In recent years, the importance of literature has become a matter of debate. While some argue that most undergraduates waste their valuable time studying literature involving poems and novels, I believe these areas of study do play incomparable roles in young people’s personal and professional development.
On the one hand, studying literature seems like a complete waste of time with few benefits for students. In our technological era, where students get rewarded with their abilities to work with technological advancements, such as computers, studying poetry can be seen as time-consuming. This is because that instead of focusing on literature, students could focus more on improving their technological capabilities, which can promote their employment opportunities. For example, thriving companies usually offer decent-paying jobs for candidates who have mastered the skills necessary to perform tasks in various kinds of software but not for those who have great knowledge of literature.
On the other hand, learning literature should not be considered a waste of time among students in tertiary education. There are a number of benefits that literature provides for students to enhance their potential. Firstly, it fosters creativity and cultural understanding because literature requires students to read a wide range of both traditional and modern works that famous writers created. As a result, young people show more respect for other people with different cultural values. My country is a case in point, where students are encouraged to take part in literature classes twice a week so as to learn to think outside the box and become aware of diverse cultures as well as traditions.
Moreover, studying literature helps students develop communicative skills. As they become exposed to poetry and other forms of literature regularly as parts of their university curriculum, students may improve their verbal communication, which undoubtedly facilitates a connection with individuals from different walks of life. For instance, one of my friends who acquired his bachelor degree in the UK has developed superior communication skills compared to his other friends since the study program at his university encouraged him to study literature, which led him to master communication.
To conclude, although obtaining knowledge in literature can be time-wasting as it is probably not an essential requirement in the global market, I believe learning poetry as well as novels promotes communicative and cognitive skills like creativity.