<p>Hi sir, I was wondering if you could grade my essay on the topic that the true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. I am taking the SATs in March and it would be great if you could help me by scoring my essay. Thank you!
Essay: Imagination is a powerful motivator that can handhold in the process of learning and creating one’s dreams, which differs it from knowledge, which is simply a pursuer in the path of intelligence, not a creator of such a characteristic. Although knowledge is viewed as the ultimate source of understanding and smartness in the world, I personally believe that imagination is the most important element to intelligence in that it motivates a person to become knowledgeable. In the novel “Catcher in the Rye”, the main character Holden Caulfield is a person that is not all-knowing but has a wild imagination and keen eye for the future, which sets him on the right path, showing his intelligence. Similar to the novel, black history in the United States has shown the power of imagination in turning conflicting opinions into favorable switches for Black Americans during a period of nonstop racism and discrimination. I have always been a dreamer, and this quality of mine showed my true intelligence against my cousin, who battled against me with the power of knowledge. Dreamers are believers and this establishes the fact that people who imagine are the most intelligent due to their capability of foreseeing and making events favorable in their life.
“Catcher in the Rye” is a novel with various themes that show the power of people over their determined fate. Due to his impulsive nature and lack of determination to succeed at school, Holden Caulfield is thrown out of all of his schools and deemed worthless by all, including his parents. Holden believes in this opinion too, and decides to ruin his life by going to New York and cheating his parents of his deal to study properly. The city teaches Holden valuable lessons; how to exercise his control, live without engaging in profligacy and most importantly learn to dream. When Holden realizes that life is slipping away from him, especially when he calls for trouble with an indecent woman and stays all night at bars, he fixes his mind on one thing: his dream to be a catcher in the rye. Although his sister Phoebe, his most avid supporter thinks that this is crazy and that there is no such profession as a catcher in the rye, Holden uses his dream as a motivator to “try again.” He tells his parents about all the wrong-doings that he had committed and starts a fresh life, determined to succeed to fulfill his passion this time around. Here, intelligence of his behavior came only through imagination, not true knowledge.
Black history is an amazing period filled with fluctuations in America’s seventeenth and nineteenth and twentieth centuries with discrimination playing a key role in determining the status of Black Americans. Southern whites, who were against African Americans, used the concept of slavery to make blacks labor hard and be pressed underneath them, due to their color and racial backgrounds. Even when slavery had appeased to an extent, whites established literacy tests and grandfather clauses to show the power of knowledge in determining intelligence and extension of voting rights to Black Americans. Although illiterates who were undermined underneath the power of the whites, Black Americans never gave up their hope in restoring a community that would welcome them. They constantly fought back and came up with new ideas (including bus boycotts and nonviolence) to favor a new system that would help them move up the social ladder. Through their increased efforts came the ideals of great reformers such as W.E.B. Du Bois who persisted that they become educated to fight against the obvious discrepancies between them and whites. Imagination was first in helping them understand and dream a place of security and fairness for them, then came knowledge which pursued their intelligence further.
As a child born to a family full of educated individuals, I was always motivated to study and achieve. Up to 8th grade, I was always first in my class and realized the power of education in my life. I always had a passion for creativity though, which was deemed as less important in my tradition and given a cursory look at. 9th grade was a new year and I had remained the same, but my grades were sloping downward. I didn’t know what to do and clearly, I was frightening my mom and dad with grades that were unacceptable to our standards. My cousin, on the other hand, had maintained his position and people in the family started claiming that his knowledge was a sign of his intelligence unlike me (who apparently was not as smart as him). This motivated me to try harder and show everyone that imagination deserves its merits and rewards and that in no way I was lesser than my cousin. I won through with this when I published my own book with my creativity and passion instilled in it. My cousin, on the other hand, just proved with his grades, which showed that I had the upper hand. My family saw the true intelligence in me and learned and finally understood that imagination is the true sign of intelligence, not knowledge.
Imagination is a creator; knowledge can only pursue. People who want to inspire or create or show their true intelligence should follow their imagination and not base their decisions on pure knowledge like me, Holden, and the Black Americans did during our crises. Follow your dreams is an important quote spoken by many, and if followed it will showcase each and every person’s true potential and intelligence.</p>
<p>Thank you for reading my essay. Please point out any grammatical errors or things that you feel can be worked on so that I can get a 12 on this on my SAT. I have been consistently getting an 11 due to a few grammar mistakes so if you spot any, I would appreciate if you could let me know how I could improve on those. Thank you again! </p>