AWA - Issue 4

Date 9 June 09

Sample essay subject taken from 800 score dot com from the 5 CAT tests I bought

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations or reading.
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There are a number of factors that an employer looks for in a potential employee when hiring him. This said, the most important of them is formal education. How often do we see a job requirement ad saying "we don't need your educational information, all we need is that you be able to do the job"? Very less, with the exception of waitressing probably. There is a sound reasoning behind this need for formal education in future employees.

First, formal education provides the minimal knowledge required to do a job. Can we think of getting operated by a doctor who never went to Medical school?Of course not.Similarly we would not send our kids to a school where the teachers themselves have never received formal education. Performing any job,be it in medical field or educational field, requires the person to be acquiscient with the basic rules involved and processes invloved etc. Without this things will turn out bad for everyone involved.

Secondly,formal education enables us to look at the right place for the causes of problems and their solutions. It also enables to find any wrong things happening. For ex. a lawyer who went to law school will be able to object to the inclusion of an irrelevant evidence that might mislead a jury.But a lawyer who didnot receive any formal educaton in law and who doesnot know the rules of the law might simply sit helplessly not knowing the right section under which he can object to it.

Lastly, formal education puts a stamp on a persons head saying that he or she is qualified enough and possesses the minimum skills required to perform a certain kind of job. And this helps employers to employ the right people in the right place and avoid the losses that might have occured if the opposite might have happened.

AWA - Issue 3

"Some people argue that those who do not send their children to public schools should not have to fund these schools through taxes, since neither parents nor chidren benefit from these schools. They ignore the fact that everyone benefits from the strong economy that a well-educated populace generates."

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In a community where people co-exist it is important for everyone to contribute to the maintenance and improvement of the resources within their locality. Hence it is wrong for someone to refuse the payment of taxes for maintenance of schools of that county.

The argument of the people that they doen't have to pay for the education given in public schools since they are not using these schools is very selfish in nature. It shows least interest in community and places oneself above all others, which is definitely not the right thing to do. Hence for the well-being of the community as a whole,one must place importance on public well being and act upon it by contributing to the maintenance of the community. For instance , people living in a community all pay the same maintenance charges periodically even though they might not use the pool as much as others do or they might not have a car to park in the parking place.

The people against the public schools might argue that they or their family do not take any benefit from the public schools. They might be right in their view. But in the long run ,they do use the products, the graduates, of these public schools in the form of employees or leaders etc. A good schooling for thes future employees and leaders will hence lead to the benefit of our very own public-school opposers.Refusing to fund their tax money to public schools is same as refusing to pay taxes for roads in the state. One might not use all the roads of the state, but he or she does use the various imports brought into the state through that very road.

As for the perspective of the supporters of public schools, their stand-point is perfectly right.They are right when they say that everyone who is a part of a community holds a responsibility to the resources there and hence should take care of the well-being of these commonly utilised resources.

AWA - Issue 2

"All companies should invest heavilyin advertising because high-quality advertising can sell almost any product or service".
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Today's competitive market demands massive advertising on the part of every business that intends to attract customers and stay alive.But it is wrong to assume that adverrtising alone helps the sales of a product or service.

On the positive side a lot of advertising can help companies newly launching a product.But in the case of an old product,its quality and the extent it meets the expectations of the customers are what determine the prodcut sales.For ex. when the Snuggie was launched last winter we heard about its cheap price and free offers on Tv,radio and everywhere.The omnipresent advertisements of Snuggie helped its sales in the beginning. But when people discovered the extra chanrges that came under the head of 'shipping' a wrong review of the product passed in the market and hence resulted in drastic reduction of its sales.

Another effect of concentrated investment in advertising alone is that it will raise the expectations of the customers. When accompanied by a lack of investment in product development such expectations will see failure. Thus,inspite of huge advertising,a company will see diminishing sales.

In addition to the above,excessive advertising can have negative effects as well.A recent survey showed that repeated advertising about a product propogates a neagative vibe about the product.The consumers interviewed in the survey expressed that repeated advertising of a product makes them feel insecure about its durability and quality. Hence they don't considering buying it at all.

As can be seen by the detailed analysis of the issue, carried above,advertising alone will not help sales of a product or service and in fact might turn out bad for business.

AWA - Issue 1

Anal of Issue

In some countries TV and radio are carefully censored for offensive language and behaviour.In other countries, there is little or no censroship.

In your view, to what extent should govt. or any other group be able to censor TV or radio programs? Explain , giving relevant reasons and/or examples to support your position.

In the current day Tv , radio and other media have become integral part of our lives.
We watch TV at our dinner tables. We listen to radio on our drive to work. We look at them to know what is happening around us.With such a considerable period of a day spent with the media , it is impossible not to have their mark left on us. As a result any idea repeated or removed from the media may in turn will root into or erase out of our minds and morals. With this understood I believe that excessive presence or absolute absence of censorship should be avoided and an ideal balance of censorship should be followed.

Let's take an example. Suppose the Iranian censor board decided to cut the scenes,that hail the feminist ideas, from the movie 'The Color Purple'. The whole point of the movie would then be lost. Without its feminist ideas this particular movie is very less meaningful. And by censoring the movie this way the Iranina Censor Board is stopping the florishment of feminism in Iran. Does that sound right to you? It doesn't to me.

If that doesn't convince you, let's take another example. If the govt. of India decides to air national Telivison programs promoting Conservative Christianity and criticizing Protestants , isn't it equivalent to controlling the religious beliefs of its citizens? Yes it is and it should not be allowed in a democracy.

Inspite of the criticism of the censor board I've carried so far, I still understand its importance in today's world. After all I can't go to a War movie like 'Behind Enemy Lines' with my kids without being informed that it was censored for the violent content. Neither can I let my children watch True TV without the removal of swearing from the various every day incidents shown in its programs.


We have just seen a couple of examples each telling us that censorship by government or any authority is wrong at times and right at others. Hence I feel that just as any other resource, it should be subject to limited use driven by a need for it.