Argumentative Essay: IQ Or Hard Work?

IQ or Hard Work

Which is more important: IQ or hard work? To answer this, you must first ask the questions, what is IQ and what is hard work? IQ is a measure of a person's intelligence. Hard work is a term used to describe the amount of effort the individual puts forth when completing a task. Some people are born smart and they catch on to new information with ease. Many argue that being intelligent is more important than being a hard worker. In reality, one has to work hard at whatever they do in life. Some claim that no matter how smart you are it is still necessary to work hard if you are to achieve anything of substance. Numerous factors play into account on which one is more important. Still others debate that IQ and hard work are equally important. Overall it is generally agreed upon that to be successful in this world, a person must at least be either

intelligent or a hard worker.

For centuries, people have been measured by how smart they are based on tests. From preschool to college graduation, students have their success measured through standardized tests; Tests that are meant to measure their intelligence. This may imply that our society values IQ over work ethic, but with enough determination a less intelligent student could still potentially be just as successful in life if not in school. There are many advantages to both having a higher IQ and being a hard worker, but with hard work and dedication a person can be just as successful as an intelligent person, whereas an intelligent person will often get nowhere without some degree of hard work.

In our society, IQ testing is a misconstrued term. Ordinarily it is linked to how smart a person is based on their mental capacity or the size of their brain. The misconception of IQ has stressed an importance on one's ability to score high on an intelligence test, when statistics have shown that it does not measure intelligence at all it only

divides the smart from the average; being “smart” is what society defines intelligence as, and always comparing the intelligent brains of this world to Einstein. The only thing the test has shown is a person’s aptitude level or their ability to solve problems quickly. IQ testing is a tool used by teachers to determine where a student is academically in conjunction to where they should be academically. Take making good grades as an example, to be successful academically one has to work exceptionally hard to succeed at it. If a person works hard at making good grades, then only good things can come from it, the student’s future would be very bright. “The goal of IQ tests is to predict someone’s academic potential, likelihood of a learning disability, and general potential for success” (Woodruff, 2013). By making good grades, students can get into the college of their choice and not settle for what they believe to be a last resort. An example would be a student who struggles with math. In math this student would have to study hard for each test, and they have to listen constantly to all the lectures or else they would get lost and fall behind very quickly. By learning to put in the hard work, it would lead to other necessary life skills such as pro-activeness and dedication. Once a person gains the skill of being proactive they would get their assignments done more quickly and have more free time. By being a hard worker, a person would benefit from having the skill of being a hard work and feeling as if they can accomplish anything that they set their minds to.
Over the years, researchers have found that hard work can be developed unlike intelligence. It requires a lot of patience which has to be formed and shaped to face the challenges. A person can be successful with hard work even without ranking high on the IQ tests. The harder a person works the more they would appreciate the reward in achieving great success. It does not matter how intellectual a person is if he does not put in the effort to learn and work hard, he would not be successful. Everything that we know is learned, and intelligent people are not born with everything already stored in their brains, they merely acquire the knowledge with greater ease. While intelligence can take people far and get them ahead of others, those who work harder tend to see more results that they want. Victory always goes to the ones who work the hardest. Slow and steady wins the race. This is a classic saying that indicates the determination in a study area will eventually help to overcome the obstacle and learn it better than the one who is naturally intelligent and therefore “quick.”
Many have argued that intelligence is not under a person's control, but hard work is. Intelligence is typically God given at birth. It can be defined as the innate ability for fast, accurate thought processing, and can be measured using the Intelligence Quotient. Students can get discouraged if they believe that their intelligence depends on their academic success. If this were true for most students, it would take away from the education that they already have and make it irrelevant. Students who push harder, achieve greater success. For a student who is not as intellectual as the other, who works as hard as he can, and still gets told that his success depends on how smart he is. It only conveys that by working hard isn’t good enough to succeed in the world. Rather than push students to work hard, the system separates students by their intelligence. “In a variety of studies, researchers have found that students who doubt their academic abilities, or question whether students with their particular backgrounds belong at their schools, frequently fall behind or fail at school—regardless of their innate intelligence or the quality of the teaching they receive” (Toch, Headen 2014). In school, the methods used for testing students academically made the students look either smart, average, or dumb. Standardized tests are now a more common part of a student’s life. These tests are becoming a stepping stone to go to college or further one’s education in some way. The admissions committee at the majority of the colleges often weighs intelligence over hard work because test scores are more often viewed as a predictor of success than simple hard work. So students with higher test scores have a greater chance of acceptance to post-secondary institutions, and the more average student may be placed on a waiting list for enrollment. The average person may spend hours studying for the ACT or the SAT and take many practice tests to get a good grade yet still receive an “average” score. When students are categorized by their test scores, some come to the conclusion that life is unfair and there is no hope for them, so they give up. Schools make it seem as though you have to be intelligent to succeed in the world. Quite a few may come to the conclusion that they will never amount to anything because their grades are below average. Some might even let the failure of their academics lead them into a destructive unsatisfying lifestyle. On the other hand, those that may be gifted and intellectual believe that life is theirs for the taking according to their grades and test scores. “IQ tests have the potential to inaccurately measure an individual’s intelligence and cause problems including low confidence, unrealistic expectations, and just a generally flawed understanding of a person’s potential” (Woodruff, 2013).
What if a person goes to an interview without any preparation and they depend on only their intelligence? What if at that very moment their mind cannot properly function or grasp the question that is being asked of them? An intelligent person might fail at this from time to time, but a person who has put in the hard work will never face this problem because he or she has prepared themselves and are ready for whatever question that is thrown at them. Intelligence will help get the job, but once in the job it is important to work hard. Those that go above and beyond what is expected of them are the ones that get promoted for better jobs. If you and another person do the same job, the difference that will be made between the two would be who does the best job, and that ultimately means who works the hardest and not who’s the smartest. By putting in the work, a person can break down barriers that only can be achieved through hard work and dedication.
Many people want to be successful, but they do not want to put in the work. Famous basketball player Kevin Durant said, “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” Without hard work talent means nothing just like if a person wants success. When defining success, it depends on the person’s success in their own eyes. Everyone has a different worldview and outlook of what they believe success to be. Referring back to academic success, “Highly intelligent students may or may not also be high achievers, and high achievers may or may not also be highly intelligent” (Sontag, Stoeger 2013). However, if you are at a job where you have to be very knowledgeable and the best at what you do, it is great to be gifted with intellectual abilities. In conclusion, IQ and hard work are important, but the hardest worker will always come out on top. Hard work comes out on top because whether you have the brains or not, you can have hard work. Hard work is not inherited or in your genes like intelligence seems to be. It is a way of life, a personality trait or term that can be rooted into each and every one of us with motivation. That is why hard work is more important.