In the minds of ESL exam candidates, e ssay writing is one of the most daunting tasks they are required to complete, regardless of the level of the exam, the administering body or the ease with which they themselves use the language. The same applies to students who are asked to write an essay by their teachers at school. In the previous sample essays posted on the blog, the main point I stress is the need to become acquainted with this form of writing (as opposed to writing a letter, review or report, for instance), to get a feel of what authorial voice is and how to organize and progressively express the arguments you wish to make in a coherent manner. Unfortunately, the best way to prepare for exam writing or learn how to write good essays for school is to read as many essays from as many sources as possible, then write as
If you are not taking an exam but need ideas on the causes that have led to the change in women's status over the years, then read on and note down what you deem useful. If you intend to use this essay as part of an assignment, remember to paraphrase so as not to plagiarize.
The topic is similar to what candidates would expect in any other C2 level examination in that examiners want to see a well-organized, coherent and cohesive discussion of the issue with arguments, explanations and examples.
For more sample essays and useful essay-writing posts, click on the image below.
The status of women over the last centuries has changed. What are the causes of this?
Due to socio-political upheavals, technological advances
and scientific breakthroughs, history has recorded a number of changes in the
way people perceive the role of men and women. Women’s status has especially
been on the receiving end of such changes so it is with great pleasure that
many have welcomed the move towards greater freedom and acquisition of rights for
women that were long overdue. The causes behind the greater freedom and
increased number of rights enjoyed by women in most parts of the world can be
narrowed down to two.
The first determining factor that has enabled women to
exercise greater freedom in their decisions is the constant battle led against
legislative and conventional restrictions that limited women in a number of
fields. Women had no right to vote, were barred from a considerable number of
jobs or were frowned upon if they were engaged in jobs considered the preserve
of men. Their existence was meant to be one where they would support men in
their duties, provide heirs, raise their brood and see to household tasks.
Although this in itself is in no way reprehensible, it did restrict those women
who wanted to spread their wings and become involved in other sectors such as
creative writing, politics, medicine or the law, to name a few. Women often
published poetry or short stories under men’s names as few publishers bothered
to read manuscripts written by women; women were officially barred from
practicing medicine since the days of Henry VIII but continued to practice what
they were taught from their elders without formal education and by the middle
of the 19th century managed to create their own girls-only medical
schools. The reason why today these are all things of the past is because
certain women decided to speak out and do something about changing the status
quo. Elizabeth Blackwell was rejected from 29 colleges before being admitted
into medical school and graduating in 1849 as one of the first women to have
obtained a degree in Medicine. Emmeline Pankhurst led the British suffragette
movement in the late 19th century and paved the way for
enfranchisement. Without these women, just two examples out of many, and the
battles they waged to change things, the status of women would not be what it
is today.
A second reason for the change in the status of women
over the last centuries has to do with the changing mentality of the times.
This cannot be narrowed down to specific individuals but must be seen
spherically as the fusion of historical facts and particular ideologies which
brought about change. The Age of Enlightenment established the precepts of
freedom, reason, tolerance and progress which gave rise to revolutions which in
turn produced more lenient societies. The idea of discontent with established
norms was what eventually led to the great changes in the way people viewed the
world and gave rise to concepts such as individuality and otherness. The Second
World War opened the doors so that women could take on typically male jobs. The
Sexual Revolution of the 1960’s gave women greater freedom over their bodies
and enabled them to express themselves more openly. Such a list of events
offset by trending ideas which set the wheels of change in motion could go on indefinitely.
The bottom line is that change in women’s position would not have be seen
favorably, had a particular event in conjunction with a more liberal
intellectualism not been present at a precise moment in time.
All things considered, the combination of individual
effort and historical circumstance is what has granted women more rights and
greater freedom to pursue lives and careers they would not be able to enjoy in
the past. The status of women is by no means what it was several centuries ago
thanks to battles waged on many levels. However, the fact that a glass ceiling
still exists and that many freedoms – viewed as standard in many countries –
are unheard of in other parts of the world, shows we still have a long way to
go before we can speak about true equality.
Find more essay questions in the lists published here and here.