Hello, this is another practice I've done for analyse the issue. I went over the time limit (you'll see where I marked 30min), but I guess I just want to see if the flow of ideas is appropriate. Thank you to anyone who reads/replies!

TOPIC
Claim: Colleges and universities should specify all required courses and eliminate elective courses in order to provide clear guidance for students.

Reason: College students — like people in general — prefer to follow directions rather than make their own decisions.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based.


RESPONSE
Although having all required courses specified and the removal of electives for students would make organizing their academic schedule easier, it is questionable as to whether this would provide clear guidance to students. As well, the reasoning behind this, that college students, like people in general, prefer to follow directions is a generalization that I do not believe applies to all situations.

Firstly, the assumption that guidance is increased by having colleges and universities specify all required courses and eliminating electives makes the assumption that having free choice in choosing courses to some degree causes confusion and lack of direction in students. It can be true that having an institution create an academic schedule for the duration of the degree could make it easier for the students to understand what to expect in the next few years of their degree, however it does not provide any further guidance to the student than if they had to plan their schedule out with electives. For example, to be a good candidate for a master's degree in clinical psychology, there are extracurricular activities that need to be done outside of your course work. Participating in lab research, being a co-author on an article, and getting volunteer experience is all something that is seen as making you a valuable applicant for a graduate program, but that guidance would not be given through having all required courses specified. Having the courses specified only helps guide students in what courses they need to take, not what other activities will help them beyond their degree.

Secondly, I do not agree that students and people in general prefer to follow directions in every circumstance. I would argue that especially in their educational pursuits this would be a false claim. In any university course, it is important for a professor to outline the guidelines and expectations of the students so that they know how to delegate their focus and work to perform well. However, when professors leave room for the students to create and dictate their own work, it allows for the students’ critical thought and creativity to flourish. In one of my most memorable courses in university, the professor had a final project in which the students were to create a psychological study on any topic, for any population, as long as it was related to the course subject which was developmental psychology. There were few directions given other than that, and the professor guided the 30MIN students through support of answering individual questions and having student direct class discussions. The work that was produced by the students covered a broad range of topics, and amounted to work that some decided to use for grant applications for their graduate programs. As well, there was a consensus in the class of elevated confidence in the students, as many of us had never had the chance to guide ourselves into specific areas of interest. In this case, not having to follow any more direction other than “produce a study” was beneficial not only to building the skills needed to be successful in research, but also built confidence in the capabilities of the students involved.

However, there may be situations in which following directions is preferable, such as any novel situation to which how to behave successfully may be ambiguous or unknown. People entering a new job would most likely perform with increased confidence if they had someone shadowing them their first shift and providing instructions on how to perform their task proficiently. In a similar respect, new students entering their first year of university may need help in figuring out their courses and academic road map so they know what they need to do to perform successfully. Having the university or college specify all courses can in part act as a guidance to new students for this, so at least they can see what courses they will need, what prerequisites they will need for upper level courses, and when all this can be done in their degree. That being said, having major field courses specified is only one step to their guidance, having resources alongside specified courses, like a faculty representative or peer mentor to answer questions, would help the new students focus on what they will need to do to be successful in their academic career.

In conclusion, having all required courses specified, and eliminating electives may be beneficial to new students in understanding what to expect in their degree, but it will not provide any more clear guidance than if they had to choose courses and electives themselves. As well, there are situations in which students, like people in general, actually flourish with little directions to follow, and therefore we should leave the students with some autonomy in what they want to study.