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Sample C2 level Essay

The following is a sample essay based on the Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (ECPE) writing section. The question can be found on page 112 of the ECPE Book 1 Practice Examinations textbook published by the Hellenic American Union.

Some people regard tattoos and body piercing as an extreme form of fashion. Why do you think young people are prepared to damage their skin permanently in order to be fashionable? Do you think teenage rebelliousness or peer pressure plays a greater role? Discuss, giving examples.    

Each age has its peculiar and often ephemeral fads which fashion designers, celebrities or prominent trend-setters dictate. Although some fashions die down quickly, others remain or re-emerge with a vengeance, as is the case with tattoos and body piercing nowadays. The reasons that motivate youngsters to undergo either of these two are varied and though rebelliousness and peer pressure do indeed number among these reasons, they are by no means exclusively responsible.

          The first reason why anyone would decide to get a tattoo or pierce parts of their body is simply because it is fashionable. Like any trend, it is followed by young people as it makes them feel ‘cool’, part of the ‘in’ crowd, makes them believe they fit in. It may therefore be deduced that it is because they want to strengthen their confidence and image that they follow these trends.

          As tattoos and piercing are pivotal in creating an image that youngsters find aesthetically beautiful, it may be construed that the second reason why they damage their skin on purpose lies in the fact that some consider both these practices forms of art. Beauty, it has been said time and again, lies in the eye of the beholder, therefore, what one sees as skin being punctured beyond the limits of propriety, another views as a work of art.

          A third cause, especially where tattoos are concerned, is that these fads convey a message the bearer wishes to remember or impart to others. Instances of such tattoos consist of special dates or names tattooed to cherish the memory of a loved one or mark the happy event of an anniversary or the birth of a child. Other tattoos that fall under this category would be mottos eloquently inscribed on one’s forearm or rib, reminding one to never give up or to enjoy life, to be wary of others or that mistakes are meant to teach not discourage us. Whatever their significance, they are evidence of a person’s identity and personality, transcending in this way the notion of their being a mere fashion.

          Young people these days undoubtedly have much to be angry about so it is natural that by doing something conventionally questionable or unacceptable they release some of that rage. This act of rebelliousness meant to separate them from adults in fact is connected to their desire to carve out a unique identity for themselves which distinguishes them from their parents and adults in general. Likewise, getting a tattoo and body piercing may be directly the result of peer pressure but I find the image of a high school student prodding his buddy to have a cigarette more likely than one in which he is seen coercing his friend into going to a tattoo parlor.

          In sum, young people do the unconventional things they do not to rebel for the sake of rebelliousness, but because what they are essentially seeking is either an identity or a sense of belonging. Similarly, I am inclined to believe that it is not so much peer pressure as a person’s sense of beauty that induces them to permanently alter their body through tattoos or piercings.

word count:  approx. 520 words