<p>Great advice. ^^ I read Time a lot as well.. :)</p>
<p>I love philosophy, too! I've gone through Fountainhead a couple of times, and it's always so ambiguous. Anthem seems to be more straightforward, though. </p>
<p>Have you read Atlas Strugged?</p>
<p>The majority of the people in the world never find their best attribute. They, often prematurely, find their “role” in life and stay in that area for the rest of their lives. Even though they feel a dull dissatisfaction with their life, only a select few choose to break out of that monotony and rediscover their life’s work, their childhood passions. Albert Einstein was one of these individuals.</p>
<p>Einstein showed an early aptitude for science and mathematics. He finished his homework far ahead of most pupils and used the free time to devise clever thought experiments. While most students were daydreaming about the boy or girl next to them in class, Einstein would be riding along on a beam of light. He marveled at how fast all of the planets and space would whiz past him… But such dalliances were soon forgotten. Einstein matriculated to a university, and that meant English courses and liberal arts. Einstein’s father never encouraged his son to pursue a career in theoretical physics—quite understandable as many careers offered more prestige and a higher salary. Einstein took an extended sabbatical from physics, and took a job at a patent office. Einstein could have done quite well in administrative work—for his unkempt appearance, he was surprisingly organized and clear-minded. Einstein also was an extremely gifted violin player. Having taken lessons since a young age and possessing an innate musical ability, Einstein could have easily become a violinist in a professional orchestra—a career that was in high demand at the time. Medicine or business was also an option. However, if Einstein had decided on these other career paths, our knowledge of physics as we know it would not be what it is today. Einstein’s true gift was in the realm of abstract thought in unraveling the mysteries of the world. His intelligence and creativity would have allowed him to succeed in many careers—however, his achievements would not have been revolutionary. Relativity may have been discovered, but it would only occur decades later and would be very clumsy mathematically. Einstein’s gift was not only in the ability to intuit relativity, but to express his ideas in clear and concise equations. Einstein refused to stay in a job that was not allowing his best attribute to shine. He rediscovered his childhood dreams and became a theoretical physicist.</p>
<p>Of course, not all of us are gifted with the intelligence and creativity of Albert Einstein. But it is undeniable that every person is endowed with at least one thing he or she is talented in. Singing, writing, acting, science, leadership skills, communication skills, art, managerial skills; the list goes on. Not everyone will achieve the greatness of Albert Einstein or even close to it, but by finding what our greatest attribute is, developing it, and applying it, we may find that we can accomplish far more than we imagine.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if that even answers the question haha just fluff o well it worked</p>
<p>The Apollo missions proved once and for all that space exploration was not a fairy tale or a superhuman feat. The massive Saturn V rockets and their deafening roar, Lance Armstrong’s immortal words are still a vivid memory to those who were alive on July 20, 1969. Yet fascination faded into indifference. The “New Frontier,” as JFK had coined, was a rapidly shrinking land by the mid 1970s. Space exploration of other worlds continued, but manned missions seemed to be out of the vogue. The Challenger explosion in 1987 added to the distaste for manned space exploration. The visions of futurists in mid century America seemed to be overly optimistic. Space colonies and private space travel by the end of the 20th century? Forget it. However, when government support for space exploration fell out of favor, private support took its place. A privately funded organized offered a $10 million prize to a private group that could construct a transportation device that could go to “space,” which is defined as 100 kilometers above the Earth. Those who claim that originality is a thing of the past are badly mistaken—just a few years ago, the prize money was claimed. Since the time that the group accomplished this feat, dozens of companies have invested in such "spaceships" that are designed to provide space tours and even flights to the International Space Station. These companies would have been dismissed as an insult to investors and their money just several years ago. Yet the team that claimed the X-prize showed that private space exploration was feasible. Even in such an esoteric area of science, innovation and creativity are commonplace. In other sciences that are more concrete and tangible, innovation occurs at an even faster clip. The belief that creativity is gone in modern society is an insult to the bright and creative minds that are churning out the new and the novel-in arts, sciences, business, and everything else!</p>
<p>just the intro</p>
<p>The artist or the scientist finds it quite easy to cite instances of recent creativity. The Human Genome project, the demotion of Pluto as a planet, and it's just as easy to cite examples of creativity in art and music. On youtube.com, I recently saw an African American man improvising songs on his piano that were never performed in a recording studio. Tremendously talented but underpaid garage bands and artists are literally everywhere. But the pure mathematician finds his work harder to defend. Laymen and even scientists, the mathematician's colleague, claims that mathematics is a stagnant body of knowledge. While they admit that mathematics is a truly marvelous work of humanity, they also say that "innovation" in mathematics is impossible.</p>
