Thursday, 28 April 2016

Some people think that all children should learn geography in school. However, some others think that it is more important to learn subjects that are more relevant to life. What is your opinion?

It is thought by some that subject geography ought to be taught to every student, whereas others believe that students have to be taught something more useful in their life have. In my opinion, all the subjects, no matter how efficient or inefficient they are, need to be taught.

The first point to be taken into consideration when discussing about school curriculum is that educational institutions exist so as to provide pupils with general knowledge, which are absolutely vital in their personal development. School is designed for preparing youngsters with understanding of diverse science such as geography, biology.

The second point is subjects as geography are intended to discover inner talent or passion of students, along with the purpose of broadening their range of knowledge. If a student  is passionate about a specific subject that are believed to be more relevant to life, teachers can encourage them to specialize in their desired subjects, yet other subjects must not be ignored! If everyone studies subjects such as painting, literature and math, who will be contributing to other industries.

In summary, it is crucial to understand that schools are not designed for preparing the skilled professionals. The idea of eliminating subjects like geography is seriously wrong.



A Sample answer written by a candidate who got band 9

With constant modifications to the school curriculum and constant changes in society, the question of whether to maintain or drop geography is an interesting topic. I believe there would be severe consequences if geography were to disappear, mainly due to the understanding and open-mindedness that is derived from such studies. 

Firstly, with evermore complex geopolitical strategies being played out, it can be considered extremely valuable to be able to identify the locations of these events without checking on a map. Religious and border conflicts are among the most common sources of new events, and a lack of knowledge as to where these event are taking place can be considered ignorance. For example, areas such as the Middle East are constantly in the news. Therefore, by being merely aware of their location in the world, readers or viewers can greatly increase their understanding of the conflict. 

Secondly, making geography compulsory in schools would most likely encourage students to travel later in life. This is because geography can bring to light options you may not have known existed previously. For example, historically England has been the top destination to learn English. However, in recent ties students have learned about more economical options such as Malta or Ireland. Therefore, without a sound geographical knowledge of Europa, these options could have been overlooked. 

To conclude, removing geography from the school curriculum would reduce a student's ability to fully assimilate global events in the media. Furthermore, removing the subject could indirectly reduce the number of perceived options available to students. 


Modification to my old essay after having read the sample essay. Frankly, I copied. LOL. 

With constant modification to school curriculum and constant changes in society, the question of whether to maintain or drop geography is an interesting topic. I believe there would be severe consequences if geography were to disappear, mainly due to the understanding and open-mindedness that is derived from such studies. 

Firstly, with one of major issues these days, the conflicts of geopolitic between countries, it can be considered extremely valuable to be able to identify the locations of these events without checking on a map. Religious and border conflicts are among the most common source of new events and a lack of knowledge as to where these events are taking place can be considered ignorance. For example, last two years Russia wanting to take over Ukraine was constantly in the news. Therefore, by being merely aware of their location in the world, readers and viewers can greatly increase their understanding of the conflict. 

Secondly, making geography compulsory in school would most likely encourage students to travel later in life. This is because geography can bring to light options you may not have know existed previously. For example, USA was the top destination to learn English. Yet in recent times students have learned about other English speaking countries such as Australia, South America, England and Singapore. Therefore, without a sound geographical knowledge, these options could have been overlooked. 

To conclude, removing geography from school curriculum would reduce a student's ability to fully learn global events in the media. Furthermore, removing the subject could indirectly reduce the number of perceived options available to students.