Has knowledge about the past value for those of us living today?

Learning about the past has no value for those of us living in the present.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

The topic of whether or not learning about the past has value for those of us living at the moment has stirred up much controversy. Some of them believe that there is no value at all. Yet, those who stand on an entirely different ground claim that past events are educational and totally value our lives. Considering the arguments of both sides, I am prone to support that past events do have value.

One very strong argument is that we can learn good things from past people or events. If people in the past did something and it turned out good in the end, we should learn and follow them. Take Chinese old scholars as examples. They have good studying attitude, such as hardworking and patient. Their behaviors are being appreciate by the society at that time and was recorded in historical books. Children nowadays learn about those old masters at school, and take them as role models. In view of this, we can absolutely learn from the past.

What must also be taken into consideration is that we can avoid making the same mistake by learning from the past. When we see someone did something and it is useless or even harmful to others, we should bear in mind not to act like them. A striking illustration of the point will be me studying. In the past. I put too much time in entertainment and paid little attention on my study. As a result, I got low marks on exams and had to redo it again. This past experience gave me a life lesson. I understood that I should use time wisely and concentrate on my academic result. Later, I turned into a hardworking student and managed my time well. With this in mind, I am sure learning from the past is beneficial to our growth, as we learn to change and become a better person.

Learning about the past allows us to learn the good things and avoid doing the same bad things. It is my firm conviction that learning from the past has huge value for us. It is also hoped that people can learn not to be ashamed of past mistake. They should bear in mind that these mistakes are reminder for you to improve and act better in the future.

First of all, I love the topic.
I don't get your example of Chinese scholars though. When you describe something, make it more definite and clear.
Also, I guess you wanted to put a comma, not a period after "In the past".

DON'T MIND ME TOO MUCH, I AM A COLLEGE STUDENT FROM NON-ENG SPEAKING COUNTRY.

imchang, , your response to the essay is right on the mark. However, your extent response is not appropriate. You are not being asked about which side you might want to support in your argument. The word "prone" does not indicate an extent of support for a specific topic. Rather, the word prone indicates, by definition, someone likely to or liable to suffer from, do, or experience something, typically something regrettable or unwelcome. So the term you chose to represent your extent response is wrong. From the way I read your body of paragraphs though, I believe that your extent response should have been, "I totally disagree with the given statement for several reasons."

Now, about your body paragraphs. You need to be consistent in your sentence count. Bear in mind that the minimum sentence count is 3 and the maximum sentence count per paragraph is 5. You were consistently over the maximum word count in each paragraph. In such instances, consider starting a new topic paragraph instead of trying to discuss everything in one paragraph. By presenting one topic per paragraph you will increase your chances of scoring better in the C&C and GRA sections.

Save for these observations of mine, you wrote a pretty impressive essay that shows off your English comprehension skills. You fully understood the discussion requirements but floundered a bit in your early presentation and paragraph formatting.