<p>In the late 1990s, Andrew Wiles published a proof that was over one thousand pages long. It proved a statement that when fully expressed, is slightly more complicated than the Pythagorean theorem, which can be proved by any high school math student. Yet it took over 400 years to prove. It is called Fermat's Last Theorem, named after an amateur French mathematician who lived in the 17th century. Surprisingly, such a simple statement required knowledge and application of the most obscure mathematics, some which had been discovered only a few years earlier. The proof, while amazing in its own right, also asked its own questions. Why does such a simple statement require such complicated proof techniques? Is there a simpler and more elegant proof? These questions will continue to drive mathematical innovation in continuing years. Fermat's Last Theorem is perhaps the most famous instance of recent mathematical innovation, but it one of many. Those who complain and say that these "innovations" are completely useless must remember the unsettling fact. If it weren't for the work of number theorists (the most abstract and "useless" field of mathematics), the FBI couldn't keep track of criminals and online purchases couldn't keep your credit cards confidential. Number theory has given birth to a branch of applied mathematics called cryptography, and nobody disputes its importance.</p>
<p>Even in the most abstract and removed areas, innovation is taking place. In the more practical areas such as art and science (as described above), innovation is taking place at an alarming rate. In fact, those acquainted with the double-edged sword nature of science are more worried about the excess of innovation rather than the lack thereof (dangers of nanotechnology, global warming due to our fossil fuel burning plants, nuclear power, etc.). It is a mistake to say that creativity is a thing of the past.</p>
<p>sorry for posting two posts and everything...well here's my 11 essay: (for the june 2007 SAT)</p>
<p>Question: Is there a value in celebrating certain individuals as heroes?</p>
<p>Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Robin are few examples of the many superheroes that prevail in comics and cartoons. Children are captivated by these heroes because of their awesome superpowers, but in actuality what is truly amazing about these heroes is that they remain just, fight for justice, and have apt courage to do so. Many children and adults look up to heroes, whether real or not, as inspiration to become better people. There is ample reason to celebrate individuals as heroes because not only do they deserve to be extolled but they remain an essential part to our society.</p>
<p>Recently, I attended a leadership conference which took place over a three-day period within the snowy pines of Idyllwild, California. About 300 students gathered there to develop leadership skills and be commemorated for excellence. The coordinators of the conference constantly congratulated and thanks us, making me wonder why. Later, a keynote speaker asked us if we through there were heroes in the world and if the world was changing for a better place. Many replied denouncing President George W. Bush’s leadership, but one lone student arised and said “how can we say there are no heroes in the world when we have all gathered here today?” It finally sprung on my with these few simple words that I was grateful for this conference and how the coordinators thanked me. It inspired me because I was previously wondering, what is the point of being a hero and helping others when there is nothing to be given in return? People need to continue to celebrate heroes like in comic books to prevent them from not continuing to be a hero. Heroes are real people and they need reassurance no matter what good deed they are doing.</p>
<p>However, not all people are born heroes. Some are timid and shy their entire life. They remain aloof even when they disagree with something. However, when they do speak out and attempt to open up, they exhibit strong heroic qualities. In my opinion, people that are timid but gain the courage to speak passionately about what they care about are heroes. One girl in my class never spoke out loud in class. She would sit silent in her chair always listening to everyone else. However, one day, maybe she was inspired by someone else, she raised her hadn’t and participated in the debate that day. Once she did so, everyone in the class started clapping. After this, she turned bright red and sat down but after that she became much more involved in class activities. This simple act of gratitude from the class of clapping our hands was instrumental in her continual participation. If we hadn’t celebrated her heroism of gaining the courage to speak out that day, I don’t think I would have ever been able to hear her ideas.</p>
<p>In conclusion, celebration of heroes helps their confidence and inspires others.</p>
<p>wow, now that i read this again, it's really crappy...</p>
<p>Very nice! Solid 11, I'd say...</p>
<p>I liked your personal narrative and your "concession section", yay, moot point! I'm probably not one to give advice, but I'd say to probably expound on either narrative and really take time to draw out the sap. ^^</p>
<p>Again, great essay!</p>
<p>supery00n - splendid essays! are they really sat ones? cuz if they are...wow.</p>
<p>I'm not exactly sure in what response you posted them to but still, very nice! Good development, and I really liked the way you tend to draw your readers in, although some transitions were slightly rough.</p>
<p>Hey thanks...and again sorry for all that stuff.:-/
Hey, one of them was my SAT essay. The others weren't, I did them today. :-)</p>
<p>Excellent thread! Great essay 8parks11. One of the very best I have seen!</p>
<p>Here is the essay I wrote for the March 07 SAT. I received an 11. To be honest, I thought it would receive a 12. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Assignment: Is it more valuable for people to fit in than to be unique or different?</p>
