In some schools and universities, girls tend to choose arts subjects (e.g. literature), and boys tend to choose science subjects (e.g. physics). Why do you think this is so? Should this tendency be changed?

Sample Essay

There are still many places in the world where science courses in schools are dominated by male students. There are many factors contributing to this phenomenon and it needs to be changed so that the choice of study is made entirely by the student’s genuine interest.

One of the reasons for this trend is that boys are generally more competitive and they choose more challenging and physically demanding courses like science and engineering while girls opt to study less competitive subjects like literature and history. Furthermore obtaining science degrees guarantee better job opportunities and hence boys who are considered as future breadwinners opt to study these courses. In developing countries, the majority of girls are still expected to become housewives to take care of the family and the idea of them pursuing a career as a medical doctor or a scientist is not much appreciated. Therefore because of the peer pressure and social influences, many female students end up taking less demanding arts courses just to receive a degree although they might have a passion for studying science.

My view is that the decision to pursue art or science should be made according to their interest and preferences and not be influenced by social pressure. I have seen a medical student who wanted to study Philosophy but his parents forced him to join a medical school and he ended up dropping out of the course because of his poor performance in studies. Students will excel in their chosen fields only if the choice was made willingly. Women should also be empowered to gain more confidence to enter male-dominated environments like engineering or IT. History has proven that women are as good as men in science as we have witnessed a lot of female Nobel Prize winners in science.

In conclusion, gender stereotypes are still influencing the choice of study and career and I believe this trend should be changed. Every student should choose the subject they love regardless of their gender so that there will be more enthusiastic professionals in both art and science.

世界上还有很多地方的学校理科课程以男生为主。造成这种现象的因素有很多，需要改变这种现象，使学生完全根据自己的真正兴趣来选择学习。

造成这种趋势的原因之一是，男生通常更有竞争力，他们选择更具挑战性和体力要求更高的课程，如科学和工程，而女生则选择学习竞争力较弱的科目，如文学和历史。此外，获得理科学位可以保证更好的工作机会，因此被认为是未来养家糊口者的男孩选择学习这些课程。在发展中国家，大多数女孩仍被期望成为家庭主妇以照顾家庭，她们追求医生或科学家职业的想法并不太受欢迎。因此，由于同龄人的压力和社会的影响，许多女学生尽管可能对学习科学充满热情，但最终还是为了获得学位而选修要求较低的文科课程。

我的看法是，追求艺术还是追求科学，应该根据自己的兴趣和喜好来决定，而不是受社会压力的影响。我曾见过一个医科学生，他想学哲学，但他的父母却强迫他进入医学院，结果他因为学习成绩不好而退学。只有在自愿选择的情况下，学生才会在自己选择的领域中表现出色。女性也应该获得更多的信心，进入工程或IT等男性主导的环境。历史已经证明，在科学领域，女性和男性一样优秀，因为我们已经见证了很多女性诺贝尔科学奖得主。

总之，性别刻板印象仍在影响着学习和职业的选择，我认为这种趋势应该被改变。每个学生都应该不分性别选择自己喜欢的学科，这样才会有更多热衷于艺术和科学的专业人才。