<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I did a test paper today, but I'm not sure whether I can mark my own work objectively. If anyone could score it for me, I'll mark theirs back in return :). </p>
<p>Prompt: </p>
<p>"Given the importance of human creativity, one would thhink it should have a high priority among our concerns. But if we look at the reality, we see a different picture. Basic scientific research is minimized in favour of immediate practical applications. The arts are increasingly seen as dispensable luxuries. Yet as competition heats up around the globe, exactly the opposite strategy is needed."</p>
<p>Assignment:</p>
<p>"Is creativity needed more than ever in the world today?"</p>
<p>Essay:</p>
<p>"Creativity is essential to the progress of the human race. It is often impossible to predict the future consequences of something seemingly meaningless. At face value, certain projects or activities may seem negligible, but they often turn out to yield far more than what we originally expected.</p>
<p>Take the World Wide Web. It was created by someone who was working at CERN - a particle accelerator that, before being built, would have seemed to serve no other purpose apart from being a physics laboratory. No-one could have predicted that some particle physics research would lead to the discovery of the World Wide Web.</p>
<p>At the height of the Cold War, both America and the Soviet Union embarked in a "space race" in which each superpower attempted to put a man on the Moon before the other. It seemed obvious that the field of cosmology would benefit the most - and yet, nowadays, most scientists agree that the most important thing we gained was the discovery of a cure for smallpox, which came about as the result of some seemingly insignificant medical research.</p>
<p>A few months ago, I re-took up creative writing as a hobby. On the face of it, this was only something that I was doing for fun, but the skills I learned as a consequence have proved indispensible. It taught me how to structure and plan, how to use proper grammar, and it also improved my vocabulary.</p>
<p>It is impossible to understand what we may gain from doing something, even if at first sight it seems simple and meaningless. Creativity is not the bastion of impractical minds, but the bridge that leads to a better world. And if we wish to make progress- progress which all of the human race depends upon - we must not discard creativity, but embrace it."</p>
<p>I'd be grateful for any advice :). I thought it was a bit waffly, in retrospect.</p>