The Student Room Group

Can someone please mark my English language Paper 2 Q5

“It is people who have extraordinary skill, courage and determination who deserve to be famous, not those who have good looks or lots of money or behave badly

Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper in which you argue your point of view in response to this statement.”

(24 marks for content and organisation 16 marks for technical accuracy)


Dear editor of a newspaper,
I am writing this letter to argue my point of view of how people who work hard don't get the recognition they deserve. As the rise of social media grows everyday, it is a chance for more and more people to become famous. What's so bad about that? Well people solely become famous now for things that aren't reward-worthy, which is why I'm writing this letter to argue how people need to start getting recognition for their hard work. Not for things they already have.

I strongly believe social media has ruined people's high hopes as the world has been led astray by things that please them or aren’t even beneficial. As a student studying for exams, I think to myself, “is what i'm doing worth it?” Unfortunately, I'm not the only student who thinks like this as this generation makes anything and anyone popular. But how does one expect us to think any differently if a man puts on a funny voice filter and sings to the extent where he gets over 50 million views and someone who has a true, genuine voice gets under 100 views. Quite ironic. I hope you can understand my point of view so we can actually start recognising people’s hard work and show the world this is what true talent looks like. What's the point of saying “hard work pays off” if we keep making useless things viral?

Not only is this taking away people's dreams, but it is also setting a bad mindset for the youth. Very soon, the younger generation will soon be as lazy as a sleeping sloth, because they know they don't have to put any effort in for their future. At this rate, schools are going to gradually sink in popularity as people are seeing it as useless. This can certainly not be a good thing because if humanity decides to not just do anything, the future of upcoming generations is doomed. Whilst we’re all still well and breathing, let us teach our children that you need to work hard to succeed and praise people for their hard work.

In summary, I strongly believe that we shouldn't make people famous based on what they already have but on what they worked hard for. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Yours Sincerely,

Victoria.