Category: Outlines

How justified are the high salaries and bonuses paid out in some professions?

Possible arguments in favour of paying high salaries

Possible arguments against paying high salaries

  • Gap top/bottom.
  • Marxist theory of value.
  • Does not necessarily bring in the talent
  • Encourages greed
  • When combined with bonuses, encourages excessive risk-taking

How true is it that most of the pleasurable things in life are bad for you?

Yes

No

  • Human beings are ‘programmed’ to seek pleasure, from physical reproduction to spiritual satisfaction
  • Those who feel fulfilled are less likely to harm others
  • Pleasure = well-being = better health
  • Pleasure = contentment for self & others
  • Many pleasurable things are good
  • ‘Moderate’ pleasure can be healthy.

‘Today, the content of what is written is more important than grammatical accuracy.’ To what extent is this true?

  • Social media is often about the conversation so a ‘chatty’ style might be more appropriate
  • Understanding the code in texting abbreviations is more important than grammatical accuracy
  • Writing is disposable (emails can be a series of notes giving information which are then deleted; grammatical accuracy is unimportant)
  • Some forms of social media reduce commentary and conversations to brief phrases
  • No time for punctuation or capital letters as it is quick exchanges which are important
  • Understanding does require correct grammar
  • Depends on the audience and degree of formality (newspapers tend to be accurate so as not to distract from the content

Elections are meaningless as many voters have no real knowledge of national or international issues. Discuss.

Yes Elections are meaningless…

  • It’s ruling cliques that really matter
  • Real dividing issues do not exist
  • Unrepresentative minority tends to vote
  • Policies are distant from voters’ real concern
  • In a democracy, there are genuinely ignorant or uninterested voters.

No Elections are not meaningless…

Secular education is better than religious education. Discuss.

• Secular education is more beneficial.

• Religion should be taught in the home not at school
• Some countries go by the principle of separation of church and state
• Religious education can lead to segregation and stereotyping
• Not all families are religious
• Time could be spent on other subjects
• Does not always meet the needs of a multicultural society
• Children could be taught in ways that disturb their own legitimate beliefs
• Some parents send their children to “faith schools” in spite of not being religious themselves. These schools sometimes have the reputation of being well-disciplined and promoting high achievement
• It can increase divisions in a community and a nation
• Perhaps the teaching of ethics and morals, as an alternative
• The local place of worship can provide education, out of school hours
• Religious institutions can also provide secular education, eg SAJC, CJC, ACJC

‘Nowadays, the most dangerous places are those where people gather together in crowds.’ How far do you agree?

  • Market places, shopping malls, tourist sites, beaches, festivals, transport etc.
  • Criminals can operate anonymously and disappear into the crowd
  • Terrorists can cause maximum human casualties
  • Protest rallies can be targeted by the authorities (danger of surge forward, panic, being trampled)
  • Previous safe havens like beaches and buses are now being targeted
  • Other dangerous places which could be visited (workplace, adventure destinations, venues late at night)?
  • Greatest danger could be when isolated
  • ‘dangerous’ is an emotive term; subjective
  • Places, where people gather in crowds, can be heavily monitored and protected

‘Most migration is caused by economic desire.’ How far do you agree?

For and against points for most migration is caused by economic desire

  • Some might fear torture and imprisonment
  • Some civilians are caught up in war
  • Some in wealthier nations encourage migration to fill low skilled, low pay jobs (eg Canada)
  • Some are fleeing religious persecution
  • There could be gender issues
  • Educated migrants e.g. doctors may migrate for economic reasons which can benefit host countries but create ‘brain drain’ in other countries
  • The well-off also migrate to third world countries as it has a lower cost of living
  • The developed world has a huge responsibility for the conditions that drive the need to migrate

Online games can enhance language acquisition. Discuss.

Possible arguments about online games and language

• Addictive
• Replaces social activity with friends and family
• Expensive
• Some argue that it can induce poor behaviour
• Can be used for education
• Can develop thinking skills
• Can enhance problem-solving ability
• Sharpen our reactions
• Develops a competitive spirit
• Can provide links to literature and film
• More active than watching TV
• Some online activities include working with others
• Can be bad for health – not leading an active lifestyle
• Can become divorced from reality
• May lead to crime if no money to buy equipment

How far is it true that art can be as useful as it can be beautiful?

Argument points for art can be as useful as it can be beautiful

• Interior decoration of all sorts
• Furniture
• Landscape Gardening
• Architecture
• Public sculpture
• Bridges
• Cuisine and presentation
• Clothes and fashion
• Receptacles e.g. pottery
• Advertising
• Engineering
• Jewellery
• Photography that raises awareness of contemporary issues
• Could mention art as therapy

The internet is a necessary part of our lives, but for some, it has become an addiction. Discuss.

The internet is a necessary part of our lives can be broken into Keywords as follows: ‘necessary’ and ‘lives’ and ‘addiction’ and ‘Discuss’.

  • Instant communication/retrieval of information
  • Democratised mass communication
  • Revolutionised the way we organise our social life (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace)
  • Changed the shape of entertainment (e.g. YouTube and iPlayer)
  • Financial transactions (e.g. banking/business/bill paying/shopping)
  • Distant family communication (e.g. email/Skype)
  • Always accessible communication (e.g. smartphones/iPhone/Blackberry)
  • Important to daily routines (e.g. school/leisure/need to check emails)
  • Spend too much time – damage and disruption to our daily life
  • On-line games and gambling/shopping/pornography
  • Social networking – only existing in a virtual world
  • Isolation and psychological damage; at the expense of other activities

One suggested topic sentence for Internet is a necessary part of our lives can be as follows: The Internet is playing an important role in human and social development.

If you are unable to come up with 3 other topic sentences (1 SV and 2 OV) despite the points listed above, then it is clear that you may need to read at least 2-3 articles before you can form a cogent thought on how the essay can come together.