Value Of The Arts
In today’s world of advanced science and technology, many still greatly value artists such as musicians, painters, and writers.
What can the arts tell us about life that science cannot?
In this era of scientific and technological advancements, artists such as musicians, painters, and writers are still greatly valued. This is because science involves understanding the fundamentals for a complete appreciation; however, the arts engender greater emotional connections.
On the one hand, science often requires effort to comprehend. The average person does not always appreciate the complex science behind simple concepts without foundational knowledge. Take, for example, natural phenomena decoded by scientists in the last several decades, such as the feelings of happiness being a result of complex chemical interactions in the brain. Though science-inclined individuals are likely to be intrigued by the scientific underpinnings, the majority would lean towards simpler, easier-to-digest explanations from works of literature, poems, or music pieces than attempt to grasp such concepts at the molecular level.
On the other hand, arts resonate with the audiences on an emotional level. Facts, statistics, equations, and charts only serve to inform but are far from igniting nuanced feelings. For example, composer, poet, and rapper Eminem can distil his first-hand accounts of day-to-day struggles, adversities, fears, and resilience into his masterpieces in such a manner that arguably no branches of science can depict. Similarly, filmmaker and screenwriter Christopher Nolan successfully portrayed modern vigilantism through the Batman persona in ‘The Dark Knight’ which resonates with a worldwide audience, the vivid portrayal of justice against evil can hardly any science disciplines deliver. Last but not least, famous painters, with exceptional visual skills and the ingenious use of colour palettes in their works of art, transcended any computer-generated drawings today.
In conclusion, arts provide a more comprehensible platform that better communicates with the general public than the amount of knowledge required to understand a problem from a scientific standpoint. One should invariably strive to understand life from both mediums for a full appreciation.
Essay Breakdown
Structure:
Introduction:
[1] In this era of scientific and technological advancements, artists such as musicians, painters, and writers are still greatly valued. [2] This is because science involves understanding the fundamentals for a complete appreciation [2.1]; however, the arts engender greater emotional connections [2.2].
1. Paraphrase the essay topic.
2. Give a clear opinion.
2.1 science -> body 1
2.2 arts -> body 2
Body 1:
[1] On the one hand, science often requires effort to comprehend. [2] The average person does not always appreciate the complex science behind simple concepts without foundational knowledge. [3] Take, for example, natural phenomena decoded by scientists in the last several decades, such as the feelings of happiness being a result of complex chemical interactions in the brain. [4] Though science-inclined individuals are likely to be intrigued by the scientific underpinnings, the majority would lean towards simpler, easier-to-digest explanations from works of literature, poems, or music pieces than attempt to grasp such concepts at the molecular level.
1. Topic sentence with the main idea – science requires effort to comprehend.
2. Explain the main idea.
3. Give a related example to support the main idea.
4. [Counter-argument] add a counterpoint to negate the main idea.
Body 2:
[1] On the other hand, arts resonate with the audiences on an emotional level. [2] Facts, statistics, equations, and charts only serve to inform but are far from igniting nuanced feelings. [3] For example, composer, poet, and rapper Eminem can distil his first-hand accounts of day-to-day struggles, adversities, fears, and resilience into his masterpieces in such a manner that arguably no branches of science can depict. [4] Similarly, filmmaker and screenwriter Christopher Nolan successfully portrayed modern vigilantism through the Batman persona in ‘The Dark Knight’ which resonates with a worldwide audience, the vivid portrayal of justice against evil can hardly any science disciplines deliver. [5] Last but not least, famous painters, with exceptional visual skills and the ingenious use of colour palettes in their works of art, transcended any computer-generated drawings today.
1. Topic sentence with a new main idea.
2. Explain the main idea.
3, 4, 5. Three examples to support my point of view.
Conclusion:
[1] In conclusion, arts provide a more comprehensible platform that better communicates with the general public than the amount of knowledge required to understand a problem from a scientific standpoint. [2] One should invariably strive to understand life from both mediums for a full appreciation.
1. Give a summary of the main ideas.
2. Extend the conclusion by giving a piece of advice.
Vocabulary:
In this era of scientific and technological advancements, artists such as musicians, painters, and writers are still greatly valued. This is because science involves understanding the fundamentals for a complete appreciation; however, the arts engender greater emotional connections.
On the one hand, science often requires effort to comprehend. The average person does not always appreciate the complex science behind simple concepts without foundational knowledge. Take, for example, natural phenomena decoded by scientists in the last several decades, such as the feelings of happiness being a result of complex chemical interactions in the brain. Though science-inclined individuals are likely to be intrigued by the scientific underpinnings, the majority would lean towards simpler, easier-to-digest explanations from works of literature, poems, or music pieces than attempt to grasp such concepts at the molecular level.
On the other hand, arts resonate with the audiences on an emotional level. Facts, statistics, equations, and charts only serve to inform but are far from igniting nuanced feelings. For example, composer, poet, and rapper Eminem can distil his first-hand accounts of day-to-day struggles, adversities, fears, and resilience into his masterpieces in such a manner that arguably no branches of science can depict. Similarly, filmmaker and screenwriter Christopher Nolan successfully portrayed modern vigilantism through the Batman persona in ‘The Dark Knight’ which resonates with a worldwide audience, the vivid portrayal of justice against evil can hardly any science disciplines deliver. Last but not least, famous painters, with exceptional visual skills and the ingenious use of colour palettes in their works of art, transcended any computer-generated drawings today.
In conclusion, arts provide a more comprehensible platform that better communicates with the general public than the amount of knowledge required to understand a problem from a scientific standpoint. One should invariably strive to understand life from both mediums for a full appreciation.
Vocabulary Highlight:
- In this era of: in the age of
- engender (n) something: to make a feeling or situation exist
- phenomena (n): plural form of phenomenon (n): a fact or an event in nature or society, especially one that is not fully understood
- science-inclined (adj): prefer science/have a natural ability for science
- intrigued (adj) + by: very interested in something/somebody and wanting to know more about it/them
- underpinning (n): something that supports or forms the basis of an argument
- lean (v) + towards: to tend to prefer something
- grasp (v): to understand something completely
- molecular (adj): relating to molecules (groups of atoms)
- resonate (v) + with + somebody: to remind somebody of something
- ignite (v): to start to burn
- nuanced (adj): with very slight differences in meaning or expression
- distil (v) something into something: to get the essential meaning or ideas from thoughts, information, experiences, etc.
- resilience (n): the ability of people or things to recover quickly after something unpleasant, such as shock, injury, etc.
- depict (v): to show an image of something/somebody in a picture
- vigilantism (n): the activity of being a vigilante (n): a member of a group of people who try to prevent crime or punish criminals in their community
- persona (n): the aspects of a person’s character that they show to other people
- portrayal (n): the act of showing or describing somebody/something in a picture, play, book, etc
- ingenious (adj): very suitable for a particular purpose and resulting from clever new ideas
- palette (n): the colors used by a particular artist
- transcend (v): to be or go beyond the usual limits of something
- comprehensible (adj): can be understood
- invariably (adv): always
- strive (v) + to: to try very hard to achieve something
- medium (n): something that is used for a particular purpose
Reading:
Further reading about this topic can be found here:
Listening:
Further listening about this topic can be found here:
