, anti-intellectualism is either the thesis that when a subject knows how to do something, there are no representational contents at any levels of processing, or the thesis that when a subject knows how to do something, there are no representational contents that are processed at the level of believing. The former thesis is very strong and (almost) surely false, and it cannot be what has given rise to so much controversy. However, if it is the latter thesis, then, as Brogaard acknowledges (150), Cath's Jodie case (116) appears to have devastating implications against intellectualism. So, either intellectualism is (almost) surely true but uninteresting, or it is interesting but faces serious difficulties.

On the whole, Knowing How is an excellent collection from some exceptional philosophers. This is not a book for a small group of philosophers interested in some distant and specialized field. It is a book on the very central areas of philosophy, and thus there is something thus useful for all serious philosophers. The wealth of its perspectives and accounts is not merely a blessing but also a nightmare for the reviewer. This review would deem itself successful if it managed to raise some worries and questions in a way to stimulate further discussion.

Block, N. 1998. On a confusion about a function of consciousness. In N. Block, O. Flanagan, G. Guzeldere. The nature of consciousness: philosophical debates . MIT Press: 375-415.

Ryle, G. 1945. Knowing how and knowing that. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society , 46: 1-16.

Ryle, G. 1949. The concept of mind . Chicago: Chicago University Press.

Stanley, J., and T. Williamson. 2001. Knowing how. Journal of Philosophy , 98: 411-444.

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Importance of Knowledge and Opinion

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Guide to the TOK Essay

What’s covered:.

• What is Theory of Knowledge (TOK)?
• What is the Theory of Knowledge Essay?

How is the Theory of Knowledge Essay Scored?

How to structure your theory of knowledge essay.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB/IBDP) is a rigorous and rewarding internationally based educational program that offers courses in numerous studies, from humanities to chemistry. Students take part in a two-year curriculum that includes external examinations, internal assessments, research papers and community service hours. Essentially, students will have to do a bit of everything, especially with IB’s core, which is CAS, TOK, and the extended essay (EE). Understanding how TOK, IB’s flagship class, is assessed with its essay is important to success in the course overall. 

What is Theory Of Knowledge (TOK)?

Theory of Knowledge is IB’s way of introducing a more intuitive way of thinking into classrooms. TOK is at its surface as simple as it sounds: you essentially learn the “what” and “why” of how we learn and understand knowledge. In order to assess students of their skills in TOK, IB uses an essay and a presentation. The essay makes up 67% of your total TOK score, making it the most important task to focus on for getting a high score. 

What is the Theory Of Knowledge Essay?

The TOK essay is a 1600 word essay written about topics usually given to students from their teachers from a list of numerous options. It is an essay that promotes arguments and counterarguments for the topic at hand. Understanding your ways of knowing (WOKs) and areas of knowledge (AOKs) is extremely crucial before you even start choosing a topic to write on, as your essay will revolve around and structure itself based on these two concepts. Being able to demonstrate higher-level thinking and using examples to solidify the points you make in your essay is also important. Additionally, you’ll need to reference every source of information that you use, since that is something examiners look for as well.

As said earlier, 67% of your grade is from the essay, and your overall TOK score receives a letter grade using a calculated score out of thirty. Your essay score and presentation score are each out of ten. The grades for your TOK presentation and essay are determined by sending material to the board of IB, from which they designate a grader/examiner to read your essay and grade based on a rubric that determines the level of knowledge you exhibit in your writing.

The following formula should better explain how to find your TOK grade. 

(presentation score) + (essay score * 2) = overall score out of 30

The grade boundaries out of 30 that determine your letter grade can vary each year so checking in with your school for the most recent ones is the best course of action, but an example set would be like this:

Once you have a letter grade for IB, your extended essay, which is another part of the core, is also included into a larger grading schema to calculate your core score, which is three additional points required to complete and earn the diploma. The following table details this grade further:

Doing well in the core is important to passing IB and getting three points out of the total 45 attainable points. 

There’s a trick that most IB students use in writing the TOK essay, and it boils down to understanding four key components of learning:

• Content : Understanding knowledge issues
• Clarity : Structuring your essay in a legible and clear/easy to read manner
• Creativity : Using your personal ways of thinking and applications of knowledge specific to your understanding of the knowledge issue
• Critical Thinking : Using a counter argument for every argument you have to analyze your own claims constantly 

Dividing your actual essay into three main chunks helps, starting with an introduction. Your introduction should be where you state your knowledge question, the central point of your essay, and you should make use of jargon specific to the concept. As the basis of your essay, the introduction should be where you form claims and counterclaims that either support or challenge the knowledge question through heavy analysis and evaluation. 

The body of the essay follows the introduction, and it is where most of the conceptual analysis of your knowledge question takes place. Every argument and its counterargument should have a dedicated paragraph of its own, and make sure to not jump back and forth too much throughout the essay. to avoid creating messy transitions for the reader and potentially harming your score. Understanding the essay from the reader’s point of view is important, as it will help you better understand how to structure the body of your essay.

A conclusion in the TOK essay is mainly for finding closure among the numerous arguments that have been taking place thus far in the essay. Make sure to summarize but not repeat previous information entirely to refresh the reader. A conclusion should essentially loop back to the beginning of the essay, the knowledge question. The knowledge question’s answer should be the conclusion and the stopping point of the essay, and by now the answer you provide should be backed by paragraphs of supporting claims and counterclaims. If done right, concluding the essay can be how you earn most of your points. 

