5. When preparing to write an essay you may be concerned with
only one aspect of a text, so that your key points relate only to
the topic you are examining.
a) You are planning to write an essay on ‘Marketing – art or
science?’ Read the text below and underline the sections
relevant to your essay.
BOTTLED WATER UNDER ATTACK
The Water Companies Association (WCA) has claimed
that bottled water costs 700 times more than tap water,
but is often of inferior quality. The chief executive of the
WCA pointed out that although bottled water advertising
often associated the product with sport and health there
was no truth in this link. The reality, she said, was that
the packaging of bottled water was environmentally
damaging, since millions of empty bottles had to be
disposed of in rubbish tips. 2% of samples of bottled
water failed a purity test conducted by the Drinking Water
Inspectorate, while only 0.3% of tap water samples failed
the same test. Labels on bottled water often referred to
‘spring’ and ‘natural water’, which were meaningless
phrases. In addition, bottled water was imported from as
far as Korea and Kenya, which was a waste of resources.
These criticisms, however, were rejected by the British
Soft Drinks Association, which argued that bottled
water was a successful business founded on giving the
customers choice, quality and convenience.