Consumers are faced with increasing numbers of advertisements from competing companies.

To what extent do you think are consumers influenced by advertisements? What measures can be taken to protect them? In todays material world, we are inundated with various forms of advertising. In my view, this can be dangerous as it encourages us to spend without thinking and young people, in particular, need some protection from it. The first point to make is that advertising does make us spend money we do not need to. There are nowadays so many different ways companies promote their products and services, ranging from television commercials to simple flyers that we cannot escape it. If, for example, you watch a football match on television, you will see the logos of the tournament sponsors. Likewise, if you watch the latest blockbuster movie, very probably you will see a product placed in the film by some advertising agency. The volume of this advertising means that we, as consumers, tend to be profoundly influenced by it and buy without thinking. It is not easy to decide how to regulate advertising. Clearly, governments ought to restrict advertisements for harmful products such as alcohol and tobacco. They do not have the power, however, to control other forms of advertising. This means we need to use our commonsense when we go to the shops, and ask ourselves whether we really need to make that purchase. arents should, however, ensure that young people are protected from too much exposure to advertising. This can mean simply explaining that it is not in fact necessary to buy the newest !box, or simply turning the television off. "y conclusion is that while we cannot escape advertising or its effects in the modern world, children should be encouraged not to pay too much attention to it. #$%% words& Prison has long been the traditional punishment for people who commit crimes. Some people believe, however, that community service orders are more appropriate in some

cases. When do you think that it is right to order people to work in the community to pay for their crimes? It has never been straightforward to know how to decide to punish criminals for their actions. It does seem clear, though, in this day and age that work in the community is a viable alternative to custodial sentences for minor offences and, perhaps, in cases where there are mitigating factors. In this essay, I attempt to explain when I believe these community service orders should be made. The first set of circumstances when community work is the appropriate sanction is for less serious offences when the offender shows remorse for his actions. Part of the reason for this is that it may be wrong to take away someones livelihood by sending them to prison, simply because they have written graffiti on a wall. Likewise, there is a significant danger that these minor offenders would become hardened criminals if they spent time with career criminals in prison. I would emphasise, however, that it should be a condition that the criminal regrets his actions and it is only appropriate for first time offenders. The other ma or instance when there is a strong argument to order people to work in the community is when their crimes are unlikely to be repeated. !or example, someone who has caused an accident and been caught driving when drunk may not be sent to prison if they were driving their pregnant wife to hospital. In this case, it seems much better if they are ordered to help the community in some way such as working in a shelter for the homeless. In summary, prison is in my view not always the best sanction and there are certain circumstances when non"custodial sentences may be both more effective and more ust. In particular, udges may decide not to send to prison minor offenders and people who are unlikely to re"offend. In many countries there has been an increase in social problems involving teenagers in recent years. "any people believe that this is due to modern lifestyles because parents spend more and more time at work and have less time to supervise their children. To what extent do you believe this is true' There is no (uestion that standards of behaviour have fallen among teenagers. The popular belief is that the principle cause is that parents are unable to supervise their children because

they are away at work. There are, however, a number of other potential factors and in this essay I will examine what some of the reasons are. It is undeniable that parents should bear some responsibility for the actions of their teenaged children. This is particularly true when they are absent from the home and not in a position to control their children. The argument is that if they were at home, then they would be able to make certain that their children did not )oin gangs and spent their time on socially acceptable activities. *owever, it can also be said that working parents are in fact setting a good example to their children. Indeed, it is very often the case that teenagers who come from hardworking families spend their time on schoolwork and conduct themselves well. In fact, the teenagers who do create social problems by, for example, getting drunk or painting graffitti come from homes where parents are unemployed. +ther factors that lead to teenagers getting into trouble relate to the educational system. This is due to the fact that many teenagers leave school aged ,% and do not find work because of lack of (ualifications. -s a result, they spend time on the street with nothing productive to do. Likewise, social problems with teenagers can be the conse(uence of poor discipline at school with teachers failing to control their classes. In conclusion, it is possible to say that this sort of problem is only sometimes the result of parents not supervising their children. It is e(ually possible to say that discipline in schools is at fault. #$.. words&