Start Early

Starting early is an obvious and effective advantage to students. Aside from TOK, let alone the presentation, IB has substantial work that requires focus and allocated time dedicated to it, such as external examinations and the extended essay. These tasks are equally as important as the TOK essay, so starting your outlining, drafting or even just planning early will set you up for success.

Send Your Drafts to Your Teacher

Your TOK teacher is a great resource for drafting essays and making edits to perfect your final product. Making use of time outside of the classroom to catch your teacher for a quick review of your essay could be a bigger advantage than you realize. Making use of an outside perspective is essential to forming a great essay. 

While your final IB grade isn’t as important as you’d think regarding college admissions, understanding how to pass TOK and using the lifelong practices you’ll learn in the class is even more important. TOK creates students who think outside conventional methods, making them excellent candidates in the eyes of college admissions offices. Taking TOK and showing proof of understanding it as well as capability of academic rigor is what colleges are looking for. For more information on how your chances of college admissions might look, use CollegeVine’s admissions calculator !

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Essay on Knowledge is Power

Students are often asked to write an essay on Knowledge is Power in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Knowledge is Power

Understanding the power of knowledge.

Knowledge is a powerful tool that can change our lives. It’s more than just facts; it’s a unique understanding of the world around us. With knowledge, we can make informed decisions, solve problems, and contribute to society.

The Role of Education

Education is the key to gaining knowledge. It opens doors to new ideas, perspectives, and opportunities. It’s through education that we learn about different subjects and develop skills.

Knowledge and Empowerment

Knowledge empowers us. It gives us the confidence to face challenges, the ability to make a difference, and the power to shape our future.

Also check:

• Paragraph on Knowledge is Power
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250 Words Essay on Knowledge is Power

Introduction.

The proverb “Knowledge is Power” is a timeless axiom that emphasizes the importance of knowledge in life. This potent phrase was first coined by Sir Francis Bacon, an influential philosopher and statesman, who understood the fundamental role of knowledge in shaping human destiny.

The Power of Knowledge

Knowledge bestows power by enabling individuals to make informed decisions, solve problems, and innovate. It’s a catalyst for social mobility, bridging gaps between different societal classes. The more knowledge a person possesses, the more they understand the world around them and their place within it.

Knowledge as a Tool of Empowerment

Knowledge is not just about acquiring information; it’s about understanding and applying that information effectively. It is a tool of empowerment, allowing us to challenge unjust systems, question prevailing norms, and shape a more equitable society. In essence, knowledge is the fuel that drives social change and progress.

Knowledge in the Digital Age

In the digital age, the value of knowledge has increased exponentially. With the internet acting as a global repository of information, the power of knowledge has become more accessible. However, it is the ability to critically analyze and apply this information that truly empowers individuals and societies.

In conclusion, knowledge is indeed power. It is an indispensable tool that influences our decisions, shapes our perspectives, and governs our actions. As we navigate through the complexities of the 21st century, let us remember that the power of knowledge is not in its possession but in its application.

500 Words Essay on Knowledge is Power

The phrase “Knowledge is Power” is a well-known adage that signifies the importance of knowledge in life. It is attributed to Sir Francis Bacon, an English philosopher and statesman, who penned it in his 1597 work, “Meditationes Sacrae.” The concept behind this statement is that knowledge equips us with the power to influence, to change, and to better ourselves and the world around us.

Knowledge is a potent tool that enables us to comprehend the complexities of the world. It is a catalyst that propels us forward, fostering our growth and development. It is not merely an accumulation of facts, but a tool that allows us to understand, analyze, and interpret information. It is through knowledge that we can discern truth from falsehood, make informed decisions, and shape our destiny.

Knowledge and Society

In the context of society, knowledge is a driving force that fuels progress. It is the bedrock of innovation, scientific discoveries, and technological advancements. It empowers societies to transcend boundaries, overcome challenges, and create solutions that enhance the quality of life. It is through knowledge that we have been able to harness the power of nature, cure diseases, and reach out to the stars.

Knowledge is a form of empowerment. It equips individuals with the ability to think critically, question, and challenge the status quo. It empowers individuals to break free from the shackles of ignorance, prejudice, and superstition. It fosters self-reliance and self-confidence, empowering individuals to shape their lives and contribute to society.

Knowledge and Ethics

While knowledge is a powerful tool, it is crucial to understand that power without ethics can lead to destructive consequences. Knowledge should be guided by a strong moral compass, ensuring that it is used for the betterment of humanity and not for its detriment. The ethical use of knowledge is what separates wisdom from mere intelligence.

In conclusion, knowledge is indeed power. It is a tool that enables us to understand the world, make informed decisions, and shape our destiny. It is a force that drives progress, innovation, and societal development. However, it is essential to remember that the power of knowledge must be guided by ethics, ensuring that it is used for the betterment of humanity. As we continue to accumulate knowledge, let us strive to use it wisely, ethically, and responsibly. The true power of knowledge lies not just in its acquisition, but in its application for the greater good.

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Essay on Knowledge

“Learning gives creativity, Creativity leads to thinking, Thinking provides knowledge, and Knowledge makes you great”. These lines had been said by our former president and great scientist Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam focusing on the importance of knowledge. It is the power of knowledge that made human beings become civilized and work for their betterment from an uncivilized early man.

