Makes us
Parents think it's think Bad art /
not a secure career non-art: paint thrown at Art with
choice. canvas, shark in tank, "bad" intentions:
Gives paintings by animals advertising, religious
pleasure or political message
Not practical, Helps us
like things related understand
to Maths and the world
Science
Art doesn't Value
need to have a attached to art
use (Michelangelo, changes over time and
Da Vinci) place; no permanent
Many judgements
Doesn't people think art
contribute to the is a waste of
economy government
money
Do we Artists like
van Gogh poor
need and unpopular
art? when alive
Too much money
spent on decorations;
people are starving
Unique art given
A lot of art is not
See the world in different, value even if it is
Making art shared publically
more imaginative way ugly.
is useful in itself;
not necessarily as a
career; as a way of
expressing
yourself
See the world in different,
Making art more imaginative way
is useful in itself;
not necessarily as a Unique art given
career; as a way of Helps us value even if it is
expressing Many
Makes us understand Gives ugly.
yourself people think art the world
think pleasure
is a waste of
government
money Bad art /
non-art: paint thrown at
canvas, shark in tank,
Art doesn't paintings by animals
need to have a
use (Michelangelo,
Da Vinci)
Is art
Value
Is art useful? valuable or attached to art
meaningful? changes over time and
place; no permanent
Not practical,
judgements
like things related
to Maths and
Science Do we
need Art with
art? "bad" intentions:
advertising, religious
Doesn't or political message
contribute to the
economy
Is art a
Is art morally
sensible
wrong?
choice? Too much money
spent on decorations;
people are starving
Artists like
van Gogh poor Parents think it's A lot of art is not
and unpopular not a secure career shared publically
when alive choice.
Do we need art? Model Answer
In a recent conversation about the role of art in society and
in school, Mr Deni, our new art teacher , raised some Refer explicitly to the conversation.
fascinating and pertinent points which caused me to Say nice things about Mr Deni
question some of my preconceptions, values and Pattern of 3
opinions about the world of art. While I had previously
doubted that art had any real tangible value, I see now This sentence makes my purpose
that although there is still much in the artworld which is clear because it summarises my
of dubious social worth, the process of making art for argument
an individual is one which can be pleasurable,
thoughtprovoking and enriching. I feel greatly indebted
to Mr Deni as I feel I can now make a much more informed
choice as to whether I will pursue art as an A Level subject
next year.
Since many readers have or will have similar Further explains purpose for writing
decisions to make, I have decided to share what I have in terms of audience
learned.
Mr Deni was keen for me to continue with art next year, and Makes the disagreement more
I must say I was initially very sceptical, because of my polite
many misgivings about art. We discussed whether art has
any real meaning or value , given that the world is so full of Topic sentence identifies the key
“art” which is, in the writer’s opinion, unattractive, argument dealt with in this
unintelligent and useless : preserved sharks in tanks, paragraph
random spatters of paint on canvas, or the meaningless Pattern of 3
doodles of animals or children . Mr Deni explained that Pattern of 3 to give specific details
views on what makes good art vary over time and from the passage
space, and that often new ideas are initially rejected,
before gradually being accepted by critics and then the Summary of views from the
public because they are unique. I’m afraid this did little to passage
convince me . His explanation that even subjects of art as
simple as fruit in a bowl have at certain periods been objects
of hatred shows how unstable and meaningless art can be. I Polite disagreement
also object to the idea that art is valuable by being different
or rare even if it is ugly or lacks meaning.
Mr Deni was also unable to deny the fact that art can be
hard to justify from a moral perspective . The absurd
monetary value attached to some works of art which were
simple and cheap to produce is an outrage in a world where Topic sentence
people are starving, homeless and in need , all the more
so because much of the art is locked away in private
collections, of no benefit to society at all.
Pattern of 3
There was also no defence from Mr Deni to my suggestion
that art is something of a dead end as a career choice.I
agree with my parents when they advise me to specialise in
something more practical: the sciences, mathematics and
economics lead to plenty of stable, worthwhile and Topic sentence
wellpaid occupations such as medicine, accounting, or
running a business .
Where does art take you? More than Pattern of 3
likely it leads to
poverty, struggle and unhappiness as
even “successful” artists such as van Gogh tend to be
unappreciated in their own time. I certainly remain Question
convinced that I do not want to become an artist. Pattern of 3
Quotation marks for disagreement
What I now feel less certain about is my previously held Expression of strong opinion
conviction that art has no use in society. Of course, art is not
practical in the same way as science or mathematics. But
does it need to be? As Mr Deni pointed out, one does not
need to question the function of the work of great artists like
Michelangelo and Da Vinci. A successful society is not Rhetorical question
just about things that are easy to quantify like money or
mortality rates. Not only fields like medicine and
economics are worthwhile. Happiness and inspiration Evaluation beyond what’s in the
are perhaps equally important , and art is therefore passage: comparing practical
potentially valuable as it gives us pleasure and makes us subjects like science to art
understand the world in different ways. After our discussion,
I can clearly see the benefits that art can have in a society.
However, given my previous points about how ugly or
pointless art is valued because it is unique, and how a
lot of good art is locked away in private collections, I
feel strongly that that the potential social benefits of art Evaluation beyond the passage:
are not realised. the connection between these two
points is not made in the passage
To sum up my arguments so far, art is an unwise career
choice, and the art world is full of bad art and is often
morally questionable . However, despite all this, Mr Deni
did convince me to seriously consider art as an A Level Summarise arguments in conclusion
subject. This is because he made me realise that the true
value of art is in the process, not the product . The
process of expressing oneself through any medium of art is
a valuable one because it helps you to see the world in a eyond
Evaluation b the passage.
different, more imaginative way. Reflecting on this, I Realising how significant this point
realise that I have always found pleasure in is
photography and sketching, and I have grown as a
person through the process . In today’s competitive world,
with a lot of pressure from parents and teachers, it’s easy Anecdote
for us to forget that
education should be about a lot more
than getting a job. It is about personal growth as well.
Most of us take four A Levels. Do they all need to be
related to what we think we might do in the future?
eyond
Evaluation b the passage
To conclude, I have learnt that with regards to art, we need
to
separate the process of making art from how the Rhetorical question
world views, uses and abuses artists and their works.
Even if there is much wrong in the world of art, learning
art in school can be highly beneficial . So while I’m not
hoping to become the next Picasso, I think I’ll follow Mr The conclusion links all the
Deni’s advice and give it a go. arguments together critically
