Essay: Should Museums Send Objects Home?
Discuss whether museums should return objects taken from other countries in the past, weighing ownership, access and preservation, and reach a nuanced conclusion.
- Time
- 45 min
- Length
- 300-350 words
Writadia · C2 · Essays
NameClassDate
The situation
Many large museums hold objects that were taken from other countries during wars or colonial rule. Some governments are asking for them back. Some museums argue that their collections allow millions of people to see these objects side by side and keep them safe.
Your task
Write an essay discussing whether museums should return objects to their countries of origin. Consider:
- questions of ownership and how the objects were acquired
- who gets to see the objects, and where
- arguments about preservation and safety
Reach your own conclusion.
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Separate the question into cases: objects taken by force, objects bought legally, objects of religious importance.
- Decide whether your answer depends on the case. At C2, it probably should.
- Give each of the three bullet points its own paragraph, but let them talk to each other.
- In the conclusion, state a principle that could be applied, not just "it is complicated".
Useful phrases
Framing the debate
Weighing arguments
Concluding
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- acquire
- get, especially by buying or takingThe statue was acquired in 1868.
- provenance
- the history of who has owned an objectIts provenance is unclear.
- restitution
- giving something back to its ownerCalls for restitution are growing.
- custodian
- someone who looks after something on behalf of othersMuseums see themselves as custodians.
- universal museum
- a museum that claims to show the culture of the whole worldThe idea of the universal museum is under pressure.
Model answer (301 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
The debate about returning museum objects is often framed as a contest between national pride and universal access. This framing obscures the more uncomfortable question at its centre: how the objects arrived in the first place.1
Where an object was taken by force, the argument for return is at its strongest. A sculpture removed from a palace during a military expedition was not acquired in any meaningful sense; it was seized. To keep it on the grounds that it is now well displayed is to reward the act that brought it there. By contrast, objects bought openly, at a fair price, from people entitled to sell them raise different and weaker claims, even if the trade took place in an unequal world.2
Supporters of large "universal" museums point out that millions of visitors can see objects from many civilisations under one roof. This is a real benefit, but it is a benefit enjoyed mostly by people who can travel to London, Paris or New York. Access looks rather different from Lagos or Athens, where the people with the strongest connection to an object may never see it at all.3
The preservation argument once carried more weight. Fifty years ago, some countries of origin lacked the facilities to protect fragile objects. Today, many have modern museums of their own, and the claim that only a few Western institutions can be trusted with world heritage is increasingly hard to sustain. Some returned objects are now displayed in buildings designed for them, and seen by more visitors than they ever attracted abroad.
A defensible position, then, is that the burden of proof should lie with the holding museum. Where it cannot show that an object was acquired legitimately, it should negotiate its return; where it can, it should at least be willing to lend.4
- The first paragraph reframes the question instead of repeating it.
- Distinguishing cases: a mark of C2 argument.
- Turns the opponents' strongest argument back on them.
- The conclusion offers a principle, not just an opinion.
Teacher notes
Pre-task (10 min): give pairs three cards: an object taken in war, an object bought from a dealer, a religious object sold by a temple. They decide what should happen to each. Discuss whether their answers follow one rule.
Focus language: it does not follow that, carries most weight when, is hard to sustain. These help students evaluate rather than list.
Sensitivity: students may have personal or national connections to specific cases. Keep the discussion on principles.
Extra challenge
Write a 120-word reply from a museum director who disagrees with the conclusion of the model essay.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: acquire, provenance, restitution, custodian, universal museum.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “The question is often framed as ..., but this framing obscures ...”, “At stake is not only ..., but also ...”, “This argument carries most weight when ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (300-350 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | In-depth, persuasive, fully suited to the reader. | Strong; one idea could go further. | Adequate but surface-level. | Below the task. | |
| Organisation and coherence | Seamless flow; elegant, unobtrusive transitions. | Clear structure; transitions sometimes mechanical. | Structure present but uneven. | Weak organisation. | |
| Vocabulary and style | Precise, natural collocations; consistent style. | Wide range; a few unnatural phrases. | Memorised phrases and repetition. | Style does not fit the task. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Complex structures, flexible and accurate. | Minor, occasional slips. | Errors in complex structures. | Errors strain the reader. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I distinguished between different kinds of cases.
- Each paragraph weighs an argument instead of only describing it.
- I answered the strongest argument on the side I disagree with.
- My conclusion states a clear principle.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- I distinguished between different kinds of cases.
- Each paragraph weighs an argument instead of only describing it.
- I answered the strongest argument on the side I disagree with.
- My conclusion states a clear principle.
Writadia · C2 · Essays
Assessment rubric: Essay: Should Museums Send Objects Home?
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | In-depth, persuasive, fully suited to the reader. | Strong; one idea could go further. | Adequate but surface-level. | Below the task. | |
| Organisation and coherence | Seamless flow; elegant, unobtrusive transitions. | Clear structure; transitions sometimes mechanical. | Structure present but uneven. | Weak organisation. | |
| Vocabulary and style | Precise, natural collocations; consistent style. | Wide range; a few unnatural phrases. | Memorised phrases and repetition. | Style does not fit the task. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Complex structures, flexible and accurate. | Minor, occasional slips. | Errors in complex structures. | Errors strain the reader. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I distinguished between different kinds of cases.
- Each paragraph weighs an argument instead of only describing it.
- I answered the strongest argument on the side I disagree with.
- My conclusion states a clear principle.
Teacher comment
Writadia · C2 · Essays
Peer-review sheet: Essay: Should Museums Send Objects Home?
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I distinguished between different kinds of cases. | |||
| Each paragraph weighs an argument instead of only describing it. | |||
| I answered the strongest argument on the side I disagree with. | |||
| My conclusion states a clear principle. |
Questions
- Is the main point clear in the first paragraph? Write it in one sentence.
- Which sentence is the most convincing? Why?
- Is there any repetition or memorised phrasing? Underline it.
- Does the style suit the reader and purpose?
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Writadia · C2 · Essays
Lesson plan: Essay: Should Museums Send Objects Home?
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: acquire, provenance, restitution, custodian, universal museum.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “The question is often framed as ..., but this framing obscures ...”, “At stake is not only ..., but also ...”, “This argument carries most weight when ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (300-350 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
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