<p>"Lady, I need that seat now," the white bus driver commanded. The place was a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The date was December 1, 1955. For a brief moment Rosa Parks looked at the bus driver and remained silent. What would she do? Would she obey the driver and fit in or would she dare to be unique and different? Which would be the most valuable course of action?</p>
<p>During Rosa Park's entire life, white society had demanded that she fit in, that she "know her place." Fitting in thus meant following the all pervasive rules of Jim Crow segregation. Fitting in meant drinking from colored water fountains, eating in colored sections of restaurants and sitting in the colored sets on a public bus. Fitting in thus meant obeying the bus driver and humbly taking another seat.</p>
<p>On that fateful day, Rosa was tired of fitting in. As all the passengers - both black and white - stared at her, Rosa made a momentous decision to be different to be unique. In a firm unwavering voice, Rosa gave a one word reply - "No." The bus driver and the other passengers did not applaud Rosa's act of defiance. Being unique and different can carry a painful price. The bus driver called the police and Rosa spent the next hours in jail.</p>
<p>Rosa's decision to be different, to say no, galvanized the Black community in Montgomery. Led by her young minister, the 26-year-old Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the Black community supported Rosa by boycotting the Montgomery buses. The boycott worked. Within 15 months city officials changed the segregation rules on public buses.</p>
<p>Rosa Park's decision to be different helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement. For almost a century following the Civil War, Black Americans had chosen to fit in. Rosa Park's singular and courageous decision to be different demonstrates that it is far more valuable for people to be unique rather than to fit in. Without people willing to be different there can be no change. Someone must be willing to say, "No."</p>
<p>Wow, it's just so great!!! how can you come up with this awesome idea?</p>
<p>Lovely essay, Triwizard. I really like how you used one example to fit the topic. However, you might want to put more analysis into the example. I like how you used a lot of historical details, but more show, less tell. I see the example myself, as a student, but you might want to add more analysis of how or why the essay fits in, as your grader may not be as familiar with the story of Rosa Parks as you are.</p>
<p>Otherwise, well done! -applauds- solid 11 as well.</p>
<p>Well, I do think you deserve a 12 (not much different from an 11, though). I also think your essay is the kind that one cannot really guarantee a score for. Using one example, IMO, is always kind of risky even if that example clearly fits in with your thesis for a given prompt, as the Rosa Parks example obviously does. If you write three supporting examples, and a reader doesn't like one of them, she can still give you a 6 if she agrees with the other two. But if a reader somehow doesn't like how you used the Rosa Parks bit, and you literally talk about nothing else - well, your score might suffer. Beyond that, you're a solid writer, definitely, and it's wonderful that you took a risk to write an essay that steps outside the standard 5-p structure. But usually, I think that the safest route for test takers is to value brevity and clarity over the "telling a story" style of writing. For instance, from an English teacher's perspective, I would love :</p>
<p>
[quote]
For a brief moment Rosa Parks looked at the bus driver and remained silent. What would she do? Would she obey the driver and fit in or would she dare to be unique and different? Which would be the most valuable course of action?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>But from the perspective of an SAT grader, I might argue that you could condense what you're trying to say in that chunk of text into a single sentence, by "getting to the point".</p>
<p>On the other hand, I've seen prep books print 12 essays that use a single example in much the same way you do. So I guess I just have a personal and possibly faulty preference for a formulaic, cookie cuter intro-ex1-ex2-ex3-conc SAT essay. In any case, I love your writing style and hopefully that 11 score on your essay didn't pull down your W sccore.</p>
<p>Triwizard, I loved your essay. :) Your introduction caught my interest and got me hooked into reading the entire essay from beginning to end. Excellent job!</p>
<p>I'm aiming for a 10 - 11 on my SAT Essay this Saturday. I got an 8 the last time around; does anyone have any quick pointers to make to get up to those 2-3 points?</p>
<p>Blubberxyz, GardenMaiden and amb3r - thank you for taking the time to review my essay. I appreciate your thoughtful comments. amb3r you might be right. The 11 didn't affect my Writing score but it did shake my confidence a bit. I wrote a classic 5 paragraph essay for the October assignment "Is identity something people are born with or given, or is it something people create for themselves?" I used the King Leonidas, Martin Luther and Rosa Parks to support my thesis that people create their own identity. Interestingly, the essay received a 12. I will post it as soon as the essays are released. Wondering how others feel about the one example versus three examples dilemma?</p>
<p>good job on your 12, triwizard!! </p>
<p>also, i agree with amb3r. after reading your essay, i was going to post the same thing, but then i read amb3r's post and completely agreed. i guess the SAT graders are looking for more examples because then the essay supports an argument from different angles. the structure you used would be perfect for like a college essay though. also, I think you only need to use 2 examples and get a 12 (examples on collegeboard websites) but they have to be more well-developed.</p>
<p>I did this essay for the SAT online prep class and it was graded by collegeboard.
