GRE Issue Topic 71

GRE Issue Topic 71

Topic:

In this age of intensive media coverage, it is no longer possible for a society to regard any living man or woman as a hero.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

در این عصر با پوشش رسانه ای فشرده، دیگر برای جامعه امکان پذیر نیست که هر زن یا مرد زنده ای را قهرمان بداند.

پاسخی بنویسید که در آن درمورد موافقت یا مخالفت با این جمله بحث کنید و استدلال خود را درباره موضع گیری خود توضیح دهید. در توسعه و حمایت از موضع خود، باید روشهایی را در نظر بگیرید که طبق آن، این نظریه ممکن است درست باشد یا نباشد و توضیح دهید که این ملاحظات چگونه موضع شما را شکل می دهند.

موافق

  • هر جامعه ای در زمینه های مختلف علمی، ورزشی، هنری و غیره قهرمانانی دارد، زمانی که آنها تحت بررسی رسانه‌ای قرار می‌گیرند، مشخص می‌شود که از چه راههایی به این شهرت رسیده اند و به این ترتیب چهره آنها تضعیف می‌شود.
  • در جهان دیجیتالی امروز، شایعات و رسوایی ها به سرعت در فضای مجازی به گوش همه می رسد و چون افراد مشهور بیشتر زیر ذره‌بین قرار دارند، هر نکته منفی در زندگی آنها موجب تضعیف چهره‌شان خواهد شد.
  • قهرمان از نظر جامعه کسی که توانسته یک کار استثنایی انجام دهد که دیگران از انجام آن عاجزند اما زمانی که کارهای این قهرمانان با جزئیات در رسانه‌ها بررسی می‌شود، علت اصلی کار آنها مشخص شده و در صورتی که نیت آنها خیرخواهانه نباشد، چهره‌شان تضعیف می‌شود و دیگر قهرمان به شمار نمی‌آیند.

مخالف

  • قهرمانان بسیار زیادی در جوامع مختلف در حال حاضر وجود دارند که با وجود اینکه رسانه‌ها تمام زوایای زندگی آنها را بررسی کرده اند نتوانستند از آنها ایرادی بگیرند. به عنوان مثال، بیل گیتس (Bill Gates) با اینکه جزء ثروتمندترین افراد جهان به شمار می‌آید، خیریه ای راه انداخته که با کمک به مردم جهان حسن نیت خود را ثابت کرده است و نه تنها چهره او تضعیف نشده بلکه محبوب تر نیز گشته است.
  • اخبار، شایعات و مطالبی که در رسانه‌ها مثل شبکه‌های اجتماعی وجود دارد، همیشه تخریب کننده نیست. گاهی اوقات هم این اخبار قهرمانانی را معرفی می‌کند که شاید پیش از این امکان نداشت که سایر مردم بتوانند این اشخاص را بشناسند.
  • ما نمی توانیم انتظار داشته باشیم که انسانها کامل باشند، قهرمانان نیز از این قاعده مستثنا نیستند. بنابراین اگر در یک زمینه ای توانسته اند کار فوق‌العاده‌ای را انجام بدهند که دیگران قادر به انجام آن نبودند، همچنان قهرمان باقی می‌مانند. هرچند در جنبه‌های دیگر زندگی آنها خطاها یا اشتباهاتی وجود داشته باشد که در رسانه‌ها مطرح شود.
  • قهرمانان به خاطر کارهایی که انجام می دهند در نظر جامعه بزرگ می‌شوند. به عنوان مثال، اگر یک آتش‌نشان جان انسان‌ها را نجات داده است به قهرمان مردم تبدیل می‌شود و تفاوتی ندارد که او در زندگی شخصی اشتباهات دیگری داشته باشد که در رسانه‌ها مطرح شود. در هر صورت نجات جان انسانها در ذهن بقیه برجسته و قابل احترام باقی می‌ماند.

