Some people trust their first impressions about a person's character because they believe these judgments are generally correct. Other people do not judge a person's character quickly because they believe first impressions are often wrong. Compare these two attitudes. Which attitude do you agree with? Support your choice with specific examples.

Some people think it is unfair to judge others based on first impressions, but I disagree. People can show us who they really are in just a few minutes. Even if someone is having an unusually bad day, it is still easy to see their true character. If I don't like someone at first, I don't want to waste time being friendly just because he or she might change later. First impressions give us valuable information.

It doesn't take long for people to show their true character. Some people think you have to see how people act in different situations and talk to them a lot to get to know them. I don't believe this is true. When you meet someone, pay attention to how the person greets you. You can see right away if the person is friendly or shy, polite or rude. See how the person tries to make conversation and you will know what topics are interesting to him or her. All of this gives us a lot of information about a person.


Even on a bad day, you can see what a person is really like. Some people think that it isn't fair to judge people quickly because they might be having a bad day. I disagree. A bad day tells you a lot about people. You can see how they react to bad situations. Do they get very angry or take it all in stride? Do they get depressed and cry or just try to forget the problem? These are important parts of a person's character.

I feel I can learn a lot about a person in a few minutes, so I don't want to waste my time if the first impression isn't good. If I don't like the way a person greets me, or if lam uncomfortable with the way a person responds to a bad situation, will my impression change later on? Probably not. If I spend more time with the person, I'll probably just see more of the same. I would prefer to spend that time looking for people who I like.

First impressions can tell us a lot about a person, no matter what the circumstances. We can learn enough to decide whether or not we want to spend more time with that person. I always rely on first impressions.

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