Hi all, I just wrote this essay so please take a look at it and leave me any comments you like ! Thanks.
Prompt:
In order to become well-rounded individuals, all college students should be required to take courses in which they read poetry, novels, mythology, and other types of imaginative literature.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.
The statement arguing about an individual's well-roundedness tries to address the necessity in taking imaginative literature classes. Surely these classes have been beneficial for college students' as they can broaden their horizon and potentiate their creativity. The poetry or novel classes may even pique students' interest in subjects outside their fields of study. However, it is not necessary for all the students to take these classes in order to be well-rounded and versatile, since some of these classes can be indeed a waste of time. A closer inspection reveals that, in order to be well-rounded, taking imaginative classes is not the only way.
Universities around the nation have devoted time and money in developing imaginative courses, in the hope that students can be versatile with interests in fields other than their own. A poetry or novel course may impart students with unprecedented knowledge about special writing skills or new ways of critical thinking. However, as these courses are established in college academics, some of them can be quite time-consuming. This may have a negative effect on students majoring in science and engineering. For these students, a great amount of time has to be spent on learning engineering concept or research. As imaginative courses often require intensive writing assignments, mandatory addiction of these courses may consume their energy more rapidly. On the other hand, if they slack off on these imaginative courses in order to have more time on their own major, their grades would be at stake, and this is detrimental to most engineering students' academic excellence. As a result, these imaginative classes should be chosen in accord with one's own interest, rather than being enforced into a student's academic life.
On the other hand, one may argue that students would lack knowledge in humanity or become less well-rounded if these courses are not required. While an individual's versatility is as important as his/her knowledge in their own field of study, taking imaginative courses is not the only way to be well-rounded. A student can choose to read novel in his/her free time without being interfered by compulsory writing homework or projects. In this way, students can focus on their major study without been preoccupied by these imaginative courses. Another example includes going to museum or seeing imaginative films, which is also a plausible way of developing individuals' well-roundedness. Therefore, although imaginative courses may be beneficial in developing students' versatility, it is only a recommendation, rather than a must, to take these courses.
In addition, taking imaginative courses have even negative effect on a student. What if a student, who takes no interest in these areas, is forced to take these courses? He/she would probably become frustrated, which would exacerbate his/her grades and even cause mental problems. Even if a student has interest in imaginative literature, he/she may not get used to the teaching method or the amount of workload. For example, a student with interest in imaginative literature may enjoy writing imaginative stories in his/her free time. However, if he/she takes classes about this subject, he/she is likely to be forced to finish onerous writing assignments in class. This sometimes would unfortunately extirpate their interest in imaginative literature.
In conclusion, imaginative literature courses are playing an indispensable role in college academics. Taking these courses can cultivate a student's spirit and make them better-rounded. However, imaginative courses should only be recommended, rather than required, since they can be time-consuming and not the only way to make a person be well-rounded.
Hi Mingwei Hu,
Here are my comments:
1. Please check grammar. On your first paragraph, we can see some grammatical errors: a. there should be a comma (,) after Surely. b. please delete the apostrophe (') after students as this not a possessive noun.
Surely these classes have been beneficial for college students' as they can broaden their horizon and potentiate their creativity
Please recheck some parts of the work for other grammar.
2. Writing Style
In my opinion, the position of disagreeing on the imaginative literature is risky (especially that the ones who will read this are recommending this course). The claims on "it is a waste of time" must be backed up by some facts such as how many hours does an average student get to spend on these courses, % on number of subjects, etc.
Overall, I think the essay is a bold one especially that your position is the unpopular one. However, there can still be a lot of improvement on your essay. Goodluck!
