Sample topics and questions

3. Is advertising really necessary in modern society?
It could be seen to be necessary in terms of the fact that, as I mentioned before, there is so much choice that we need someone to guide us in what to buy or to give us some extra information about products. Without this, it would be difficult to know where to start. However, that said, I’m not sure that I would regard it as ‘necessary’ as overall I think it may do more harm than good.
As we just discussed, advertising encourages people to buy things they possibly do not need. We live in a consumer society and many people are in debt because we are encouraged to buy and buy, and I’m sure advertising plays a major role in this. Without advertising we could just do our own research and decide what we really need. So no, I would not say that advertising in necessary in modern society
3. How does advertising influence children?
Good answer starters:
• children are an extremely vulnerable target audience
How ads influence children:
• commercials make children pester their parents for junk food, expensive toys and modern gadgets
• children make excessive demands on their parents for the products they see in the ads, especially if they were advertised by their favourite characters
• some children even have tantrums in public if their parents refuse to buy products the see in ads
• children often imitate specific behaviours they see in ads
• advertising affects kids’ well-being
• advertising leads children to choose junk food instead of healthy options
• advertising causes changes in children’s behaviour.
Why this happens:
• children take everything at face value and therefore they are easy to persuade
• children are cognitively and psychologically defenceless against advertising
• children are not able to understand persuasive character of advertising messages.

Talk about a painting you would like to have in your home.
You should say:
 what is it
 how you know about it
 how much it would cost you
and explain why you want to have it in your home.
"The Creation of Adam" painted by Michelangelo is the painting that I would like to have in my house. It is a painting that forms the part of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, and it illustrates the Biblical creation narration of humans from the book of Genesis. This picture depicts the creation of "human" where God breathes life into Adam. This is considered to be one of the finest works ever done by a painter and only rivalled by two other great paintings: Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

I saw a picture of this painting in our history book when I was in high school, and I was amazed by the painting and the idea of the painting. I am sure this painting is priceless, and no individual would be able to own it and hang it in his/her house. But I can buy a copied version of this painting which would cost me around $40.

When I looked at the painting in my early childhood, I was enthralled by the idea and fine work of this painting. This painting inspired me to learn more about painting and the greatest work of mythological paintings. Later I learned about other great paintings by Michelangelo and by other greatest artists. Furthermore, every time I look at this picture, I feel the overwhelming joy of creation, the human race and divinity. Because of this, I would like to have this picture (more accurately the copy of the original one) in my home.