The whole point of the short essays was to get students into the mode of taking a topic (related to the security discussion of the week) and writing, essentially, a position statement on it (like what you'd do in researching a topic and making a recommendation). Unfortunately, the (non-domestic) reviewer didn't agree, and unsurprisingly so - not just because of cultural differences, but also because of the nature of this particular school to undervalue thinking and foundational skills like writing and analysis.