Short and Long Essays on Knowledge in English

Knowledge is considered to be the greatest wealth of human beings that help in attaining success which in turn makes the society and nation progress. Hope these essays will be useful for you.

Knowledge Essay 10 Lines (100 – 150 Words)

1) Knowledge is man’s greatest asset.

2) Knowledge is important to decide good and bad for ourselves.

3) Knowledge helps people to attain success.

4) Time and experience are the major sources of knowledge.

5) We need knowledge for performing every task in our life.

6) Books, education, and people help us to acquire knowledge.

7) Knowledge helps in developing a good personality.

8) Knowledgeable people are respected everywhere.

9) Knowledge is the base of invention and development.

10) Knowledge grows by sharing, so we should always make positive use of our knowledge.

Essay 1 (250 Words) – Knowledge

Introduction

Knowledge can be defined as the facts and information that a person comes to learn in his whole life. Different people have different levels of knowledge. Knowledge is mainly concerned with what we see and recognize.

What is Knowledge?

We try to know about different things and that tendency to know and learn about different things, events, or phenomenon is called knowledge. Knowledge about anything helps us in understanding things from our own perspective. The main aspect is that we should know about that thing.

Knowledge helps us in understanding the difference between right and wrong. We learn and acquire knowledge throughout our life. The knowledge acquired is based on experience. People who have lived for more years have more access to everything. They have attained the information as a result of their experience. We can judge a person’s knowledge by the way it is applied in any situation. We can be called knowledgeable if we have information about most things.

People who are having knowledge can understand the problems in a better way and further by the power of their understanding can find out the solution. Merely having knowledge about anything does not mean that we can get success in that field. It depends upon this thing that how we are applying the same. A person without knowledge is unable to understand many things. Knowledge helps us in calculations, solving puzzles, riding a bike, driving a car, etc.

Knowledge makes a person act sensibly and wisely. It helps a person in the development of his personality.

Essay 2 (400 Words) – Knowledge is a Lifelong Process and Leads to Inventions

Knowledge is like an ornament. As ornament adds beauty, the same way knowledge makes us wise and adds beauty to our personality. Knowledge is attained by experience. It depends on us whether we have the capability of learning or not. When we have information about anything then only we can further make the judgment. Debates, group interactions, people around us, and several books are different ways by which we can acquire learning and enhance our knowledge.

Knowledge is a Lifelong Process

Knowledge is not acquired at an instant. The whole life we learn and gain knowledge. Knowledge increases day by day. We work on the process of learning to gain more knowledge. We should have a good reading habit to get new ideas and information. The application of our knowledge in the right direction leads us to become successful. We must keep our senses open to perceive and learn different things from our surroundings.

Knowledge is the greatest wealth that one can have. It cannot be stolen neither it fades; instead, it increases day by day. It makes us understand different things, and therefore we can differentiate between right and wrong. Children do not know everything by birth but slowly and slowly learn different activities. Many of us have studied from different subjects but in reality, we do not have good knowledge about the subject. The people with good knowledge are successful in life as they are humble and helping in the same way as a tree overloaded with fruits bends down showing modesty and respect.

Knowledge can Lead to Inventions

The knowledge we possess is turned to the invention is applied in a better way. The different technologies, machinery, and the development we see around us are the results of the application of knowledge or ideas of human beings. We are blessed to have a brain that differentiates us from animals. We have the ability to think, speak, and remember many things in our life. Education is one of the ways to gain knowledge. The development of interest in any particular aspect makes us find more information about that thing. Further, if the information is used up by human beings wisely in a creative manner will lead to the betterment of the society and nation.

Knowledge is a valuable asset to mankind. Knowledge helps people in achieving the goal of their life along with the inculcation of moral values. The people who are learned help in the betterment of society and nation and are respected by all.

Essay 3 (500 – 600 Words) – Knowledge: Source, Advantages and Disadvantages

Knowledge is basically what one learns and understands in their daily life. Every one of us performs several activities in our daily life. We learn about those activities and understand them well, this is also the knowledge. The level of knowledge depends upon our age experience and profession. The perspective of a scientist will be different from a student and a normal person. Knowledge helps in the building of our personality and helps us in getting a good profession.

Source of Knowledge

Knowledge is not attained in one day but it is a lifelong process. People keep on learning about different things from birth until death. There are many sources from where we can get a lot of information and hence it will help us in the process of constant learning and gaining knowledge.

• The group interaction, discussion, and communication with our family members and friends will help us to get more information on different topics. Each of us thinks differently and therefore has a different perspective of learning. Therefore when different people are expressing their views and ideas on one platform we can learn many new things from them .
• The most preferred option for learning nowadays is the internet. Many students and people are dependent on the internet to get information about anything. The Internet provides updated information on any topic. People find the internet as an easy source of learning.
• Books, articles, newspapers, and magazines are also an aid to provide knowledge about different subjects. This also helps us in knowing the current affairs in chronological order.
• Teachers and parents are the ones who teach us moral values along with different subjects. Parents are the first teacher of the students and a child learns all the basic activities from their parents. In schools, the teacher is responsible for the all-round development of an individual.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Knowledge

Everything has both positive and negative effects. In the same way, knowledge has many of the better impacts but negative too. The whole thing depends upon the way it is utilized and applied. The advantages and disadvantages of knowledge are enlisted below:

• Knowledge helps us in the building of our personality. The knowledge about different things will help in becoming a better person in society.
• Knowledge helps us in identifying right and wrong. If we have knowledge then only we can figure out about anything.
• Knowledge helps us in achieving our goal. It helps us to become doctors, scientists, engineers, artists, etc, in this way we are helping in the progress of our society and nation.
• Knowledge helps in the removal of the darkness of illiteracy.
• If we have proper knowledge or information about anything, then we can talk efficiently on that topic. We can also help others in understanding the topic. This reveals that knowledge helps in building up our confidence.
• Knowledge helps in learning different skills which in turn will help us to get better employment opportunities.
• The knowledge that has been gained by continued efforts when applied positively leads to the development of the nation.

