15317 盲从购买
2013年5月11日托福独立作文
猫头鹰在线写作实验室谢振礼
ielts360toefl@hotmail.com
真题回忆：
China 20130511
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement. People often buy products not because they really need them but because other people have them. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
实验范文：谢振礼
Jeenn Lee Hsieh
In a society of excessive consumerism, people tend to do as others do, such as purchasing products which they do not really need and yet so doing because other people have such things. The tendency, in terms of buying behaviors, is more obvious among those mainstream consumers who may be mentally overwhelmed by material need and social conformity. As a negative result of this mentality, chances are two-fold: 1). need becoming greed and 2). conformity becoming vanity.
On the one hand, when the public want of products is going extreme, it is likely that greed is not far away. To illustrate, people seem to be never satisfied, always desiring for more of the same or something different which others have. This often happens to the middle class-minded consumers, in part as a reflection of the power of advertising rather than the real necessities in places where these commercial items are sold. By and large, greed is next door to need, and the so-called "throw-away" society is here to stay. Psychologically speaking, therefore, people's need for material things can be beyond limits. So much so, many people often buy products more out of greed than out of need, thus sometimes spending money they do not have.
On the other hand, the tendency that people have to comply with the group norm easily leads negatively to vanity in a world of materialism. It is because consumers' choice of products may be motivated by the wish to belong to same group or the search for "superiority" in the market sense. That is to say, the decision to buy a good depends not only upon the intrinsic quality of this good but also may be affected by the consumption choice of other consumers. So, the observation of some markets like those for beverages, electronic devices, sports entertainments, etc. suggest that they are characterized by conformity in consumers' behaviors. As well as that, some other markets like the markets for luxury goods (perfumes, for instance) are directly associated with vanity. And, of course, vanity implies negative consumption.
On the whole, it may be said that people's consumer mentality may turn need into greed, and conformity into vanity. Both material need and social conformity play the vital role in making people buy products not because they really need but because other people have them. Remember: When in Rome, do as Romans do." (Essay created by Jeenn Lee Hsieh)
Topic Sentence: Fact or Opinion?
议论文都是议论意见的文章。
To be able to write good topic sentences, it is important to be able to distinguish FACT from OPINION.
论说文是讨论抽象的IDEAS。Body Paragraphs 每一段的第一句可以作为指标句，这就是Topic Sentence，用来表达抽象的意见而不是用来表达具体的事实。
Introduction与Conclusion 的Topic Sentence稍微不同。写手可以按照自己的习惯风格来决定。
事实 (不是好的指标句)Examples: Fact
>According to the latest statistics, the unemployment rate for teenagers is higher than it is for adult workers.
>The average working woman earns less money than the average working man.
意见(你答题的IDEAS才是好的指标句)Examples: Opinion
>The government must find some way of stopping acid rain, which causes great damage to plants and animals.
>The most serious problem facing this community today is the increase in crime.
