Topic 14. Some people believe that university students should be required to attend classes. Others believe that going to classes should be optional for students.

Some people believe that university students should be required to attend classes. Others
believe that going to classes should be optional for students. Which point of view do you agree
with? Use specific reasons and details to explain your answer.

Sample essay 1.


Nowadays, it becomes a heatedly debated topic whether a student should be required to attend
classes or not. Some people hold the opinion that the university students should be required to go
to classes. However, others have a negative attitude. If I were forced to agree with one of the two
positions, I would stand behind the latter. My Arguments for this point are listed as follows.

I agree with the statement that going to classes should be optional for university students without
reservation since I believe a student is supposed to attend those classes he or she is interested in.
Naturally, interest is the mother of study. When attracted by a wonderful class, you will attend it
unforcedly and immediately. Nevertheless, not all classes are so popular in reality and no one has
interest in every class. Consequently, you should select the classes you like to attend for a higher
efficiency of studying. It can be given a good example, in current universities, many excellent
students almost have the record of skipping some boring and undesirable classes.

Another reason that can be seen by every one is that it contributes to build a university student's
ability of learning by himself or herself. Obviously, by choosing good and meaningful classes,
giving up those undesirable, or studying these classes you can not attend somehow by yourself,
you will learn how to distribute your study time and acquire the capability of learning by yourself,
which is tremendously important to modern university students. Many celebrities, such as Bill Gates, have such powerful ability by not attending some classes when they were in university.

Admittedly, being required to attend classes has advantages of disciplining the student, however,
considering most university students can discipline themselves on their own, I believe it is
sagacious to agree with that going to classes should be optional for college or university students.

Sample essay 2.


Should university students be required to attend classes? There are two different opinions. Some
people claim that attending classed is a must to students. Other people, however, argue that it
should be for students to decide whether they want to go to class or not. As far as I am concerned,
no matter whether students like it or not, they must attend classes.

Students who don't like to go to classes have their reasons. The main one is, they can learn
knowledge by themselves. If they were asked to attend the class in which the professor teaches
something they already have known, it would be a pain. Not attending class, students can control
their time more freely and are likely not to waste time.

Although I agree that there may be one or two advantages to not attending class, I insist that the
advantages of joining classes far overweigh them. In the first place, professors can teach students
a lot of things that cannot be obtained from books. In Chinese dictionary, a university is defined to
be a place where teachers forward what they know to students. In the book, normally there is just
concentrated knowledge. How the writer gets and develops it is a question. How to answer this
question? Go to the class. The professor will not only teach you some knowledge, but also let you
know how to use and develop it. As a Chinese slang says, " Owning a key is owning a house."
That is the most important reason people want to study in university.

In the second place, you will be benefited from discussing with your classmates if attending
classes. Different people have their own special capability. One people cannot be good at every
aspect. What is the best way to share your knowledge with others and learn from others? Go to
the class. Professor always gives some topics for students to discuss. In the discussion, you will be
surprised that so many great fresh thoughts are pushing to you from your colleagues and they are
free.

In conclusion, I believe that students should attend classes not only because professors can teach
you the method of how to master and develop knowledge, but also because students can learn
from each other in the class. In short, attend classes if you select to attend university.

Sample essay 4.


Some people may believe that going to classes should be optional, but I disagree. I don't
understand how university students can expect to learn anything if they don't attend classes.
Personal experience can help people learn about themselves and the world outside the classroom,
but when it comes to learning about academic subjects, students need to be in class.

In class they receive the benefit of the teacher's knowledge. The best teachers do more than just
go over the material in the class textbook. They draw their students into discussion of the material.
They present opposing points of view. They schedule guest speakers to come, give the students
additional information, or show documentary films on the subject.


Also, attending classes on any subject teaches more than just facts. It teaches students how to
learn, how to absorb information and then apply what they've learned to other situations. Their
teacher is the best one to help them with these skills. They can't learn them just by reading the
textbook.

Going to class also teaches students how to work with the other members of the class. Many times
students will be given group assignments. This is different from what they did in secondary school.
Here they're with people from different backgrounds and experiences. In this situation, they learn
how to handle working with people different from themselves to achieve a common goal.
Going to class also teaches students responsibility and discipline. Having to be at a particular
place at a particular time prepares them for getting a job. Being at that place on time with an
assignment completed prepares them for a career.

In short, by going to class students learn more than just information from the teacher. They also
learn how to learn, how to work with others, and how to work responsibly. These are not optional
skills in life, so attending classes should not be optional in college.