IELTS Writing Task 2: University Function - Should It Focus on Knowledge or Skills?

University plays a crucial role in students' lives in this competitive world. However, whether universities should provide more academic knowledge or professional work skills to students is a controversial issue. I agree with the view that colleges should mainly teach basic knowledge for its own sake, which can benefit more than teaching practical skills to students, for the following reasons.

To begin with, the foundation of those practical skills is basic academic knowledge. Skill expertise is the process of using certain methods to achieve goals, and it should be under the guidance of theories and principles. Pure knowledge is the first step to learn skills; without that, students have to put more effort into learning skills and cannot use them properly as well. Therefore, it is essential for universities to focus on theories and academic learning as a prerequisite for further study and work.

Moreover, students need a better academic performance to meet the requirements of applications and entry tests for their postgraduate education. A higher education experience can help them find jobs that provide higher salaries and more comfortable work areas. This is because most companies hire those with a great academic standing. For example, global companies such as Amazon, Tencent, and Microsoft will set up a series of job requirements that are hard to achieve in order to hire more excellent applicants to join the companies. So, students need to get more academic practice and higher scores provided by universities.

However, that is not to say that universities should not teach any job-related skills, because it can help students cope with work and problems quickly, and can increase the possibility of finding a job. But unfortunately, there are still many practical experiences students can learn from their internships. Meanwhile, with the development of Artificial Intelligence, some basic work has already been replaced due to lower expense and better efficiency.

In conclusion, basic academic knowledge should be put in the first place in universities, which can create more possibilities and achievements in students' future. Meanwhile, other parts of education should also be considered, and it can give students access to the new trends of work requirements and the needs of the whole society. Only by doing so can universities develop fluently and positively.