Liberal Arts Education: Should College Students Take Courses Outside Their Major?
This essay argues that a well-rounded liberal arts education — encompassing history, literature, and philosophy — is essential for producing informed, ethical, and engaged citizens. Drawing on commentary from Patrick Buchanan and Jeffery Hart, the paper examines the consequences of over-specialization in American higher education, including historical illiteracy among students and a narrowing of civic values. The essay contends that while professional specialization has clear economic appeal for college students, the broader habits of mind cultivated through the liberal arts are indispensable for responsible public life and democratic participation. Ultimately, it concludes that exposure to courses outside one's major is not merely enriching but necessary for a complete education.
- Introduction: The Case for a Broader Education: Framing the costs of narrowly specialized college education
- Historical Illiteracy and the Failure of Specialization: Evidence of student ignorance and curricular chaos
- Why Study History: History builds civic identity and moral understanding
- Why Study Literature: Literature cultivates empathy, judgment, and cultural awareness
- Why Study Philosophy: Philosophy sharpens critical thinking and democratic engagement
- Conclusion: Liberal Arts and the Values of Citizenship: Liberal arts education grounds ethical civic participation
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper uses a clear, parallel structure — dedicating a focused section to each of three disciplines (history, literature, philosophy) — making the argument easy to follow and cumulative in force.
- It grounds its argument in concrete evidence, citing a national assessment of student performance to illustrate the real-world costs of educational narrowing.
- The introduction and conclusion frame a coherent moral argument, connecting educational deficiencies to civic and ethical failures visible in contemporary society.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively uses expert testimony as its primary rhetorical strategy. By anchoring claims in recognizable commentators — Patrick Buchanan on historical illiteracy and Jeffery Hart on curricular chaos — the student demonstrates how to build an argument through curated secondary sources while maintaining a consistent authorial voice throughout.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a framing argument about the costs of narrow education, then transitions to a "Discussion" section that cites empirical and scholarly evidence. Three parallel body sections each make the case for a specific liberal arts discipline. A brief conclusion synthesizes the argument and returns to the civic theme introduced at the start — a classic problem-evidence-resolution structure appropriate for a persuasive academic essay.
Introduction: The Case for a Broader Education
An education that lacks a world view may be more harmful than it first appears. One could reasonably argue that the question of whether a diversified educational background has value depends largely on what one values. There are a multitude of monetary reasons for an incoming freshman to concentrate on a specific field of study and not pursue courses outside their area of emphasis. For one, college is expensive — tuition averages over $13,000 a year at public universities — and indecisiveness, as well as unnecessary credits, can quickly drain a college savings account (Ronan, 2005).
Furthermore, in the modern American world of Enron and Lehman Brothers, where ethical shortcuts are normalized and short-term financial gain is prized, values can seem costly — especially if you want to retire at thirty-five. Yet these attitudes are a result of a deficient understanding of the qualities of citizenship. The question worth asking, then, is whether a liberal arts education might provide the foundation that corrects this deficiency.
References
Buchanan, P. J. (2011, June 21). The dumbing-down of America. Human Events. Retrieved March 26, 2013, from
Hart, J. (2006, September 26). How to get a college education. The National Review. Retrieved March 26, 2013, from
Ronan, G. B. (2005, November 11). College freshmen face major dilemma. NBCNews.com. Retrieved March 26, 2013, from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10154383/ns/business-personal_finance/t/college-freshmen-face-major-dilemma/
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