GRE Issue Topic 133

GRE Issue Topic 133

Topic:

Some people believe that universities should require every student to take a variety of courses outside the student's field of study. Others believe that universities should not force students to take any courses other than those that will help prepare them for jobs in their chosen fields.

Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented.

برخی معتقدند که دانشگاهها باید هر یک از دانشجویان  را ملزم به گذراندن دوره های مختلف خارج از رشته تحصیلی دانشجو کند. برخی دیگر بر این باورند که دانشگاه ها نباید دانشجویان را مجبور به گذراندن دروس دیگری غیر از دوره هایی کنند که به آنها در آماده سازی برای شغل در رشته های انتخابی خود کمک کند.

پاسخی بنویسید که در آن بحث کنید کدام دیدگاه بیشتر با نظر شما همسو است و استدلال خود را برای این موضع گیری توضیح دهید. در توسعه و حمایت از موقعیت خود، باید به هر دو دیدگاه ارائه شده توجه کنید.

موافق

  • برخی از دروس اجباری حتی اگر ربطی هم به رشته تحصیلی دانشجو نداشته باشد، به او کمک می کند که در آینده برای پیداکردن شغل، مهارت بیشتری داشته باشد. به عنوان مثال باید شرکت در کلاسهای کامپیوتری برای دانشجویان در تمام رشته ها اجباری باشد چون کار کردن با نرم افزارهای مختلف در عصر دیجیتال امروزی به یک ضرورت تبدیل شده است.
  • اجباری کردن دروس اضافی مثل زبان انگلیسی به دانشجویان کمک می کند که بتوانند منابع بیشتری را که درخصوص رشته خودشان وجود دارد، به زبان های دیگر مطالعه کنند و در رشته خودشان نیز بیشتر پیشرفت کنند.
  • گذراندن دروس اجباری در زمینه ها و رشته های دیگر موجب می‌شود که دانشجویان با برخی رشته‌های دانشگاهی آشنا شوند و شاید علاقه پیدا کنند که در مقاطع بالاتر در این رشته‌ها تحصیل کنند.
  • اجبار دانشجویان به شرکت در کلاس های جانبی برخی از رفتارهای اجتماعی آنها مثل مشارکت در کارهای گروهی را تقویت خواهد کرد.
  • هدف از رفتن به دانشگاه و تحصیل در آن صرفاً مطالعه در یک زمینه یا رشته‌ خاص نیست. بنابراین، برگزاری کلاس های جانبی اجباری در رشته های مختلف موجب می شود که درک بهتری از رشته های دیگر داشته باشیم و در آینده بتوانیم بهتر با آنها همکاری کنیم.

مخالف

  • اجباری بودن شرکت در کلاسهای جانبی برای دانشجویان مناسب نیست چون برخی از آنها زمان بسیار محدودی دارند و با کار کردن در ساعاتی که در دانشگاه نیستند، زندگی خود را می‌گذرانند. بنابراین اجباری بودن کلاس های جانبی می تواند به زندگی شخصی آنها لطمه بزند.
  • شرکت در کلاس های جانبی نباید اجباری باشد بلکه دانشجویان باید به اختیار خود با توجه به علایقی که دارند در این کلاسها شرکت کرده و هر کدام را که دوست دارند، انتخاب کنند.
  • اجباری بودن شرکت در کلاس های جانبی، وقت دانشجویان را می گیرد و در نتیجه آن ها ممکن است وقت کافی برای مطالعه دروس رشته خودشان نداشته باشند.

 

Strategies
Restate the Position:
You may create a version that negates the original in more than one way.
In other words:
Universities should not allow students to take only courses in their fields of study.
You could also determine the question that is being answered by the recommendation.
What kinds of courses should colleges require their students to take?
Or: How can universities ensure that they are turning out well educated graduates?
Creating a question can help you think about the way that you would answer it. Consider what you would deem to be the composition of a good college education.
Now think about the parts of the original recommendation that provide evidence that you can affirm or refute.
a) require – This allows for no alternative. One must fulfill a requirement. How many and what types of courses should universities require? Should they require any courses?
b) every – Again, there is no option.
c) variety – Variety implies more than one type. How many types of courses should universities require outside a student's field of study?
d) outside – How far outside? If one is studying literature, should he or she be required to take chemistry?

Opposing viewpoint:
Universities should not require every student to take a variety of courses outside the student’s field of study.
Identify the parts of the opposing statement that provide evidence to affirm or refute. In this case, the only new word is not, and it simply serves to negate the original statement.
Alternatives:
Is there any other way to look at this statement? Should colleges require students to take a variety of courses before they declare a major? Should requirements exist only within a course of study?

New viewpoint:
College and universities should require enough courses to complete a field of study to ensure that a student is sufficiently educated in that field.
Identify the parts of the opposing statement that provide evidence to affirm or refute.
a) enough – What is enough? Are there options for gaining a degree in a field of study?
b) ensure – This means to make certain. Is it a college’s responsibility to make sure that a student takes the courses he or she will need to satisfy a degree in a field of study?
c) sufficiently – This is similar to enough. What does it mean to be sufficiently educated? Should it be enough to gain employment in the field?

