IELTS Vocabulary The Arts

IELTS Vocabulary The Arts

IELTS Tips

• Take care to spell words correctly. Standard American, Australian and British spellings are acceptable in IELTS.
• Memorising a model answer for the Writing test won’t help you. The examiner will see that your answer does not match the topic of the essay.

Here is a model answer. Choose the answer that best fits each space.

In education there has always been divided opinion regarding the arts and more practical subjects such as maths and science. Today that debate continues even as the nature of education is altered by technological and social changes. The question is whether arts subjects are outdated or whether they still serve the purpose of keeping alive creativity and reminding us of the value of beauty.

In most societies, the teaching of the arts encourages students to appreciate the power of aesthetics. In turn, this helps them to define and understand their own and other peoples’ traditions and way of life. It has a unifying influence that has a beneficial effect on humanity; consider the Japanese student who is inspired by Van Gogh’s works to visit Europe.

A criticism often levelled at the arts is that they do not develop real skills. However, many arts subjects are the starting points for varying professions: design is a field that offers a huge range of careers. The study of literature enables students to express themselves clearly, developing necessary skills for any job requiring good communication.

However, it can also be argued that the arts are impractical Can we allow young minds this luxury when there are so many economic and environmental threats to the safety of humankind? Once, an appreciation of the arts was seen as necessary in order for the upper classes to prove their sophistication and higher status. Society now is much more egalitarian so the study of music and painting might be pursued by students with genuine talent for others, it might be a relaxing hobby rather than a waste of vital study time.

Clearly, the clash between the arts and science subjects will always be present. It is the battle between abstract concepts and concrete facts. In short, it is the left brain arguing with the right brain as to which of them should take charge in the challenge to make the world a better place. In terms of learning, perhaps the best attitude we can take is to see them as inseparable and equally vital to the development of civilization.