Talking point: Do attractive people have advantages others don't have?

Do attractive people have advantages others don't have? was the topic in the Student Opinion feature of the Learning Network of The New York Times in mid October.

They posed a number of questions for students to think about and comment on?

• What's your opinion on the power of makeup and the societal “rewards” of beauty?
• Have you seen attractive people gain certain advantages?
• If so, why do you think it happens?
• What about the theory that it’s the confidence of the attractive people, not their looks alone, that draws people to them?
• What do you think the makeup study’s findings in the accompanying article -Up the Career Ladder, Lipstick in hand- say about our culture?
• Does anything need to change?
• Why or why not

Get together with your conversation group and discuss this issue. Read the article Up the Career Ladder, Lipstick in hand by Catherine Saint Louis beforehand to gain some insight on the topic.

During your talking session you may need to resort to generalisations to express your ideas. You can choose some of the expressions below to do so:

In general, ...

Generally/Broadly speaking, …

By and large, …

On the whole, …

In most cases, ...

To a great extent, ...

Apart from and except for introduce exceptions to generalisations.