PRACTICE 1

Task 1

The diagram shows the stages in the cultivation and management of a forest.
TASK 2

Some people think that universities should provide graduates with the knowledge and
skills needed in the workplace. Others think that the true function of a university should
be to give access to knowledge for its own sake, regardless of whether the course is
useful to an employer. What, in your opinion, should be the main function of a
university?

- Related question: Some people argue that universities should provide students
with more practical training for their future career. Should university education be
more vocational or academic. Discuss.
There are three ways you could answer this:

1) Argue that the function of university is to provide graduates with knowledge and skills needed in
the workplace.

2) Argue that the function of university is to give access to knowledge for its own sake.

3) Argue that the function of university is to do both.

Sample (Option 3)

The primary purpose of tertiary education is to prepare graduates for their future career. While
thousands of people would enroll for the sake of acquiring general knowledge and skills which will
make them competitive on the job market, there is a portion of them who would expect to obtain the
specific qualifications only for their dream job. Therefore, I strongly believe that university should
organize their courses’ programs in order to provide future employees with all the skill sharpening
professional training for their specific occupation.

One compelling reason for this is that all the contemporary occupations nowadays are task specific,
which makes it a necessity for workers to be able to comply with every job requirement. Once they
graduate, they are expected to take over all the responsibilities their job needs them to do, have the
know-how, as well as the expertise to carry out all the arduous and demanding tasks. For instance,
as soon as I graduated at the Faculty of Philology I had to take a part-time teaching job. I was
overwhelmed with all the expectations my employer had in everyday practice, whereas there was no
need at all of all the theory I had mastered throughout my studies.

On the other hand, it is beyond doubt that most of the jobs would require employees to do a lot of
multi-tasking and to be capable of meeting deadlines while conducting project work. Apparently, big
companies would prefer to employ a person well-equipped with all the necessary knowledge related
to several positions within their range, instead of over-staffing. Notwithstanding the competitiveness
among businesses, there is always a huge demand for the top notch professionals within one sector.
This will be possible, only and only if universities raise their standards and provide broad education
and practice for their students.

In conclusion, I would maintain that tertiary education should be more content-specific and ensure
the fastest and highest quality for their graduates. Not only will professionals be able to use their
university knowledge as a catalyst towards their career, but they will be able to make a living out of it
for a lifetime.

Sample 2

Whether a university’s role should be to prepare graduates for specific jobs or simply to educate
without a particular vocation in mind is a debatable issue. I believe that universities fulfill both
purposes. The essay will first present the function of vocational courses, followed by a discussion of
more traditional tertiary education.

Some students have a very specific job in mind when they enroll at university. Medicine, dentistry
and accountancy have clear career paths and they allow people to focus on and then undertake a
certain profession upon graduation. This suits those who have decided on a career and it avoids them
wasting time studying a more general subject like English. For instance, in the United States, you
must complete four years of higher education before you can study law and many feel that these
four years are a waste of time, that would have been better used focusing on their chosen discipline.

However, this is not suitable for everyone and many people have no idea what job they would like to
do when they are 18. For these young people, it is better to do a non-vocational course, such as
philosophy and simply add to their intellect without a career goal in mind. If they were forced to
study a more practical subject, they are more likely to quit or become disillusioned because they
don’t see the point of their chosen subject. For example, The Times recently reported that only 50%
of law graduates actually want to become lawyers at the end of their studies.

In conclusion, the function of college is to both prepare students for the workforce and provide
knowledge and which one a person chooses should depend on their preference at the time.