ashwinvprabhu

Thank you, Katherine for the comments. I will try to close these gaps as I practice more. I have made an attempt on another issue prompt. Please grade this essay. Issue: A nation should require all of its students to study the same national curriculum. Children of a nation are its future. They carry the responsibility of running and developing their nation. It is very important to form a strong base in the early years so that they not have successful careers, but they also turn out to be good citizens. Education plays a very important role in shaping up a child's future. The issue statement states that, a nation should require all of its students to study the same national curriculum. This statement holds true to some extent, as the curriculum being followed across a nation should be similar, but the schools should have some level of freedom to modify it if required. Larger part of the curriculum should remain the same across the nation. To begin with, uniform curriculum can be beneficial in several ways. It determines a standard level which every student needs to clear before they move on to the next level. Common curriculum throughout a nation can be easily referred to. For instance, take an example of children, whose parents are defence personnel. They children have to keep changing their schools as their parents get transferred from one place to another. If there is no uniform curriculum and the level of education which these children used to have in their previous school is different from the one which they have in their present school, then it is going to be difficult for these children to catch up with the school's curriculum. Secondly, it is a competitive world out there today and in order to find a place anywhere, students have to compete with each other. Entrance to most of the colleges and universities are determined by the entrance examinations. A uniform curriculum across the country is very important, so that some students don't have an edge over the other students, and there is fair competition among the students. If the curriculum varies, then these entrance examinations will not be the same for all the students. Because of the varying curricula, some students will benefit and some will be at loss. Hence, a uniform curriculum should be maintained. However, schools should have some level of discretion in making certain changes on the needs basics, for the betterment of the students. Schools should have some liberty in choosing the format of the courses it offers. Each student is different and have different capabilities. Some are extremely fast learners and some are slow in understanding the concepts. The curriculum should be moulded in such a way that the students retain their interest in studies. In conclusion, a uniform curriculum is extremely beneficial for those students whose parents often get transferred from one place to another and have to change their schools once in a while. To gain entry for higher studies into a university or college, students need to take entrance examinations and these examinations will not be the same for all the students, if they have a varying curricula. But, schools need to have some level of discretion in modifying the curriculum, if required for the betterment of students. Hence, I conclude that, a uniform curriculum should be maintained across the nation, but at the same time, it should not be binding schools to follow it strictly, and the schools should be allowed to bring changes to the curriculum, if required.

Issue: As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate. We are in the 21st Century right now, and Technology has made inroads into every home, school and office. There is an increased tendency on it to get our jobs done. With the emergence of computers, mobile phones and other electronic items used for various purposes, humans dependence on technology has increased exponentially over the last 2 decades or so. As humans rely on technology to solve problems, their ability to think for themselves deteriorates. On the contrary, as the technology makes life easier for humans, they now have the liberty to go after more complex and meaningful issues. Firstly, advancement of technology is a wonder of human mind. We all must have heard about the proverb, "Necessity is the mother of invention". Humans have always made an effort to find a solution, when they are faced with a problem. In olden times, people used to face a lot of difficulty in travelling long distances while carrying heavy loads, which led to the invention of the wheel. Over the period of time, the wheel underwent many modifications to suit various modes of transportation, like motor vehicles, aircrafts, and is now used in almost all the means of transportation. With the invention of the wheel and its extensive usage for transportation, humans no longer face the problem travelling long distances while carrying heavy loads. Secondly, advancement of technology in hospitals and medical centres has been drastic over the last few decades. For instance, maintaining the previous records of a particular patient was an extremely difficult task in the olden days. Many a times, the records of the patient is lost, making it difficult for the doctors to accurately assess the current ailment of the patient. But now, with the emergence of the computer and database management system, it is easy to create and maintain the records of a particular patient. Doctors depend on these advancements to assess the patient more accurately. On the other hand, few would argue that, excessive reliance on technology to accomplish mundane tasks will surely deteriorate humans ability to think. For instance, dependency on calculator for simple mathematical calculations has made our brains, dull and not responsive to mental calculations. However, technology has freed humans from doing trivial things. Humans can now spend their time doing more meaningful things by relying on technology for trivial computations. For instance, engineers who work on aerodynamics can use the latest computers to simulate how the altitude of a plane will change with respect to different levels of winds. Engineers can now focus on how to design an aircraft more safely and efficiently. In conclusion, the effort of the humans to solve problems has led to the advancement of technology. Invention of the wheel and its usage for various modes of transportation has allowed humans to travel long distances in short period of time. Computer and Database management system has made it easier to maintain the records of a particular patient. With these points, we can successfully argue that, humans increasing dependence on technology does not affect the ability of the humans to think for themselves. Instead, it frees humans from doing trivial tasks and allows them to think about more meaningful tasks and issues.