Disadvantages

• The positive application of knowledge is beneficial but if the same knowledge is used in a negative way will lead to destruction and loss. There are many people who have good knowledge about many things but they are making their ideas to work negatively which is dangerous for humanity. The manufacturing of weapons and their use for mass killing is the negative use of knowledge. This is leading to the loss of lives of innocent people.

Practice Reading to Gain Knowledge

The regular habit of reading benefits us with different ideas, facts, and information. Reading also helps in the building of our vocabulary which is also the enhancement in our knowledge. It is necessary to inculcate the habit of reading in students from a very young age. It will be beneficial to them as they will develop the capability of problem-solving and recognizing the facts from the very beginning.

Knowledge helps us in correlating things that bring in us a better understanding. Knowledge remains with us throughout our life and makes us better human beings.

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

Ans . Knowledge is to know or understand something by studying or experience.

Ans . The word knowledge has been derived from the Greek word Gnosis which means knowing through observation.

Ans . Epistemology is the name given to the philosophical study of knowledge.

Ans . Knowledge makes us intelligent and increases our problem-solving capability.

Ans . Knowledge applied in a negative way becomes dangerous for society and the nation.

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Essay on Knowledge in English for Children and Students

Table of Contents

Knowledge is to know or understand something or someone. It is the information, truth or expertise acquired through learning or experience. It can be implicit or explicit. Knowledge is a very wide concept and has no end. Acquiring knowledge involves cognitive processes, communication, perception and logic.

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It is also the human capacity to recognize and accept the truth. Knowledge is Wisdom; acquiring knowledge makes you wise and improves your social status. A knowledgeable person is commands respect in the society and holds a dignified position. Acquiring knowledge is a never ending process and requires only basic inquisitiveness and a desire to learn.

Long and Short Essay on Knowledge in English

We have provided below Long and Short Essay on Knowledge in English for you.

These Knowledge Essay will give you an insight into the real meaning of knowledge and its importance in life.

After going through these long and short essays on education you will know the role that knowledge plays in our day to day life and in our overall progress.

Short Essay on Knowledge – Essay 1 (200 words)

Knowledge is awareness and understanding of something such as information, facts, narration or skills gained through education and experience by observing, discovering or learning. It refers to both theoretical and practical comprehension of a subject. Knowledge comes into practice with our actions. Knowledge guides us to a certain goal in life. Humans progress with the growth of knowledge. Human beings are ruled by both mind and heart, and knowledge is a part of the mind. Without knowledge human beings would have been as good as animals. We as humans are powerful as we use the power of knowledge to empower other living beings and nature for our benefits.

Knowledge can be used for positive as well as negative purposes. So knowledge can create and destroy at the same time. Some use knowledge for personal progress as well as the progress of the community, city, state and nation. But some may use it for negative purposes that may not only harm individuals but can also harm the community, city, state and even the nation as a whole.

Knowledge is crucial in varied aspects of life. We, humans would not have developed and progressed so much in life without knowledge about various things we are surrounded with.

Essay on Knowledge is Power – Essay 2 (300 words)

“Knowledge is power” is a very meaningful and important proverb. It refers to the power and awareness that we acquire through knowledge that we gain from experience and education. A well educated and knowledgeable person can make wiser decisions based on his understanding of day to day situations to overcome a difficult problem. Knowledge is superior to muscle power. Power is the ability to work and act effectively.

Earlier man used to live a life of a nomad at the mercy of nature. He used to wander in search of food and shelter and to protect himself from wild animals and other dangers. Soon man started observing nature and events happening around him and started gaining knowledge. He discovered fire and its uses. He also started making tools for hunting purposes and developed his hunting skills.

With his power of knowledge man began to develop and discover natural phenomenon. He started using nature for his personal advantage. Knowledge made his life comfortable and he started living a more settled life by building huts for shelter. Today, man has developed by leaps and bounds. He makes use of his knowledge to dominate others. With knowledge man has achieved all the leisures and comforts in life.

Knowledge gave him the power over physically strength. Man has now educated and cultured himself. He has immensely progressed in the field of science and technology. He is the most powerful creature on Earth and dominates nature and other physically strong species with his mental strength and ability.

Man has succeeded in diverse aspects of life with the power of knowledge. In day to day life knowledge is important to deal with any kind of problem or situation. Thus, knowledge is power. It is more powerful than any other power. A knowledgeable person is respected by everyone around.

Essay on Knowledge and Wisdom – Essay 3 (400 words)

Introduction

Knowledge is awareness and understanding of something. It refers to the information, facts, skills and wisdom acquired through learning and experiences in life. On the other hand, wisdom is the ability to think and act wisely by using knowledge gained through understanding, experience and learning.