 

Strategies
Combine the claim and reason into one statement using a subordinate clause.
In other words:
Because the reputation of anyone who is subjected to media scrutiny will eventually be diminished, it is no longer possible for a society to regard any living man or woman as a hero.
What are the assumptions in the claim and reason? These will be statements that you can either affirm or refute.
Assumption 1: Media scrutiny diminishes reputations
Assumption 2: No living man or woman can be regarded as a hero.
Assumption 3: People who were regarded as heroes before media scrutiny became so intense can still be regarded as heroes.
Assumption 4: Only those who are dead can still be regarded as heroes.
Assumption 5: The media is the party responsible for diminishing reputations.
Next, create a statement that expresses the opposing point of view, using language similar to the original issue.

Opposing viewpoint:
Claim – It is possible for a living man or woman to be regarded as a hero by society.
Reason – Media scrutiny enhances one’s reputation.
Assumption 1: Men and women living today can be viewed as heroes
Assumption 2: Media scrutiny can have a positive effect
Assumption 3: Media has an effect on reputations
Is there another way of looking at this claim and reason? Can both of the viewpoints expressed be true, or partially true?

Alternative claim:
It is possible for some men and women living today to be regarded as heroes, while others fail to gain that status.
Alternative reason: Media scrutiny brings to light the heroic actions of some men and women and diminishes the reputations of others.
Assumption 1: Some men and women survive or are even elevated by media scrutiny.
Assumption 2: Media scrutiny is not always a negative occurrence.
Assumption 3: The media can reveal heroic characteristics that might have gone unrecognized by society.
Now you must decide which point of view to address in your essay. Completing the prewriting activities has given you several choices and ideas for defending any of those choices. Even the viewpoints that are opposite of yours will have points that you can use in writing your response. As you review your notes, decide which of your ideas offer the strongest support for your position; you do not have to use all of them. Keep in mind that others may disagree with your position, so address their concerns in your response. Before you decide, carefully consider the following checklist. You will have addressed several of them in the exercises you have completed above.
a) I have identified the central issue.
b) I understand the instructions.
c) I have decided that I agree/disagree/partially agree with the issue and why.
d) I have identified the assumptions in the claim and determined whether or not they are reasonable.
e) If necessary, I can explain how I interpret any or all of the concepts and terms used in the claim.
f) I have identified my reasons for the position I have taken.
g) I have compelling examples to support my position.
The next step should be listing the main reasons and support for your position. You may use any of the above prewriting activities as you prepare evidence for supporting you point of view. Remember that the GRE readers scoring your response are not looking for a “right” answer. The readers are evaluating your ability to address the specific instructions and articulate and develop an argument to support your understanding and evaluation of the issue.

Support for alternative claim and reason:
Example: News programs often have guests who are ordinary people who have committed extraordinary deeds. Some recent stories have included very young children who called 9–1–1 and saved a relative’s life, or the coach who donated a kidney to an ailing player.
Example: Television, especially, has uncovered either bizarre or immoral behavior of famous people. Charlie Sheen has had more than his share of coverage related to his substance and sexual exploits.
Your notes do not have to be exhaustive. As you begin to write your essay, your brain will generate new ideas. Make certain that you keep the directions in mind as you develop your ideas. Use as many or as few paragraphs as you consider appropriate for your argument but create a new paragraph when you move on to a new idea or example of support for your position. The GRE readers are not looking for a specific number of ideas or paragraphs. Instead, they are reading to determine the level of understanding of the topic and the complexity with which you respond.
In this task, you are asked to write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reasons on which that claim is based. You may completely agree or disagree with the statement, or you may agree under certain conditions. You are also instructed to explain your reasoning and consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
You may use any organizational strategy or form of reasoning to present your position as clearly and succinctly as possible. You may recall writing strategies that you learned in high school or a writing–intensive course that you took in college, but it is not necessary to employ any of those strategies. It is important that your ideas follow a logical progression and display strong critical thinking.

