Task 2 questions › Culture
Culture: IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Many young people today know more about international celebrities than about the history of their own country. Why is this? What can be done to increase young people's interest in their national history?
Question type: Two-part question · Write at least 250 words · About 40 minutes
How to approach it
This two-part question asks for reasons and then for practical measures. Give each question its own body paragraph, and make your suggestions specific enough to explain. Avoid criticising young people in general; focus on causes and realistic actions.
Suggested outline
- Intro: paraphrase the situation and briefly answer both questions.
- Body 1: reasons - social media and entertainment focus heavily on celebrities, some history lessons rely on memorising dates, and history can feel unconnected to daily life.
- Body 2: measures - interactive, project-based teaching, local history projects and museum visits, and films, games and online content based on real history.
- Conclusion: restate both answers.
Ideas for part one
- Social media constantly promotes celebrity news
- Some history lessons focus on memorising dates and names
- Young people may not see how history relates to their lives
Ideas for part two
- Project-based lessons, such as interviewing grandparents about the past
- Interactive museums and visits to historic sites
- History-based films, games and online content
Band 7+ vocabulary
- national heritage – a country's history, traditions and important places
- celebrity culture – strong public interest in famous people
- rote learning – learning by repeating facts without understanding them
- bring history to life – make history interesting and real
- historic sites – places where important events happened
- a sense of identity – an understanding of who you are and where you belong
Common mistakes on this question
- Answering the second question with 'schools should teach more history' and not explaining how.
- Spending too long criticising celebrities instead of explaining the causes.
- Blaming social media alone and ignoring other reasons, such as teaching methods.
Band 8 model answer
Show the model answer (try writing your own first)
Many young people today could name dozens of international stars but know relatively little about their own country's past. This is largely because entertainment and social media focus on celebrities while history teaching is often unengaging, but more creative approaches could renew young people's interest.
There are several reasons for this situation. The most obvious is the influence of celebrity culture. Young people spend hours on social media and streaming platforms, where famous singers, actors and influencers appear constantly, sharing details of their lives directly with their fans. Historical figures, by contrast, rarely appear in this content. Secondly, history lessons in some schools still depend heavily on rote learning, with students memorising lists of dates, battles and rulers for examinations, which makes the subject seem dull. Finally, many teenagers struggle to see how events from centuries ago relate to their own lives, so history feels distant and irrelevant compared with the latest news about a pop star.
Several measures could change this. Schools could replace some memorisation with interactive, project-based learning. For example, students might investigate how their own town has changed over the past century by interviewing older residents and comparing old photographs with the streets today, which would show them that history is connected to the places where they live. Visits to museums, castles and old battlefields can also bring history to life, particularly when they include guided activities or role-play. In addition, film-makers, game designers and online creators could be encouraged to produce engaging content based on real historical events, using the same platforms that young people already enjoy.
In conclusion, young people know more about celebrities than history because of the media they consume and the way history is often taught. Making the subject more interactive, local and visible online would help them value their country's past and develop a stronger sense of identity.
Written for StudyChat as an example of a high-band answer. Word count: 308.
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