Wisdom is the understanding about why things behave in a certain way. It is to have deeper insight into something than just knowing them on the surface level. Wisdom is to understand the consequences of certain actions for one-self and for others. Developing wisdom is very important. Developing wisdom is one of the reasons of gaining education and knowledge.

Wisdom vs. Knowledge

Wisdom refers to the coordination of “experience and knowledge” and how to effectively use both to improve wellbeing. We gain knowledge by learning and education and wisdom is the attribute of being wise. Knowledge gives us a clear understanding of facts and truth and wisdom helps us make correct decisions in life. If a person learns about any particular subject such as history or geography then he can eventually gain knowledge about that subject. He can read books or research online to develop knowledge on any topic of his interest.

Having knowledge alone is not enough but the ability to use your knowledge and experience effectively in day to day life is important. Wisdom is the ability to solve problems with the knowledge you have. Wisdom is to act in any given circumstance with knowledge about its various aspects. It is to practice self-control during the hardships and challenges of life and to patiently deal with it.

It is to understand the feelings and emotions of one-self and others. Wisdom helps you overcome negative feelings and have a positive perspective towards life. It leads you towards meaningful and purposeful life. On the other hand, knowledge has made man wise and the most powerful creature on Earth.

The progress man has made is through knowledge as well as wisdom. Even if we were wise but we didn’t have knowledge about diverse things in life we wouldn’t have developed so much and vice-versa.

We have learnt so much by gaining knowledge and education and we seek more and more knowledge every day. Wisdom is important to wisely put that knowledge into practice. The skill of wisdom is important for everything we do in life. Thus, knowledge and wisdom go hand in hand. Having knowledge alone is of no good and same goes for wisdom.

Essay on Knowledge Based Education – Essay 4 (500 words)

Knowledge based education puts emphasis on teaching and learning based on broadly shared knowledge as it builds strong foundation for future learning. It provides a stock full of useful facts and a set of flexible skills. Unless we know the content and context we cannot demonstrate our skills. In knowledge based education learners get information that they need to know and how to apply that information in real life. Acquiring knowledge is the first step towards the development of an individual.

Knowledge based education is based on both knowledge that students already have and the knowledge they are going to obtain. Knowledge is facts and information and a set of scientific principles. It is about knowing and learning to do something. It is about developing social skills. Knowledge based education gives you a deeper insight and better understanding of the subject. It builds confidence to discuss about various topics with people around you.

Importance of knowledge based Education:

• Knowledge increases Knowledge: We always learn something new by building on knowledge that we have. To learn something new we need to have basic knowledge first. For example, if you want to buy a dress of Sonam Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor’s brand “Rheson” you will search online where you can buy the dress. But if you never knew the name of the brand and that the brand even exists then you wouldn’t be searching for it. It is important to know to learn more. To move on from one step to another we need to know more. Like in school we start from LKG, UKG and then move on to 1 st standard, 2nd standard and so on. It builds the strong base.
• Reading Comprehension: Reading helps to decode text and improves fluency to pronounce the speech sounds clearly. In knowledge based education, teachers focus on providing reading instructions to develop comprehension skills such as to understand the main idea, imagine, evaluate and conclude. But to understand and comprehend students need content rich knowledge on the subject.
• Communication: Shared knowledge allows you to communicate. Shared knowledge is important for communicating and understanding each other. In school when we discuss about a certain chapter with classmates, they have knowledge about it as it has already been discussed in the classroom by teacher. They are aware of the subject matter in detail so it becomes easy to communicate. Students can also identify what they have learnt and what they still don’t know that helps them to clear the doubts later.
• Boost Confidence: Knowledge based education boosts confidence in students as they possess essential knowledge and skills to use it. It builds their ability to think and process independently. Knowledge enables them to develop and grow to their full stature. It helps them socialize more confidently and effectively.

Conclusion: Knowledge based education is important as students can advance educationally and become better readers by obtaining knowledge of the world around them. It helps them develop and become socially active. It helps them progress in various aspects of life. Knowledge gives them a better understanding of the world around them.

Essay on Importance of Knowledge in Life – Essay 5 (600 words)

Knowledge is information and skills obtained through education and experience. It is the practical or theoretical insight into a subject. Man has a unique power, “The power of knowledge.” Knowledge gives him a vision in life and helps him develop and progress. It helps him succeed and achieve what he wants in life.

Each and every activity he does or decision he takes in life requires knowledge. Knowledge helps him to create and innovate. It helps him in every aspect of life whether its art, entertainment, studies, cooking, travelling, and managing finance or just about anything. It is also important to put knowledge to good use. As knowledge can create, it can also destroy. If knowledge is used for negative purposes in life it can be very harmful.

Importance of Knowledge

• Personal Development: Knowledge is important for personal growth and development. Knowledge can last for lifetime and it impacts our growth which influences everything in our life from relationships to work. By enriching brain with knowledge we improve its ability to think, evaluate and process. We can gain knowledge on everything that we find interesting like any dance form, art, architecture, history or just about anything for our personal development. With knowledge we become more confident about ourselves in life. It is easy for us to socialize confidently and have meaningful conversation with people. It makes us wise enough to independently take our decisions in life. But it is important to adopt positive mindset to become a constant learner only then it helps us progress and achieve our goals.
• Knowledge leads to success: I n today’s fast paced life without education and the power of knowledge it is not possible to succeed in life. It is not just enough to have knowledge on a particular subject to succeed but it is also important to have knowledge about how to use it effectively to succeed. For example if one is a writer, it’s not just enough to write and get the work published but it’s also important to promote it on social media through various mediums. So, in today’s world it is important to have knowledge about various aspects of a subject.
• Day to day events: K nowledge is important and useful in day to day events. For example if I want to order a dress online, I need to have knowledge about how to order it and what are the payment options and what if the product is defective, within how many days I can return the product and so on. So, I need to have knowledge about all its aspects before I place the order. I also need to stay up-to date about the latest schemes and discounts available else I may end up paying more. So gaining knowledge is a constant process and is useful every single day.
• Knowledge is important to solve problems: We face many problems in life which can be solved with the power of knowledge. Knowledge enhances cognitive skills like reasoning and problem solving. A strong base of knowledge helps brains function more smoothly and effectively. We become smarter with the power of knowledge and solve problems more easily.