Sample 1:

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had been stricken with infantile paralysis, began his leadership of the United States while America and the world were experiencing a great economic depression and, through three full terms in office, oversaw the recovery from that depression and the entrance of the United States into World War II. Early in his fourth term as president, he died in Warm Springs, Georgia while in the company of his long–time mistress. Members of the media knew that President Roosevelt was confined to a wheelchair but, out of respect for the high office that he held, never photographed the president in his wheelchair. The public saw the president seated behind his desk and, at his inauguration, standing at the podium with the assistance of leg braces. Certainly, the members of the fourth estate and the secret service knew of President Roosevelt’s mistress, but no one published any stories about the affair. The press recognized that there was little to be gained by portraying the leader of the free world as a man plagued by both physical weakness and marital infidelity.

Today, the public is aware that President Obama has found it difficult to quit smoking cigarettes, that President Clinton tried smoking marijuana but never inhaled, and that Vice President Cheney nearly “smoked” a companion while bird hunting in Texas. The media’s desire to sell a story and the public’s insatiable appetite for sensationalism combine to create a toxic brew that everyone seems willing to swallow.

On the other hand, few people would be aware of the heroic deeds of otherwise ordinary people without the attention of the media. The public would be ignorant of the heroic behavior of miners trapped underground in Chile for several months or the herculean efforts of the engineers who constructed a means for their release. Their families and the entire world watched as each miner made the perilous journey through thousands of feet of rock, strapped in a narrow cage, to emerge from their dark prison into the light of day. Were it not for the media, we would remain ignorant about the crusade being waged by two Girl Scouts in an effort to preserve the rain forest habitat of the orangutan and other endangered species in Indonesia by having palm oil removed from the recipes for the cookies that the organization sells every year.

The media wields a double–edged sword. When swung one way, it cuts the feet off those who have stood in the spotlight by their own choice and reduces their stature to that of mere mortals. When swung the other way, it cuts a hole in the fabric of ignorance that prevents unlikely heroes from receiving the recognition they so richly deserve. It is unlikely that the press will revert to the respectful attitude it displayed in the first half of the twentieth century. Those, today, who choose to become public figures, recognize the power of the media to unearth their weaknesses, flaws, and past mistakes, and they must prepare for that eventuality. Although we may lose qualified candidates for public office as a result of their fear of media scrutiny, we will certainly gain some heroes whose deeds would have otherwise remained unknown.

 

Sample 2:

Every person has an ideal in his or her life and we all make endeavors to be like them. Most of us have leaders or actors as our ideals. In this present age of satellite communication it has become possible for us to know about the life styles of our ideals. We are aware of everything related to their lives rather we feel that they have become a part of our lives. This all has become possible because of media and we are able to see our ideals in happiness and in grief. I believe that in this age of wide media coverage it is possible for us to be well aware about our celebrities and because of media coverage only we are able to know them better. Although their reputation is subjected to media scrutiny but these personalities are more known to common people and more people regard them as their hero.

It was very difficult for people to get to know about their heroes when media was not introduced. This technological innovation has revolutionized the social structure. People can follow their heroes all the time. These people are heroes because we have made them so and without our support they would not be as famous as they are. Media scrutiny does not affect those social figures who are indeed heroes in their respective fields. Mahatma Gandhi was one such example as all his acts were scrutinized by media but he was such an able man that it did not affect him at all. Gandhi not only got independence for India but also made a place in the hearts of people which will keep him alive in their deeds. He set an example that non-violence can achieve great results and till date people follow his principles. There were rumors of Gandhi having rifts with his son but that did not diminish his image. He was a human being after all and like every father and son they also had their arguments, which certainly do not make Gandhi a bad man. In the same manner the actors and leaders are also looked up to by people as their heroes and if they commit some mistake that certainly do not make them bad human beings.

Although, it would not be correct on our part to regard our heroes as good or bad only based on media scrutiny but this is certainly happening these days. It is entirely up to the media how to portray a situation and if an incident in a celebrity’s life is portrayed in a wrong way then that can prove to be fatal for that celebrity’s fan following. Princess Diana was one such example. She was literally worshipped by her fans and one incident of wrong media coverage shattered her image.

Media coverage does plays an important role in making or breaking a person’s image but it is very difficult to misguide public these days. Public also understands that media is either exaggerating or showing wrong image of popular personalities. At the same time if the media scrutiny is justified then certainly the true picture should come in front of public.


نظرات کاربران

هنوز نظری درج نشده است!