Youshouldspendabout 40 minutesonthis
task.
Presentawrittenargumentorcasetoaneducatedreaderwith nospecialist
knowledgeofthefollowingtopic:
Insomecountries,marriagesare arrangedbytheparentsbutinothercases,
peoplechoosetheirownmarriagepartner.
Discussbothsystems.
Youshouldwriteatleast 250 words.Useyourownideas, knowledgeandexperienceand
supportyourargumentswithexamplesandwithrelevantevidence.
modelanswer:
Theideathatamarriageshould bearranged bytheparentsofthecouple, or by other
members-ofthefamily,isquiteacceptabletosomesocieties, yetcompletely outof
thequestionforothers.Italldependson yourculturalexpectations.
Inso-calledwesternsocieties,itisvery unusualformarriagesto bearranged.
Mostyoung peoplewould notwelcometheideathattheirparentshavetherightto
choosetheirpartnerforlife.Theyfeelthatarrangedmarriagesdenythemtheir
fundamentalrighttochoose,eveniftheymakeabad decision.
However,ifwearehonestaboutit,wemightacknowledgethatsomeparents organise
theirchildren'slivesinsuch awaythattheyarelikelytomeetandmarry
partnerstheparentsapproveo£Itcould be
saidthatthisis,tosomeextent,similartoanarrangedmarriage.Itisalwaysbetter
whenfamiliessupporttherelationshipandwelcomethegrandchildren.
Peopleforwhomarrangedmarriagesaretheculturalnormoftenarguethatthe
likelihood ofthemarriagelastingis greaterwhenitissetupinthismanner.Parents
can beassuredthattheirchildrenarejoiningafamily ofsimilarstandingandcultural
background,andthis,inthelongrun,makesforamorestablesocietyifyourparents'
marriagewasarranged,
and hasworkedwell,thenwhyshould you questionthecustom?
Theimportantthingtoensureisthat peopleareneverforcedintoamarriagewhichwill
makethemunhappy orleadtoan unequalrelationshipwhereonepartner
isexploited bytheother.Thisappliesinallsocietiesandsituations.
( 269 words)
Sample 36
Youshouldspendabout 40 minutesonthistask.
Presentawrittenargumentorcasetoaneducatedreaderwith nospecialist
knowledgeofthefollowingtopic: