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Prompt Think about the views expressed in the following passage: WANT TO GET AHEAD? TRY LYING says a headline, with the idea that by always telling the truth, or by telling too much truth, we put ourselves at a disadvantage. Stephen Lim tells the following story: Working my way through school, I delivered special delivery mail for the U.S. Postal Service. Each morning the dispatcher handed drivers a pile of letters and packages. Before starting our route, we recorded the number of stops we had to make. While the other drivers padded their figures, I didnt. This made me look bad in comparison, lowering the supervisors opinion of my performance. Stephen paid a minor penalty for telling the truth. But others can suffer more serious consequences for being honest. Consider a few: Because they dont cheat on assignments and tests to boost their grades, some students fail to get into the college of their choice. Job applicants dont succeed in getting a coveted position because they refuse to pad their resums. In a nutshell, its harder and harder to be an honest person in todays society, says Stephen Lim.After a while, you feel like a jerk when other people are getting ahead by taking shortcuts. Adapted from Stephen Lim, Telling the TruthDoes It Pay? Plain Truth, May/June, 2001 Assignment: Does Stephens statement describe the way things actually are, or is it a cynical distortion of the truth? Plan and write an essay that discusses your point of view on the issue. Support your position with evidence and reasoning drawn from your studies, reading, experience, or observation. | 
