YEAR END 2008: MUET WRITING 800/4 QUESTION 2

Instructions: Read and fill in the missing letters.

“People are becoming more materialistic. They are concerned with making more money and what
money can buy.” What is your opinion on being materialistic? You should write at least 350 words. [60
marks]

Many people have the mindset that everything revolves around money. It is, after all, a fact that
having a large amount of money brings greater spending power. They say that money makes the world
go round. Indeed, it does, life would be very difficult without money as nothing is free in today's society.
One is more ___ily able to satisfy one's h________c impulses if one is rich. This idea has influenced
many people nowadays to aspire for greater riches in order to be able to buy whatever they want. The
side effect is that people are becoming more m___________c; more c_______d with making money
and what money can buy. But how much money is enough? Is it ever enough? To some, it will never be
enough. In my opinion, I truly believe that this statement is true and that people are becoming more
materialistic in nature. In this essay, I will discuss how materialism has affected modern society’s way of
life on an individual level, the country’s economy as well as our s________l and moral beliefs.

First and foremost, each individual is affected by materialism to some extent in this day and age
because hedonism is becoming an u_____g trend. This is because today's generation are geared towards
making more and more money so that they can enjoy the c_______e lifestyle that is so popular these
days. Moreover, people now are striving to earn more income in order to afford things that are more
e_______e and b______d. For example, people spend their h___d earned money on material objects
like genuine LV and Coach handbags, expensive gadgets like Iphones and Tablet pcs and so on which in
my opinion is a waste of money when r_____r goods may prove to be good enough. Therefore, while
individuals become more focussed on their pursuit of material wealth and improving their standard of
living, they may forget that what matters most in life is quality time spent with family and friends and
not the quantity of their material goods. Being materialistic can drive people to work harder to earn
which may lead them to have less time for their l____d ones.

Secondly, when society starts spending in a materialistic manner, it will surely have a d_____o
effect on the country’s economy. This means that the spending power of society will help boost the
economy and create more business opportunities for the b_____g trade. However, when a society
overspends using plastic money or credit cards or when they take loans that they cannot afford to
repay, then the country’s debt margin will be higher. For instance, USA today is facing an e______ic
crisis because banks have approved home loans to people who aspire to own bigger houses than they
can actually afford and this is causing the collapse of the country’s economy there. Thus, while a
society’s spending habits helps our economy to grow, overspending due to materialism will have an
adverse effect to the country’s f_______l stability.

Last but not least, materialism affects our spiritual and moral beliefs. This is due to the fact
people who are materialistic may become ‘a____l' whereby they become unc_______d towards
rightness and wrongness,thus, lacking of a moral sense. Hence, they can disregard their spiritual and
moral upb______g easily, turning to crime to satisfy their materialistic needs. In fact, the crime rate is
increasing because criminals these days have developed many ways to gain more money from society.
For example, there are more reports of snatch thefts, burglaries, kidnapping for ransom, credit card
fraud, internet banking hacking and others that are driven by materialistic criminals. Therefore, when
people lose sight of their spiritual and moral beliefs, starting to pursue and fulfill the greed of
materialism, the crime rate is bound to increase. Consequently, people will be b______d by the
repeated and varied social problems that weigh down their life chances.

However, being materialistic can drive us to improve our lives and be able to contribute to
society. Being materialistic can drive people to work h____r to earn more, which can lead to a better
and more l_______s lifestyle for them and their families. There are many rags-to-riches stories of how
children of labourers, hawkers and other menial workers have made their way up in the world through
sh___r determination. This motivation has led many s_______l people to where they are today. For
example, the exfounder of Alibaba Jack Ma and Bill Gates of Microsoft Corporation. Subsequently,
materialism can also p________y impact the industrial and manufacturing sectors. As people lifestyles
improve, they seek things and experiences to lavish their money on. This willingness to spend and
insistence on quality products has pushed the retail sectors to come up with i__________e, creative
ideas and trendy products to capture the interest of their customers. As a result, industries and
economy benefits with the constant development of new and i______d items. So, being materialistic
actually can bring many benefits to our society.

As a conclusion, materialism is a common agenda in the 21st century as more people are
working hard to afford things beyond their reach. While this may spur individuals to work harder to
improve their standard of living, overspending due to materialism may cause the downfall of a country’s
economy and their morality. In my opinion, I still firmly believe that materialism has a strong hold on
today’s society; both p______e and negative effects. Our government can encourage society to be less
f________s and wasteful in spending by running campaigns such as ‘Consumer Awareness’ and ‘Buy
Malaysian Made Products’ in order to educate our younger generation for the prosperity of our nation.
Nevertheless, there is nothing wrong in being materialistic and it does not n________ly turn a person
into a heartless beast. For some people, being materialistic is a way of achieving a comfortable life.
What matter is how a person has achieved his financial goals and what he does with the results. If
someone had earned a lot of money through his own hard work, determination and talent, I think that
that is perfectly acceptable.