<p>Please tell me how my writing is! I only have a few days left before I take the October SAT!</p>
<p>Prompt:
"People generally prefer originality to imitation, which is often considered inferior and second-rate. However, we have learned most of what we know by imitating others. Mastering any skill or gaining any knowledge means that we must learn from those who have gone before us. In fact, it is not until we have imitated others and learned from them what there is to know that we can strike out on our own and maybe create something new." </p>
<p>Is it necessary for people to imitate others before they can become original and creative? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your readings, studies, experience, or observations.</p>
<p>Essay:</p>
<p>Innovation and imitation are two terms that can be considered closely intertwined. However, it is not necessary for creativity to stem out of innovation. The following three examples show why this is true.</p>
<p>General Pavlovich of the Ottoman empire was a highly respected general for the Ottoman Turks in the Crimean War against Russia. His novel battle formulations and creative concepts were decisive in the victory. This was a war that was also emphasized on technology. Pavlovich knew the faults of previous generals, who relied mostly on brute strength and large manpower. He instead focused on tactical positions, high end technology, and modern transportation to achieve his goals frugally and efficiently. This moderation and innovation earned him accolades and won him the war. It is clear that Pavlovich would not be as successful if he had chose to imitate his predecessors. His greatness came from himself, not from others. </p>
<p>In the Chinese myth, The Ferocity of the River, a village is faced with a cataclysmic problem. Every time it rains, the river submerges the land around it, thus wrecking and destroying the tranquility of the village. The villagers are unable to move, as they do not possess the money or the mindset to move. Some people have proposed a main solution. Their solution is to pile stones upon each other to create artificial levies. This plan fails though, as the next time, half the village is destroyed. The protagonist, Wanghu, proposes a novel idea. He proposes to dig an artificial route in the ground to divert the direction of the river away from the village. Sure enough, this solution works. Wanghu's original idea did not come from the imitation of others. His unique idea allowed his village to enjoy peace and prosperity. </p>
<p>Albert Einstein's theory of relativity is an idea that has changed the face of science. Through observations of the stars and others, Einstein was able to conclude the nature of light, time, and how they could all be distorted. Einstein's creative theory proposed in the first half of the twentieth century shook the world. The scientific world started a rash movement to divulge into the claims and theories of Einstein. In a way, he was able to start a scientific revolution. Einstein would not be able to discover or conclude his theory if he had imitated others. He himself has a mind that thought very differently than his contemporaries. His distinctiveness gave the world a new understanding on the universe, and has influenced millions of scientists today.</p>
<p>The three preceding examples thus show that imitation is not necessary for innovation. Imitation is an important aspect that helps people explore or learn about a certain process. But it is by no means necessary. True originality stems from oneself, not from others.</p>