Knowledge is useful in every aspect of life. The more knowledge we have the more power we possess. It is important for our personal and professional development and leads us to achieve success in life. It is the personal attribute that leads us to live a good and humble life. Knowledge helps us in several ways but the best part is that it helps us understand ourselves as well as those around us better. It also helps us act wisely in different situations.

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Essay On ‘Knowledge Is Power’ – 10 Lines, Short & Long Essay For Kids

Key Points to Remember When Writing An Essay on ‘Knowledge Is Power’ For Lower Primary Classes

10 lines on ‘knowledge is power’ for kids, a paragraph on ‘knowledge is power’ for children, short essay on ‘knowledge is power’ for kids in 150 words, long essay on ‘knowledge is power’ in english for children, what your child will learn from the essay.

Knowledge is the most powerful thing in the world we live in today. Knowledge enriches the journey called life, and wisdom ensures survival. Being knowledgeable translates into being aware, smart, and valued. Kids need to learn this fact very early; they need to know that success and respect seldom knock on the door without knowledge. Kids can learn and remember this by writing an essay on the topic. In this article, we present to you some sample ‘Knowledge Is Power’ essays in English your child can read and understand before they write their own essay. These essays on ‘Knowledge Is Power’ are suitable for classes 1, 2 and 3.

Writing an essay on a topic as extensive as ‘knowledge’ needs clarity of thoughts that kids in the lower grades lack. These key points can help your child draft a good composition on the topic.

• The essay needs to have a well-rounded introduction regarding what knowledge is and how it is the source of power in today’s world. The idea of power needs clarity.
• The body of the essay should cover points like how having knowledge helps, how it provides an edge, enhances personality, opens up opportunities, etc.
• The conclusion should have a summary of all the points mentioned above.

Kids need to understand the importance of acquiring knowledge from an early age. Therefore, they are often asked to create write-ups on topics that teach them life skills. Here are a few lines on ‘Knowledge Is Power’ for kids looking for sample 10-line essays for classes 1 and 2.

• Our ability to acquire knowledge in any field makes us unique as human beings.
• Knowledge is boon when applied for the betterment of society.
• Awareness of the present and the past makes us smart and bright and gives us an edge in society.
• Knowledge leads to wisdom and a better understanding of things around.
• With knowledge, we can have better control of our lives and contribute well to the liberation of humankind.
• Nobody can progress without appropriate knowledge.
• Knowledge eradicates ignorance.
• Knowledgeable people can take futuristic decisions in life.
• Knowledge can outshine all kinds of disabilities.
• Knowledge increases on sharing.

Writing on topics like ‘Knowledge Is Power’ is an enriching experience for kids. Below is a sample for your child to better understand how they can write a paragraph on the topic.

Having knowledge can be defined as the continuous process of being aware of specific facts, processes, skills, information, description, etc., crucial for growth and better life quality. ‘Knowledge is power’ is a phrase we have heard for ages. It establishes the importance of knowledge in one’s life. It signifies that knowledge is the kind of treasure nobody can steal, and the more you share it, the more it will grow. Our ability to learn new things makes us superior and unique from other creatures. It helps us overcome all problems in our lives and therefore, is an authentic power against all ignorance.

Here is a short 150-word essay on the topic for classes 1, 2 and 3:

Everyone has heard that knowledge is power. But what kind of power can a knowledgeable person have? Power, in this case, stands for the ability to make the right life decisions to perform efficiently and effectively in this dynamic world. And this ability comes with proper knowledge. Knowledge enhances cognitive abilities and allows us to seek meaningful solutions to all kinds of problems. It is essential to understand that knowledge cannot be bought; it is an unending process of learning and exploration. If someone wants to drive a car, they need to have the right driving techniques. Once they know how to drive a car, they have acquired the ability to drive the vehicle out on the road. It is all related; all kinds of skills need knowledge and constant practice. Knowledge influences growth in life.

Acquiring knowledge should be the ultimate goal of a person, and kids should understand this sooner. Given below is an essay for class 3 on the topic.

A country grows and becomes powerful by having the right amount of knowledgeable people as its citizens. They can help boost economic and social development, which is the actual testimony of power. Knowledge brings positivity, exclusivity and, most importantly, wisdom in understanding right and wrong. Let’s explore more about the phrase ‘Knowledge Is Power’.

