One Idea Question
Think of one idea that you have executed that challenged you to be creative, for example, a problem that you solved, a thing that you made, or your response to a situation that you encountered.
Tell us about your idea and its execution
Earlier this school year, I have attended an Architectural Careers Talk and Workshop held by the school. After the presentations, there was a bridge-building game.
There were a total of 10 students who attended the workshop and we were divided into 5 groups of 2. Each group was given two large corrugated fiberboards, a large bundle of strings and two paper cutters. Our task is to build a bridge between two tables that can hold the most weight within 40 minutes.
It was my first time to work with my partner and it was difficult at first since we do not know each other beforehand. Firstly, we exchange our own ideas for the bridge we wanted to build and we both decided we will use a sort of lock structure for the bridge because even though the original corrugated fiberboard was long enough to spread across the gap between the two tables, upon pressure applied, it is easy for it to bend and cause the collapsing of the whole structure. Thus we decided to use a locking method by cutting slits on different pieces of fiberboard and by joining the slits on two different fiberboards; the two can be hold together very strongly.
Next, after some discussion and consulting one of the speakers from the talk who is currently an architect, we thought of the characteristics of the corrugated fiberboards. We realized that the strongest part of the fiberboards should be the sides of them, where you can see the different layers of the fiberboard. Despite being very thin, it is very strong and is capable to spread out the pressure applied. However, it won't work with one sheet of fiberboard as the surface area of it is not large enough to hold things.
Therefore, we come to decision at last given the limited resources, to have two pieces of long rectangular shaped fiberboard placed across the gap vertically, then use three of our decided lock structure in between to hold the two sides together securely and strongly while providing sufficient surface area of top.
Then we get our hands on to making the real object. It wasn't easy as we only have two paper cutters and limited resources. We have to measure accurately to make sure we have sufficient material for the whole structure we planned to build and since we do not have any long rulers, we used the strings provided as rulers to help us measure the right size of fiberboards to be cut out. This is very crucial as we won't be given new materials if we have made false judgment on the dimensions of the fiberboards or mistakes in cutting the boards.
My partner and I cooperated greatly by this point and we quickly finished the whole structure since we have very clear directions on what we were going to build at that time and we were the first group to complete our bridge. We even tested it by applying pressure with our palms and with different books at the middle of the bridge.
After the time is up, we went by each table to test them with loads of sketchbooks and ours end up holding the most sketchbooks among all the other groups even though our bridge did split open at the middle at the end given the heavy weight and pressure applied. Our bridge's main defect, according to the architect was that we cut out too much slits on the fiberboard which weakens the strength of the fiberboard and weakens its ability to hold weight and pressure on it.
The biggest problem with your essay is that you are talking about an event in the past using present tense sentences. Since these events have already occurred you need to discuss these from the past tense point of view. I must insist that you go back and revise your language. It is imperative that you do that in order to give this essay a chance to function properly and in the context of the explanations you were giving in it. Once you correct that particular problem with the essay, you will have properly responded to the prompt requirements.
I need to point out however, that the overall narrative you used is quite effective and really takes the reader into the events as it unfolded. The step by step manner of explanation really helped me get a better idea of the kind of analytical thinking you have as a person and as a student which, I have to say, is one of the most positive factors that will be considered in your application. Had it not been for the problem with the tenses, this essay would have already been ready for you to use / submit.
