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"The function of university" ielts writing


tiffanyboa 1 / 1  
Jun 28, 2012   #1
Q: Some people think that universities should provide graduates with the knowledge and skills needed in the workplace. Others think that the true function of a university should be to give access to knowledge for its own sake, regardless of whether the course is useful to an employer.

What, in your opinion, should be the main function of a university?


There has been much discussion on whether universities should provide practical skills for graduates. In this essay, I will compare and contrast two typical opinions regarding this issue.

It is reasonable for some to argue that the knowledge and skills needed in the workplace should be provided to university graduates. To start with, many graduates get unemployed as soon as they leave their universities. This is mainly due to the fact that a large number of universities underestimate the importance of fostering students who have employable skills. Moreover, it is widely accepted that companies nowadays welcome more graduates who has mastered enough practical skills, for that they will decrease companies' training cost and increase production efficiency. A more significant factor that should be taken into account is an increasingly large number of graduates return to technical schools in order to obtain employable skills for a better job. After all, nobody can avoid taking such an approach to adopt social life.

By contrast, others may claim that the true function of a university should be giving access to knowledge for its own sake, regardless of whether the course is useful to an employer. Apparently, universities are always regarded as institutions where abundant educational resources gather. It is, therefore, not necessary for a certain course or a type of training to the students by a university. In addition, these courses or trainings will cost a lot and the income of the university should be affected. So the truth lies somewhere closer to the fact that a university should only provide access to the information and knowledge, rather than offer selected courses that are just suitable for employer's rate.

Having considered the respective merits of both views, I think the main function of a university remains as the provider of knowledge and access to various resources. Also, I would suggest that it be helpful if theoretical knowledge and practical, employable skills go hand in hand, which ensures to shape a bright future for the graduates.
ah_zafari [Contributor] 40 / 672 148  
Jun 28, 2012   #2
There has been much discussion on whether universities should provide practical skills for graduates. In this essay, I will compare and contrast two typical opinions regarding this issue.

This introduction is too short and gives no information about the main idea of the essay and what you want to discuss in the body. The structure of an introduction should be like what I wrote below:

1) Motivator or General background: Write an attractive sentence at the beginning, which can be a "question", "quotation", "story", "attractive statistic", etc.

2) Reword the topic: In this part you should restate the main idea of the topic (For example: two opposite views)
3) Give your opinion
4) Blueprint: The reasons of your viewpoint and what you want to argue in the body


Regards
Ahmad
w_even 6 / 14 1  
Jun 28, 2012   #3
I agree with Ahmed, you need to improve your Introduction part.

<provide a general background statement .. some line containing Universities, Workplace etc .. for example>
Educational institutes educate a student to take one's part in developing the economy of one's country.
OR
Universities and colleges are very vital for development of a nation as they provide the educated workforce.

There has been much discussion on whether universities should provide practical skills for graduates.
<above, you are expressing only one part of the topic, you need to present the other half too>
or educational institutes should only focus on spreading the knowledge regardless of possibilities of it's applications in workplace.

<I may be wrong here but I think the topic didn;t ask you to Compare / Contrast the two opinions. It asked you what do you think which options do you prefer. So you should take only one side and provide your arguments on it. This would be a very costly mistake in actual exam.

Again I am not sure about this, I would appreciate if someone could confirm this.

In this essay, I will compare and contrast two typical opinions regarding this issue.
ah_zafari [Contributor] 40 / 672 148  
Jun 28, 2012   #4
Yes, you are right and it is possible to consider the topic as an "agree or disagree" one, but a candidate should be more cautious in this kind of topic. I suggest the following organization:

1) Introduction
2) Discuss the first viewpoint
3) discuss the second viewpoint
4) compare the the views and give your opinion. In this way u can say you prefer which one and why.
5) conclusion

Regards
Ahmad
dumi 1 / 6,925 1592  
Jun 28, 2012   #5
This prompt is more direct and it asks you what opinion you favor. Here you've got no other choice but to tell what opinion you think more valid. So state it very clearly in the introduction itself. By doing so you would take the reader in your desired direction from the start :) I have seen many people make statements such as I wish to compare and contrast/ I analyse both pros and cons etc. However, such statements sound pretty vague and make the reader feeling bored.
OP tiffanyboa 1 / 1  
Jun 29, 2012   #6
I think I just wrote a typical Chinese essay~most Chinese students will write with the same template and not give exact preference~ I'll improve it and many thanks for your comments!


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