Meaning And Origin Of The Phrase ‘Knowledge Is Power’

‘Knowledge is power’ is a very commonly used phrase as it establishes the importance of knowledge in an individual’s life and elaborates on the power a knowledgable person can hold. The credit for enlightening us with this phrase goes to Sir Francis Bacon, an English philosopher. The term ‘ipsa scientia potestas est’ first appeared in one of Francis’s Latin works called ‘Meditationes Sacrae’ (1597), which in English means ‘knowledge itself is power’. But, it is also said to have come from a phrase Sir Francis Bacon’s secretary, Thomas Hobbes, wrote for the first time in his version of Leviathan in 1668, ‘scientia potentia est’, which means ‘wisdom is power’.

Why Knowledge Is Important And How It Gives Us Power

Acquiring knowledge is an unending process of learning and simultaneous growth. Nobody can negate its importance in an individual’s life and the power it holds. It can get us better job opportunities, help us make sensible decisions, and provide us with appropriate guidance to solve any problem. It also helps us gain respect, wealth, and standing in society. Knowledge equips us with clarity of thoughts and helps us express our views confidently.

Benefits Of Knowledge

• It provides clarity of thoughts and enables us to form appropriate opinions.
• It helps in acquiring specific life-changing skills.
• Helps us differentiate between right and wrong.
• Boost confidence and helps in enhancing personality.
• It helps us contribute toward the emancipation of society.
• It prepares us to face problems.
• Eradicates ignorance and encourages positivity.
• It helps us hone skills in a progressing environment.
• It opens up better job options and stimulates personal growth.
• A nation develops multiple folds with the help of knowledgeable citizens.

Why Knowledge Is More Valuable Than Money

Money may end without proper knowledge, but knowledge can help us earn and save money and also gain returns on it. So yes, knowledge is more valuable than money, which is why it is often referred to as being the only treasure a person can have that increases with sharing.

Why Insufficient Knowledge Is Dangerous

One should have proper and complete knowledge of everything because insufficient knowledge will not add value and direction to their life. They are bound to become biased, which will hamper their sense of judgment in the long run. Thus, insufficient knowledge will lead to mistakes and impact growth opportunities.

The Best Ways To Improve Knowledge

We can seek professional guidance for acquiring knowledge in a particular field. However, there are some more ways we can improve our knowledge. Being observant and a good listener, socialising with intelligent people, reading books and newspapers, and staying updated are a few ways to do so. Being inquisitive about things around us will boost our thirst for knowledge.

Your child will learn the importance of continuous learning to make better decisions in life. They will also understand that they can lead a happy and satisfactory life with knowledge.

A kid should understand the importance of acquiring knowledge early on, and writing an essay on the topic is a good way of doing that.

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What Is Academic Writing? | Dos and Don’ts for Students

Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. You’ll encounter it in journal articles and books on academic topics, and you’ll be expected to write your essays , research papers , and dissertation in academic style.

Academic writing follows the same writing process as other types of texts, but it has specific conventions in terms of content, structure and style.

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Table of contents

Types of academic writing, academic writing is…, academic writing is not…, useful tools for academic writing, academic writing checklist.

Academics mostly write texts intended for publication, such as journal articles, reports, books, and chapters in edited collections. For students, the most common types of academic writing assignments are listed below.

Different fields of study have different priorities in terms of the writing they produce. For example, in scientific writing it’s crucial to clearly and accurately report methods and results; in the humanities, the focus is on constructing convincing arguments through the use of textual evidence. However, most academic writing shares certain key principles intended to help convey information as effectively as possible.

Whether your goal is to pass your degree, apply to graduate school , or build an academic career, effective writing is an essential skill.

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Formal and unbiased.

Academic writing aims to convey information in an impartial way. The goal is to base arguments on the evidence under consideration, not the author’s preconceptions. All claims should be supported with relevant evidence, not just asserted.

To avoid bias, it’s important to represent the work of other researchers and the results of your own research fairly and accurately. This means clearly outlining your methodology  and being honest about the limitations of your research.

The formal style used in academic writing ensures that research is presented consistently across different texts, so that studies can be objectively assessed and compared with other research.

Because of this, it’s important to strike the right tone with your language choices. Avoid informal language , including slang, contractions , clichés, and conversational phrases:

• Also , a lot of the findings are a little unreliable.
• Moreover , many of the findings are somewhat unreliable.

Clear and precise

It’s important to use clear and precise language to ensure that your reader knows exactly what you mean. This means being as specific as possible and avoiding vague language :

• People have been interested in this thing for a long time .
• Researchers have been interested in this phenomenon for at least 10 years .

Avoid hedging your claims with words like “perhaps,” as this can give the impression that you lack confidence in your arguments. Reflect on your word choice to ensure it accurately and directly conveys your meaning:

• This could perhaps suggest that…
• This suggests that…

Specialist language or jargon is common and often necessary in academic writing, which generally targets an audience of other academics in related fields.

However, jargon should be used to make your writing more concise and accurate, not to make it more complicated. A specialist term should be used when:

• It conveys information more precisely than a comparable non-specialist term.
• Your reader is likely to be familiar with the term.
• The term is commonly used by other researchers in your field.

The best way to familiarize yourself with the kind of jargon used in your field is to read papers by other researchers and pay attention to their language.

Focused and well structured

An academic text is not just a collection of ideas about a topic—it needs to have a clear purpose. Start with a relevant research question or thesis statement , and use it to develop a focused argument. Only include information that is relevant to your overall purpose.

A coherent structure is crucial to organize your ideas. Pay attention to structure at three levels: the structure of the whole text, paragraph structure, and sentence structure.

