Secondly, the type of intelligence is not elite, that conveys the wrong meaning, but perhaps higher than average, and its important that the people not only possess the intelligence but know how to employ it. There are lots of geniuses out there who are too unskilled in the social graces to even get a steady job. A good example would be Madonna, who has little talent, voice wise anyway, her real talent has been creating enough controversy that she’s been able to out-last the vast majority of pop stars, many of whom probably possess a lot more inherent talent than she does.

Connecting your perspective means connecting what you think (i.e, you dont think hard work is enough to be successful in America) to how you came upon this idea, perhaps you believe this because you heard the story of bill gates, or because you have seen many hard working people who have not achieved the monetary success that others have.

Also be sure to include other examples: Phil Knight (creator of nike) had a great idea, he used a waffle iron to create the bottoms of shoes. That, while very inspired and very smart, is not exactly hard work.

Lastly, the most important aspect of this essay is not all the people who got ahead using hard work, as there are a lot, but all those who don’t. You should point out the growing gap between the rich and the poor in America, and the shrinking middle class. This is not because the middle class is getting lazier and losing their money on bad decisions. You should also point out all the people who work really hard but dont seem to get ahead. It depends on what you define as hard work, but many people from lower socioeconomic back-grounds must do physical labor (which by all accounts is very hard work) but fail to achieve the success they desire. Think of all the migrant workers who pick fields all day.

If you still need help with your essay after this, (though I don’t think you should) you can email it to me, though I don’t know how you can get my email, I am not comfortable posting it on this forum. Good Luck