General Paper notes: The Practical Value of Art

Excerpt from GP tuition / English tuition content package (copyright: Knowledge Skills LLP)

Arts related questions are very common for General Paper and occasionally appear in some challenging O Level English school papers.

Oftentimes, the questions are on the role of the Arts and its practicality.
Let us use a Singapore example as an opening to the discussion of the practical value of Art

Art – Does it have any practical purpose? Or just idle amusement?

The recent ‘Sticker Lady’ incident in the news has engendered discussion about what defines art.
Among the supporters for a more lenient sentence are those who believe that creativity (however one defines it) should be encouraged and that Singapore needs to do more to support and promote its artistic milieu.

However, in very pragmatic Singapore and the industrialised society at large, what people seem to value are pursuits that have the most economic and commercial value. Many view art as a hobby or just for entertainment. In addition there is the perspective of art as being the pastime of the elite.

However arguing from a purely economic viewpoint only warrants a C-grade essay at most.
It is not a holistic reflection of the  value of art . . .

The value of Art

While art seems to have little practical value , it is an outlet for the individual’s emotions and a form of expression.
– Note: This is a rather simple argument that can be produced by many students. So how do you develop it to an A-grade argument? One thing we remind students during GP tuition is how you need to take it further and relate it to  . . .

[ End of Excerpt - Filed under GP tuition / O level English ]
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