GRE作文 ETS官方Issue主题范文(二)

4、

The media does tend to create rather than reflect the values of a society.

 

One example of this observation is the fact that the media is owned, controlled and used my a segment of the population that is usually out of touch with the realities of groups within the society it covers. .  . For example, the gangster rappers have gained a reputation for being women hating, anti-authority, and violent.  Before, the MTV and V-H1 and CNN provided coverage to these groups, theyre were limited to street sales and specific areas that w ere not mainstream.  Thanks to national coverage in print and broadcast, these groups becaome more popular because it was "different" and taboo. The lyrics, dances, and fashion statements portrayed became big money items and surburbanited people were intrigued withe this counter-culture. They began to act, talk and behave like the lyrics espressed. Continued media fenzy contributed to kids wanting to become more familiar with this culture, thereby creating an atmosphere or arena for this counter-culturre to legitimate. The media created these values but these vlaues of the gangster rapeer do not reflect the actual values of the society.

 

Another example of the media creating the values of a society is the coverage of the modeling industry. Clearly, most women neither want to or can look like Kate Moss.

The rest of the essay addresses the influence of historical events and media on the values of modern society, from the "roaring twenties" to the "sixties and seventies."  Insightful analysis accompanies the historical references.  For example, the writer persuasively argues that prominent figures (King, but also Chavez, Abzug, and Steinham) advanced their social agendas by capitalizing on the power of the media to change public opinion.

 

Throughout the essay, the writer uses language and syntax effectively.  Word choice is precise ("cosmetics to accentuate their new bobbed haircuts"), sentences are structured to communicate ideas clearly ("There had to be another cause, and there was, the media"), and transitional phrases help move the argument forward ("Unlike the twenties, the sixties????" and "By doing so, King successfully began to change the traditional view of race.")

 

Occasional errors do appear (e.g., note the lack of logical comparison in "women??? wore their hemlines??? shorter than the decade before them"), but they are not intrusive.

 

Other 6 essays might be more fully developed; indeed, this essay would be stronger if the writer had gone on to discuss the media's role in Nixon's Watergate scandal and to bring the argument to its conclusion.  However, even in its unfinished state, the essay does present an insightful, well-articulated discussion of the issue.