GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 321
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
In multi-cultural societies, people of different cultural backgrounds live and work together.
Do you think the advantages of multi-cultural societies outweigh the disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
Many people come from different regions with various cultural backdrops living and working together in multi-cultural societies. Although multi-cultural societies lead to social conflict and dominate the culture of the minority groups, I believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks because multiculturism makes life vibrate and is a blessing for the economy.
A multi-cultural society does come with many drawbacks. At times, certain conflicts might loom large due to cultural prejudice, religious belief, inequality, and so forth. This is why ethnic disputes are common in many multi-cultural societies. Conflicts in Sri Lanka, Chechnya, the Gaza strip and Darfur are the deadliest examples. Furthermore, weak minority groups can lose their original cultural and ethnic identity. Put simply, an individual from a minority group is likely to imitate the lifestyle of the dominant culture, thereby losing her own ethnic identity.
Having said that, multi-cultural societies also confer a plethora of benefits. Cultural diversity within a society adds various hues to the monotonous life and makes cosmopolitan cities fascinating and vibrant. This means that people from different countries with various cultural heritages bring fresh exotic experiences to the host societies. A case in point is Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, there are many dazzling festivals, including the DRONGO Festival, Indian Diwali, Irish St. Patrick’s Day to mention but a few. The residents in Amsterdam barely feel bored, they enjoy the food, music, dance from various countries. All of these contribute to the charm of the city and attracts a huge influx of tourists. In consequence, it boosts the tourism sector, creates employment, increases local government revenue, hence multi-culturalism stimulates economic growth. As maintaining vibrant life and economy is critically important, I am of the opinion that multi-cultural societies have numerous advantages.
In conclusion, people from different ethnic groups, in multi-cultural societies, live and work together. Although this trend causes conflicts and challenges ethnic minority groups’ identity, I believe that there are more advantages of it because multi-culturalism makes life vibrant and are good for the economy.