We must study the past to understand the present

IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Some people believe that history is very important and we must study the past to understand the present. Other say that it has little or no use at all.

Discuss both views, give your opinion and support it with relevant examples.

Write at least 250 words.

Sample Answer:
History, in common parlance, is the record of the past events. In many circles, history is considered as an important tool by which people can comprehend people, while others say that history does not matter. Although there are good arguments against the importance of history, I personally believe that history plays a crucial role apprehending the present situation.

On the one hand, it can be argued that history has a faint function or no use at all in the present context. The proponents of this argument contend that the present situation, most often, is different from the past events. The experiences that history share us have very little worth or relevance in the present context. Moreover, in many cases, histories are recorded with different motivations and personal biasness influenced it largely. Consequently, history might misleads people. Therefore, studying history is nothing but wasting of time and money.

On the other hand, there are people who believe that history is the key to understand the current situation and the world in which he or she lives. I subscribe the view for several reasons. History is the account of past events, and present is constituted by the past events. So, if one wants to comprehend present situation accurately, he or she have to delve into the history. For example, people can understand the spirit of modern democratic state only when they study the history of French Revolution as it unified French and inaugurated the epoch of modern state. Besides, our society is crammed with complex cultures, heritages, or traditions have not been emerged on the spur of the moment. It has been formed with the practice of generations. So, if one is keen to understand the present condition of society or human beings, he or she has to visit history.

In pithy, I want to say that each individual is born with a personal distinction of an inherited genetic template, known as the genome, which has developed during the entire life span of human species. And history acts as a conduit between past and present that allows people to understand the facts of past events, which in turn helps comprehend the present better. There is no doubt that when we have a lucid comprehension of past and present, we can build a bright future on it. So, history is not just useful for present, but for future as well.