Post by Admin on Nov 27, 2015 12:57:19 GMT
This is a topic which appeared this month in several parts of the world.
Newspapers have a huge influence on people's ideas and opinions. What are the reasons for this? Is it a positive or negative trend?
Here is one possible response.
Local, national and international newspapers can strongly influence the views of readers. There are a number of reasons for this, and the impact can be positive or negative depending on the news and the newspaper concerned.
Newspapers affect readers because people assume reports are fair and accurate. The public is lead to believe that papers are ethical, check facts, and print authentic pictures. They contain harmless details like the weather and share prices, so that other articles, such as leaders about crime or politics, appear equally unbiased and truthful.
The impact of reports like these can be beneficial. For example, The Press and Journal ran articles about apprenticeships which positively influenced local businesses to take on 100 new apprentices in just a few weeks. The LA Times, reporting on the Nepal Earthquake, was advantageous to the various charities supporting disaster relief as the stories about the widespread devastation prompted donations from readers.
However, the effects of newspapers are not always so benign. They are frequently used for propaganda, as in WWII, and in more recent conflicts such as the war in Syria. They can cause unnecessary panic and mass hysteria, as in the case of 900 teenage girls in Palestine in 1983, who experienced fainting fits following reports of poison gas strikes, which, in fact, did not happen. Inaccurate reports can also harm businesses like Emulex, whose shares plummeted after a schoolboy leaked false information to newspapers that it was being investigated for tax fraud.
In conclusion, newspapers have such an impact because people assume they report news accurately and fairly and they believe what they read. The effect of reader’s views and subsequent actions may be either positive or negative depending on the nature of the news, irrespective of its veracity.
[291]
The essay paraphrases the question (strongly influence the views of readers instead of a huge influence on people's ideas an opinions) and the examiner knows the writer's position at the start (the impact can be positive or negative).
The first paragraph answers the first part of the question: What are the reasons for papers having such an influence?
The second paragraph is about the positive influence of newspapers.
The third paragraph is about the negative influence of newspapers.
The conclusion paraphrases the introduction and restates the author's view that effects can be positive or negative.
The essay is mostly K1-K3 of the BNC COCA.
Words from the New Academic World List included in these 3,000 words are accurately, impact, and positively
Less common lexical items include:
K4: authentic (genuine, real, not fake), beneficial (helpful, advantageous, positive), ethical (moral, fair, right), fraud (con, scam, deception)
K5: apprentice (trainee), earthquake (tremor)
K6: benign (kind, caring), propaganda (misinformation, half-truths)
K7: plummet (fall dramatically)
K8: hysteria (panic, anxiety)
K12: veracity (truthfulness, honesty)
Offlist: widespread
Newspapers have a huge influence on people's ideas and opinions. What are the reasons for this? Is it a positive or negative trend?
Here is one possible response.
Local, national and international newspapers can strongly influence the views of readers. There are a number of reasons for this, and the impact can be positive or negative depending on the news and the newspaper concerned.
Newspapers affect readers because people assume reports are fair and accurate. The public is lead to believe that papers are ethical, check facts, and print authentic pictures. They contain harmless details like the weather and share prices, so that other articles, such as leaders about crime or politics, appear equally unbiased and truthful.
The impact of reports like these can be beneficial. For example, The Press and Journal ran articles about apprenticeships which positively influenced local businesses to take on 100 new apprentices in just a few weeks. The LA Times, reporting on the Nepal Earthquake, was advantageous to the various charities supporting disaster relief as the stories about the widespread devastation prompted donations from readers.
However, the effects of newspapers are not always so benign. They are frequently used for propaganda, as in WWII, and in more recent conflicts such as the war in Syria. They can cause unnecessary panic and mass hysteria, as in the case of 900 teenage girls in Palestine in 1983, who experienced fainting fits following reports of poison gas strikes, which, in fact, did not happen. Inaccurate reports can also harm businesses like Emulex, whose shares plummeted after a schoolboy leaked false information to newspapers that it was being investigated for tax fraud.
In conclusion, newspapers have such an impact because people assume they report news accurately and fairly and they believe what they read. The effect of reader’s views and subsequent actions may be either positive or negative depending on the nature of the news, irrespective of its veracity.
[291]
The essay paraphrases the question (strongly influence the views of readers instead of a huge influence on people's ideas an opinions) and the examiner knows the writer's position at the start (the impact can be positive or negative).
The first paragraph answers the first part of the question: What are the reasons for papers having such an influence?
The second paragraph is about the positive influence of newspapers.
The third paragraph is about the negative influence of newspapers.
The conclusion paraphrases the introduction and restates the author's view that effects can be positive or negative.
The essay is mostly K1-K3 of the BNC COCA.
Words from the New Academic World List included in these 3,000 words are accurately, impact, and positively
Less common lexical items include:
K4: authentic (genuine, real, not fake), beneficial (helpful, advantageous, positive), ethical (moral, fair, right), fraud (con, scam, deception)
K5: apprentice (trainee), earthquake (tremor)
K6: benign (kind, caring), propaganda (misinformation, half-truths)
K7: plummet (fall dramatically)
K8: hysteria (panic, anxiety)
K12: veracity (truthfulness, honesty)
Offlist: widespread