I am a GRE struggler, however, since I am not a native English speaker, writing appears to be a very tough difficulty for me. Could anyone plz have a look at my GRE essay and give me some comments on my style or my vocabulary?

I would appreciate that. Thanks


TOPIC: Colleges and universities should offer more courses on popular music, film, advertising and television because contemporary culture has much greater relevance for students than do arts and literature of the past.

Course choice has been a critical issue for the education industry over centuries. The dilemma between abandoning the “obsolete” arts and literature and embracing contemporary culture confused educators. However, as far as I am concerned, arts and literature may appear passé or boring to our students, they are fundamental and crucial in shaping their density in knowledge thus should never be considered replaced. Secondly, abound with variety of other facets like culture and history, arts and literature reveal more than just the writer’s talents in writing, the hidden background as well. On the other hand, current culture can rise up students’ interest but lack of the profundity in knowledge. The reason that those classics being repeated over time still remained is the most concrete proof for their validity. Therefore it is our educators’ duty to keep carrying and passing them through generation.

Arts and literature are the basic yet essential roots that link with other types of arts. A Plato’s poem contains his incisive philosophy that contributes to a better understanding of the world. Confucius theories of virtues and morals founded and influenced the whole Asian culture. These are certainly not things contemporary arts could annotate. In addition, with aging in experience, we tend to appreciate the beauty of classics more. It is advantageous when we want to read similar works with a sense of direction that is acquired during our study time in universities. One of the principles of educating is to enrich students’ knowledge and open up their horizons, whereas arts with density can be the apt guide.

Behind arts and literature, the culture and history that attribute to them is another reason that entails their necessity. Often, art with the benefits of time reflects its period of culture and history. For instance, through Mark Twin’s novels, the influence of the war period the author located can be sensed. And only with the understanding of the background can we comprehend better of the purposes and intentions of the writer. Meanwhile, it teaches us the power of history and the origin of arts. Arts of current culture minimize the other factors to be more impressive and interesting. Nevertheless, contemporary culture develops from history and previous cultures. An improved comprehension of the latter reacts on the former one as well.

Lastly, contemporary culture varies in quality. Indeed, some programs on television can be educating while ones involved with violence and sex should be contaminating to our youngsters. That should even be avoided of touching. On the other hand, studying the lyrics of Britney Spear’s song lyrics or the script of Superman could be entertaining and relaxing, thus can be an short term alternative for our serious studies. The prime rule is we should always choose wisely.

Arts and literature pass through generations and remain alive with its sacred intentions. Through them we connect with our ancestors’ thoughts and filter and obtain the best. They are the fundamental subjects leading to further studies in other fields, meantime, reveals the history and culture behind them in a subtly way. Instead of pursuing the eager to rise up student’s interest of current culture, we should guide them to appreciate the classics since they are the marks left by the wheels of history.