Well sourced

Academic writing uses sources to support its claims. Sources are other texts (or media objects like photographs or films) that the author analyzes or uses as evidence. Many of your sources will be written by other academics; academic writing is collaborative and builds on previous research.

It’s important to consider which sources are credible and appropriate to use in academic writing. For example, citing Wikipedia is typically discouraged. Don’t rely on websites for information; instead, use academic databases and your university library to find credible sources.

You must always cite your sources in academic writing. This means acknowledging whenever you quote or paraphrase someone else’s work by including a citation in the text and a reference list at the end.

There are many different citation styles with different rules. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago . Make sure to consistently follow whatever style your institution requires. If you don’t cite correctly, you may get in trouble for plagiarism . A good plagiarism checker can help you catch any issues before it’s too late.

You can easily create accurate citations in APA or MLA style using our Citation Generators.

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Correct and consistent

As well as following the rules of grammar, punctuation, and citation, it’s important to consistently apply stylistic conventions regarding:

• How to write numbers
• Introducing abbreviations
• Using verb tenses in different sections
• Capitalization of terms and headings
• Spelling and punctuation differences between UK and US English

In some cases there are several acceptable approaches that you can choose between—the most important thing is to apply the same rules consistently and to carefully proofread your text before you submit. If you don’t feel confident in your own proofreading abilities, you can get help from Scribbr’s professional proofreading services or Grammar Checker .

Academic writing generally tries to avoid being too personal. Information about the author may come in at some points—for example in the acknowledgements or in a personal reflection—but for the most part the text should focus on the research itself.

Always avoid addressing the reader directly with the second-person pronoun “you.” Use the impersonal pronoun “one” or an alternate phrasing instead for generalizations:

• As a teacher, you must treat your students fairly.
• As a teacher, one must treat one’s students fairly.
• Teachers must treat their students fairly.

The use of the first-person pronoun “I” used to be similarly discouraged in academic writing, but it is increasingly accepted in many fields. If you’re unsure whether to use the first person, pay attention to conventions in your field or ask your instructor.

When you refer to yourself, it should be for good reason. You can position yourself and describe what you did during the research, but avoid arbitrarily inserting your personal thoughts and feelings:

• In my opinion…
• I think that…
• I like/dislike…
• I conducted interviews with…
• I argue that…
• I hope to achieve…

Long-winded

Many students think their writing isn’t academic unless it’s over-complicated and long-winded. This isn’t a good approach—instead, aim to be as concise and direct as possible.

If a term can be cut or replaced with a more straightforward one without affecting your meaning, it should be. Avoid redundant phrasings in your text, and try replacing phrasal verbs with their one-word equivalents where possible:

• Interest in this phenomenon carried on in the year 2018 .
• Interest in this phenomenon continued in 2018 .

Repetition is a part of academic writing—for example, summarizing earlier information in the conclusion—but it’s important to avoid unnecessary repetition. Make sure that none of your sentences are repeating a point you’ve already made in different words.

Emotive and grandiose

An academic text is not the same thing as a literary, journalistic, or marketing text. Though you’re still trying to be persuasive, a lot of techniques from these styles are not appropriate in an academic context. Specifically, you should avoid appeals to emotion and inflated claims.

Though you may be writing about a topic that’s sensitive or important to you, the point of academic writing is to clearly communicate ideas, information, and arguments, not to inspire an emotional response. Avoid using emotive or subjective language :

• This horrible tragedy was obviously one of the worst catastrophes in construction history.
• The injury and mortality rates of this accident were among the highest in construction history.

Students are sometimes tempted to make the case for their topic with exaggerated , unsupported claims and flowery language. Stick to specific, grounded arguments that you can support with evidence, and don’t overstate your point:

• Charles Dickens is the greatest writer of the Victorian period, and his influence on all subsequent literature is enormous.
• Charles Dickens is one of the best-known writers of the Victorian period and has had a significant influence on the development of the English novel.

There are a a lot of writing tools that will make your writing process faster and easier. We’ll highlight three of them below.

Paraphrasing tool

AI writing tools like ChatGPT and a paraphrasing tool can help you rewrite text so that your ideas are clearer, you don’t repeat yourself, and your writing has a consistent tone.

They can also help you write more clearly about sources without having to quote them directly. Be warned, though: it’s still crucial to give credit to all sources in the right way to prevent plagiarism .

Grammar checker

Writing tools that scan your text for punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes. When it detects a mistake the grammar checke r will give instant feedback and suggest corrections. Helping you write clearly and avoid common mistakes .

You can use a summarizer if you want to condense text into its most important and useful ideas. With a summarizer tool, you can make it easier to understand complicated sources. You can also use the tool to make your research question clearer and summarize your main argument.

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Use the checklist below to assess whether you have followed the rules of effective academic writing.

• Checklist: Academic writing

I avoid informal terms and contractions .

I avoid second-person pronouns (“you”).

I avoid emotive or exaggerated language.

I avoid redundant words and phrases.

I avoid unnecessary jargon and define terms where needed.

I present information as precisely and accurately as possible.

I use appropriate transitions to show the connections between my ideas.

My text is logically organized using paragraphs .

Each paragraph is focused on a single idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Every part of the text relates to my central thesis or research question .

I support my claims with evidence.

I use the appropriate verb tenses in each section.

I consistently use either UK or US English .

I format numbers consistently.

I cite my sources using a consistent citation style .

Your text follows the most important rules of academic style. Make sure it's perfect with the help of a Scribbr editor!

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