In past years, what are some of the typical errors students made in the essay, causing them to lose marks?
• The first is that many essays did not show an impact on society for their chosen subject. Many students wrote about the pros and cons, or the strengths and weaknesses, of a technology but failed to show any impact on society, which is the subject of the essay. Consider something like cell phone technology. An essay could discuss the history of cell phone development, the styles in which they are available, how easy they are to use, and billing options. None of this however is an impact on society – they are characteristics of the technology, a different thing. Using the same example, if the essay indicated that people could contact their home or emergency services while travelling, that would be an individual benefit, and some credit was given. It would still not be a real impact on society however. Impacts in this instance would include things like an increased tourism trade because of tourists feeling more secure in their travels, increases or losses in corporate earnings, possibly