Position:
Universities should require every student to take a variety of courses outside the student’s field of study.

Examples and reasons:
a) At the beginning of a student’s college career, he may not know the field in which to major. The student may discover an area of interest in the variety of courses required during the first two years of college.
b) A student may discover an avocation while taking a variety of courses. A required course in art history may lead to a lifelong passion for collecting fine art or visiting museums around the world.
c) The workplace is always changing. One may find himself out of work at some point, and a required course outside of his field may lead him to a new career. 

Sample 1:

Universities are large educational institutions that offer courses in a wide variety of disciplines. At some point, generally by the end of the second year, students are required to declare a major. In some cases, students begin classes in a program of study from the minute they enter the university. Some college freshmen seem to have been called to a particular profession at an early age, and their determination to become a teacher, or doctor, or engineer has never wavered. On the other hand, most freshmen are waiting for the fires of inspiration to be lit. The surest way to accomplish that is to take a variety of courses in a range of disciplines. It is a fact that, in the United States, only 1 in 4 college students graduates in four years. The greatest number finishes after five years of college, usually because they changed their majors along the way. It is unrealistic to expect today's seventeen or eighteen–year–olds, whose life expectancies are around eighty five years, to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Gone are the days that an individual will obtain a job in a company and remain there for his or her entire working life. Surveys reveal that the average working person today changes careers every ten years. What career selection he or she makes may derive from a course taken in college. Limiting what courses a student takes in college may limit his or her career choices later in life.

On the other hand, the job market today is a mine field. If some college student missteps, his or her chances for a career may blow up. Some students may be frustrated by a requirement to take courses outside their fields of study. Their focus on taking as many courses as possible in the field they wish to pursue may be impressive in the job application process. College students may feel that their exposure to a variety of courses in high school is sufficient, so repeating that in college is redundant.

At a traditional university, a student will enroll in five courses per semester; that's a total of forty classes in four years. Narrowing one's choices could have disadvantages. It is realistic to assume that a student could burn out from the lack of variety. The courses may be taught by professors who fail to expire, and those professors may teach all of the courses in the field. After a couple of years, the student may decide that he or she made a mistake in choosing it and now has no option but to continue to the bitter end or start from scratch.

Universities should require students to take a variety of courses in several disciplines. Courses that teach the nuts and bolts in any field generally are offered to college juniors and seniors, anyway. At the end of the college career, a student will have the skills and knowledge he or she needs to pursue a career beyond college, as well as exposure to areas of knowledge that might spark a lifelong interest in some hobby or other avocation. 

 

Sample 2:

It is true that one should be aware of various academic disciplines in order to expand his vision and become truly educated. One’s knowledge cannot remain restricted to one’s own field of study or else he will not be able to analyze his knowledge with respect to the happenings in other related fields. However, the decision to acquire knowledge of academic disciplines other than their fields of study should rest with the students themselves. The recommendation that students should be forced to study subjects other than their fields of study is extremely unconvincing.

Students are in universities for a short duration of time that amounts to a couple of years in which they have to acquire maximum possible knowledge about their fields of study. These students will go on to become professionals in their respective fields. Is it justified to take out time from this precious period to study subjects that will have no relevance to the career that the students plan to pursue? If someone is studying medicine, will it be justified to force him to study history? It is true that knowledge of history will definitely make him truly educated as he will be aware of historical facts which are essential for being well-informed. However, would this knowledge make such a big difference to his life that it should be made mandatory for him to study this subject that has no relevance to his field of study?

It is a well known fact that students have to appear for various tests to prove their capabilities in a particular subject. They are given admissions to various programs of study depending upon their performance in such tests. Therefore, will all students be able to study all subjects of the university level with equal ease? A student who has an aptitude for Biology may not be in a position to study Mathematics that easily. If he is forced to take a course in Mathematics, it might eventually turn out that he spends more time in studying Mathematics rather than studying Biology which is his main subject. Making the students study subjects other than their fields of study cannot be justified without assessing the aptitude of the students and their liking for the additional subjects.

It is not warranted to force an engineering student to study English literature in the time that he should have spent studying the concepts of engineering. Such an action could have serious repercussions like the student not being able to become a competent engineer as he wasted precious time during his years in the university memorizing facts that were of no relevance to his choice of career. It would be a much better option to give ample time to students in their years in the universities to learn as much as they can about their fields of study. They can choose to take up additional courses pertaining to other disciplines if they feel that they have spare time for the same. For instance, a student studying History may have additional time on his hands as he does not have to go for practical classes and therefore, he may choose to take up a course in some foreign language.

In conclusion, there is no denying the fact that gaining knowledge about various disciplines is of a great advantage as it helps you to be more learned and educated. At the same time, enforcing regulations in universities that force students to take a variety of courses outside the students’ fields of study is unwarranted as the students should be allowed to take this decision depending upon their capabilities.


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