Practice Series 6 Academic Writing Test 1

The graph shows how the amount of water used worldwide changed between 1900 and 2000. Throughout the century, the largest quantity of water was used for agricultural purposes, and this increased dramatically from about 500 km³ to around 3,000 km³ in the year 2000. Water used in the industrial and domestic sectors also increased, but consumption was minimal until mid-century. From 1950 onwards, industrial use grew steadily to just over 1,000 km³, while domestic use rose more slowly to only 300 km³, both far below the levels of consumption by agriculture. The table illustrates the differences in agricultural consumption in some areas of the world by contrasting the amount of irrigated land in Brazil (26,500 km²) with that in the D.R.C. (100 km²). This means that a huge amount of water is used in agriculture in Brazil, and this is reflected in the figures for water consumption per person: 359 m³ compared with only 8 m³ in the Congo. With a population of 176 million, the figures for Brazil indicate how high agricultural water consumption can be in some countries.

Nowadays, there are lots of advertisements on television or on the streets. Some people think that the advertising boosts the sales of goods and it encourages people to buy things unnecessarily. This arguments may be true. In my country, many advertising companies produce advertisements with famous and popular actors or singers. People, especially youngsters, buy goods that their favourite singer advertise, although they do not really need the products. Also, on the television screen, a product may look gorgeous and good quality. As a result of it, people often buy goods without enough consideration. Consumers may not actually need it but they buy goods impulsively soon after they watch the advertising. Furthermore, as many customers buy a particular product due to its advertising campaign, the other people may be affected by the trend, even if the product is not of the real needs of the society. On the other hand, there are various aspects against these arguments. Moreover, it is people's choice to make a decision to buy goods. Advertising may be not a cause of customers' buying habits. Individuals have their own spending habits. If they have got enough disposable income, then the right to make a decision is given to them. No one actually can judge whether the goods sold are the real needs of the society or not. In addition, as there should be a limited amount of disposable income consumers are able to spend, people try to allocate their budgets. They cannot be simply swayed by those advertisements. In conclusion, as customers have their own strong opinions and standard of good quality goods, it is better to leave them to make their own decision in buy goods. It is fairly difficult to say everyone is swayed by advertising and buy good impulsively. However, in sensitive area of businesses such as toy industries, it may be necessary to band advertising to those children as children have not got enough ability to control themselves or to know what they need.