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Essay 5 – Model question
TASK
You have attended a Science Club lecture on how schools could encourage young people to train for careers in science. You have made the notes below.
• enjoyable science lessons.
• careers advice.
• guest lectures from professional scientists.
‘Kids should be able to design their own experiments.’
‘A lot of the careers advice given is already out of date.’
‘A lot of the scientists are too busy to spend time visiting schools.’
Write an essay for your tutor, discussing two of the methods in your notes. You should explain which method you think is more important for governments to consider, giving reasons to support your opinion.
You may, if you wish, make use of the opinions expressed during the discussion but you should use your own words as far as possible.
Write your essay in 220-260 words in an appropriate style.
Essay 5 – Model answer
Nowadays we frequently hear about the lack of students pursuing scientific careers. How can we demonstrate to the younger generation that science is a rewarding and satisfying field? In this essay I will discuss two methods that schools could employ to help persuade teenagers to consider further study in this area.
One possible approach would be to ensure that career advisors are on board by providing them with materials, training and even incentives for promoting science. While this would be fairly easy to implement superficially, a lot of information dates extremely quickly. In addition, generally speaking, career advisors have little background themselves in physics, chemistry and biology and therefore may not be able to drum up genuine enthusiasm.
A second tactic that schools might take would be to invite scientists to come to their school to talk about their work. What might prove difficult would be to secure the scientists themselves, as they are often extremely busy. It would also be crucial to enlist experts able to relate to adolescents or they might actually have an adverse effect.
Overall, I would say that the most effective measure would be to have guest speakers. Hearing an exciting story from the field is much more likely to influence career choice than some second-hand advice.
[+/- 220 words]