The prompt was: Is creativity needed more than ever in the world today</p>
<p>In a world, plagued with the horrors of war, poverty, famine and disease, creativity is one way many are able to express their anguish and desires. Whether it be through art, literature, film, music or other forms, Creativity is omnipresent. Three examples that exemplify this are: Picasso's "Guernica", "The Gulag Archipelago" by Solzhenitsyn and Michael Moore's film "Bowling for Columbine". </p>
<p>"Guernica" is considered to be one of Pablo Picasso's most well-known and valuable paintings. It was painted in the late 1940s, during the time of the Spainish Civil War and the reign of fascist dictator, Franz Franco. In the painting, Picasso, uses many symbols to express the atrocities of war. People are depicted as being stabbed and brutally murdered. In one section of the painting, Picasso uses a lightbulb in order to symbolize hope. "Guernica" continues to be a symbol of anti-war protest. After its creation, it toured all throughout Europe and America during WWII. Picasso used creativity as a method of protest, during the opressive regime, and war that plagued Spain during the 1940s. </p>
<p>"The Gulag Archipelago" was written by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, in it he adresses the monstrocites that occured during the reign of Stalin during the mid-19th century. He exposes the horrors of the labor camps, in which many Russians were forced to labor under detestable conditions, rank with pestiliance. When Solzhenitsyn tried to get it published in Russia, no one would. So, he went to the U.S. to get it published. It was immensely popular and remains an important Cold War artifact. Solzhenitsyn, used "The Gulag Archipelago" to vent his frustrations with the U.S.S.R. and the cruel and unusual methods that were implemented in Stalinist Russia. Thus, his creativty exposed the world, to something that they might not have realized the magnitude of this issue, without the publication of the novel. </p>
<p>Michael Moore, a popular American filmaker, is known to create throught-provoking, expositiory films. One of his most famous films "Bowling for Columbine" exposes America's folly in its gun policy regarding youths and people in general and juxtaposes America's violent culture with other various cultures, such as Japan and Canada. Another main focus of the documentry, is the Columbine shooting. The columbine shooting, involved two students going on a killing spree in their Colorado high school. In the movie, Moore and one of the kids that was paralyzed from the incident are able to get Kmart, the place where the shooters bought the bullets, to stop selling bullets. This is very powerful, and illustrates that maybe hope is not lost, and that America can reform its violent ways. Michael Moore uses film as his creative outlet, in order to inspire, educate and expose people to pertinent issues that affect our daily lives. </p>
<p>A world without creativity, would not be able to exsist. The world, would not be able to last because there would be nothing to inspire or educate people. Thus, life would becoming uniform and meaningless. Creativity allows one to create their own self and seperate themselves from others. Thus, creativity is essential to the well-being and preservation of man-kind.</p>
<p>You should realize the online SAT grading system is completely flawed. The grading is done automatically.</p>
<p>It may have a few flaws but I doubt it is completely flawed.</p>
<p>Well, I read a post that someone posted a random essay completely unrelated to the prompt and received a 12... I think that defines the system.</p>
<p>Triwizard's essay is brilliant. It's very straightforward, lively and lovely. The examiners have an excessive number of essays to mark, and they sometimes get to the saturated state where they actually have no idea what the essay is about. I know it from personal experience as I used to help my teachers to mark secondary students' essays. Yet Triwizard's answer to the question is crystal-clear. I don't think 12's essays should necessarily follow the 3-historical/personal examples.</p>