2025 JC1 ASRJC P1A8 Essay Outlines

Anderson Serangoon Junior College\English Department\General Paper\JC1 2025 (8881) Anderson Serangoon Junior College General Paper Paper 1 Assignment 8 Suggested Essay Outlines Question 1 Can advertising ever be trusted? (2021 ASRJC Promo) Question Analysis Issue: The purpose of advertising is generally to persuade people to buy products/services, or subscribe to certain perspectives and values. This casts doubts on the reliability and honesty of the message. Context: Global Conceptual Understanding: • Advertising is subject to the interests of the entities commissioning it. • Such entities would want to present narratives that align with their interests. This makes the advertisement unlikely to be objective/neutral and therefore untrustworthy. Key words: • Can: to be able to • Advertising: the business of trying to persuade people to buy products or services • Ever: at any time • Be trusted: deserving of the belief that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable Significant aspects/areas to be discussed (5W1H, Multiple Perspectives, Significant Trends, SPECTRAM): • Who advertises and what might be their agenda? • How are businesses using advertising today, and how does that affect its reliability? • How have recent trends (e.g. use of social media) affected advertising? • How do consumers respond to advertising today? Possible Stands • Advertising can be trusted most of the time. • Advertising cannot be trusted most of the time. Reasons why… Reasons why… not… Due to greater competition and the ease with which consumers can share their experiences, businesses are beginning to understand the need to be truthful in advertising so as to maintain a good reputation and gain the continual support of customers. • It is increasingly easy for customers to share their opinions and experiences of products and services today. E-commerce websites like Amazon feature review sections where customers can rate products. Consumer Reports, a non-profit consumer organisation, publishes information about products they test. Due to a desire for greater sales and profits, it is in the interest of businesses to exaggerate the merits of their products, undermining the trustworthiness of advertising. • Brands and influencers have been accused of using filters to promote beauty products, leading consumers to think that the products are more capable than they actually are. This led to the Advertising Standards Authority of the United Kingdom ruling in 2021 that filters should not be

Anderson Serangoon Junior College\English Department\General Paper\JC1 2025 (8881) The easy availability of product information means that consumers can verify the advertising published by businesses, and it is in the interest of businesses to be truthful in their advertising. applied to social media advertisements if they exaggerate the effect of the product. Advertisements do not always have to come from businesses with a profit motive; advertising can also come from governments and organisations to advocate socially desirable behaviours or to educate the public, thereby benefiting the society. Such advertisements aim to persuade people by convincing them of the true merits of such socially desirable behaviours and thus they can be trusted. • The Singapore government rolled out advertisements to promote vaccination against Covid-19. One of the advertisements featured comedian Gurmit Singh – as his much-loved character Phua Chu Kang, an eccentric contractor – warning the public not to be complacent. The advertisement seeks to dispel concerns that vaccines might not be safe for people with certain health conditions, or for older people. While the intention of the advertising campaign is to persuade people, similar to those run by businesses, the success of the campaign hinges on the trustworthiness of the message and so can be trusted. With the advent of the internet and social media, the ease of advertising and the ability of advertisements to cross borders make it difficult to regulate the contents of advertising. • In 2020, South Korea revised its advertising guidelines to require influencers on social media platforms, such as YouTube or Instagram, to state clearly whether their product endorsements are “financially rewarded or intended for promotion”. With the global nature of social media and e- commerce, however, people in South Korea will still be exposed to advertisements from influencers from other countries which are not subjected to South Korean advertising guidelines and are thus free to employ shady promotional practices. Regulations and consumer laws ensure that advertisers do not mislead people. Businesses are motivated to keep their advertisements honest or they would face penalties. • The European Union has strict laws in place to ensure that the nutrition claims and health claims of food products are clear, accurate and based on scientific evidence. Food bearing claims that could mislead consumers are prohibited in the European Union market. • Dannon was asked to pay consumers up to $45 million in damages under the terms of a class action settlement for touting its yoghurt products as “clinically” and “scientifically” proven to regulate digestion and boost immune systems after it was accused of making claims it had not proven. Dannon was also asked to change its health claims. Related recent examples • WhatsApp to start showing more adverts in messaging app https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5y07yqg5do • Singapore: Advertising restrictions for healthcare professionals to be reviewed https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/advertising-restrictions-healthcare-professionals- be-reviewed-4984896

Anderson Serangoon Junior College\English Department\General Paper\JC1 2025 (8881) • CBC investigation finds some big grocers promoting imported food with Canadian branding https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/label-grocer-canadian-1.7590956

Anderson Serangoon Junior College\English Department\General Paper\JC1 2025 (8881) Question 2 To what extent is meritocracy in your society desirable? (2015 SRJC Promo) Question Analysis Issue: Meritocracy is a social system in which individuals are rewarded and provided with opportunities based on their capabilities, and achievements rather than on factors such as wealth, family background, or social connections. The underlying issue is whether meritocracy truly promotes fairness, efficiency, and social mobility, or whether it can also lead to inequality, elitism, and neglect of less measurable human qualities. Context: Singapore Conceptual Understanding: • • While intended to promote fairness and efficiency, meritocracy operates within societies where starting points are unequal. This can unintentionally reinforce social privilege and widen disparities. • • The desirability of meritocracy depends on whether it is implemented in ways that balance recognising achievement with ensuring inclusivity, equal opportunity, and social cohesion. Key words: • Meritocracy: advancement in the system based on merits/hardword • Your society: Singapore • Desirable: preferable/useful/necessary Significant aspects/areas to be discussed (5W1H, Multiple Perspectives, Significant Trends, SPECTRAM): • Who: Individuals, government, NGOs, • What: effects on society? (positive-efficiency, social mobility vs negative-elitism) • When: is meritocracy desirable? • Where: does meritocracy prove to be useful and desirable? Education? • Why: does meritocracy matter? Why is it relevant and desirable? Possible Stands • Meritocracy in Singapore is desirable to a small extent. • Meritocracy in Singapore is desirable to a large extent. Reasons why… Reasons why… not… Admittedly, meritocracy, which was the cornerstone of multi-cultural Singapore society