I'm glad I found this forum. I'm hoping I can get some good feedback before I take the the CLEP english composition test. Thanks in advance! - Leah
PRODUCT SAFETY ESSAY
prompt: Every year consumers are injured using products (food, cosmetics, appliances) that seem to be safe but aren't. Who should be responsible for making sure that products are safe to use: the consumer, the producer, the government, or someone else? Discuss providing support for your view.
Consumer concerns regarding the safety of products they purchase and use is a very hot topic. Whether or not the industry, government, or consumers, should bear the brunt of the responsibility when determining the safety of products is a complicated and multifaceted discussion. Companies often spend large sums of money on developing and marketing their wares and should not be let off the hook when it comes to allocating an appropriate amount of money to testing of product safety. Governmental organizations should serve as a watch dog and enforcer of regulations not as a sole resource for determining whether or not a product meet established guidelines or is adequately tested. The consumer is an incidental watch dog and bears some responsibility and should be aware that companies cannot realistically test a products performance under every conceivable condition. Individuals must use common sense but should have a reasonable amount of confidence that their purchases will perform as expected and will do so safely.
A recent recall of a popular infant carrier is a prime example of a failure of the current system used to determine product safety. It seems clear that the makers of The Baby Bag type sling carrier were neglectful in determining the safety of the product before it was marketed. Any pediatric nurse could have noted the potential for suffocation of an infant in the carrier due to improper positioning. The company obviously neglected to consult with appropriate child development professionals during the product development phase. Unfortunately, the infant carrier resulted in a number of deaths.
Societies increasing dependency on others to make decisions for them and focus away from personal responsibility and increasing trust in perceived authority, has crippled parents ability to make wise choices for their children. This is an unfortunate consequence of our increasingly complex society and a problem that needs to be addressed with a wide range of solutions. Realistic solutions should be the focus of these efforts. For instance, educating each individual parent on the physical aspects of positional suffocation in infants is not likely to be a solution that is applicable or likely to instigate substantial change in real world situations. However, enacting legislation that will insure that companies are held responsible for the safety of their products is likely to have far reaching positive results.
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Sorry. I forgot the instructions with the prompt!
Plan and write an essay in which you develop your position on this issue. Support your point of view with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Any help is appreciated. Even just a "this is adequate/inadequate" for the CLEP. I know that I could develop this essay much more but I only have 35 minutes so I left it as it was when my time was up. Which is killing me by the way:)!
Hi Leah, when you have a time limit, it is good to look at the prompt and come up with several main ideas. Write each as an interesting, rhythmic sentence, and let each become the topic sentence of a body paragraph.
Then spend a few minutes adding explanation sentences and example sentences so that each sentence grows into a whole body paragraph.
The, go back and write a brilliant intro based on the body paragraphs. Finally, write a conclusion. That'll get you through it faster than trying to start by writing the intro paragraph. You cannot introduce what does not yet exist.
Consumer concerns regarding the safety of products they purchase and use is a very hot topic.--- this kind of obvious sentence should not be included in the essay.
Whether or not the industry, government, or consumers, should bear the brunt of the responsibility when determining the safety of products is a complicated and multifaceted discussion. ---It is not a question of whether or not.
At the end of your first paragraph, give a clear, no nonsense answer to the question.
:-)
Super! Thank you, this is really helping me to formulate a plan for tackling the actual essay prompt. The time limit is intimidating for me and breaking it up like that will relieve some anxiety. I feel I never quite get to where I am going when I just start with the intro.
