All students should be required to study art and music in secondary school

IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

All students should be required to study art and music in secondary school.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer:
Every education system on the earth comprises almost the same hierarchy of subjects. It does not matter where you go. Mathematics and languages enjoy the top place of the hierarchy, then humanities and, art and music at the bottom everywhere on the globe. But we should rethink about this matter differently. I think mathematics is very crucial, so is arts and music. The following reasons could answer why.

Involvement in art helps student achieve gains in mathematics, reading, critical thinking, cognitive ability, motor skills, and verbal competence. It also can improve concentration, motivation, and confidence. In 2005, the Rand Corporation published a report about visual arts. The report revealed that the inherent delights and stimulation do more than sweeten an individual’s life. According to the report, arts can stick people more deeply to the world and gift them a new lens of seeing, creating the bedrock to mould social bonds and community cohesion. In addition to this, an effective arts program in secondary schools can close the gulf that has many a student left behind. That is to say that the students of the affluent families usually get exposed to the arts whether or not public schools provide them and most cases students, who come from low-income families, do not get the opportunity. . In the case, arts in schools enables those students from financially poor backdrop to have more level playing field with students who have had enriched experiences.

Similarly, music is more than just music. Let me clarify a bit more. Making music means more than the voice or fingers playing on the piano. When a student learns music, he has to tap into multiple skills set, and very often simultaneously. For example, people use their ears and eyes as well as small and large muscles while performing music. Many studies indicate that the brain of a musician, even a young one, functions differently compare to a non musician. Some good neuroscience research indicates that people children involved in music have considerable growth of neural activity than people who not in music training. Students who have formal training in music are good at recalling verbal information stored in memory.

To wrap up, academic excellence, civic engagement, social and emotional development, and equitable opportunities are demanded from our schools for the well-rounded generation. Based upon above discussion, the conclusion can be drawn that arts and music in secondary schools could be the key tools to meet these demands.