Effectiveness and Appropriateness

These two seem to catch a lot of people out, because they're pretty hard to define and apply to different areas. Here's some generic tips, with an example to help. 

Effectiveness - the extent to which something brings about an effect, usually a positive one.

(Example question: Assess the effectiveness of offender treatment programmes)

Introduction - define effectiveness

1. Who is it effective for?
(e.g. anger management is only effective for non-psychopathic males, who have an anger problem so it isn't effective for a wide audience, whilst cognitive skills programmes are effective for most offenders as they target the cognitions believed to result in criminality, such as taking a social perspective, self-control and morality)

2. To what extent does it make a difference?
(e.g. to what extent do the treatments reduce recidivism or improve behaviour? Anger management is believed to be somewhat effective, but not in all cases. Ireland et al found it did reduce some angry behaviours. Ear acupuncture appears to make a significant difference to aspects of an addicts life such as improving mood and sleep as well as cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Cognitive skills programmes found to reduce recidivism rates by 14% which is positive, but it's obviously not effective enough to reduce it by more)

3. Is it time and cost effective?
(e.g. therapy treatments tend not to be because they require several sessions, whilst biological treatments such as acupuncture are quick and easy to administer)

Conclusion: summary
Somewhat effective, but a holistic approach where two or more methods are combined would be most effective. 

Appropriateness

Appropriateness refers to the extent to which something is suitable, usually in terms of population or situation.

To what extent are treatments for your chosen disorder (e.g. depression) appropriate?

You could answer this by looking at the population: people with depression. Personally, I'd break it down into biological treatments and therapies. 

Biological treatment: drug therapy.
Yes it's appropriate because... it requires little participation from the client, who is likely to feel apathetic, lack motivation, etc. 
No it's not appropriate because... treating a disorder that does not necessarily have a biological cause with drugs may not be treating the real issue, but actually just reducing the symptoms of low serotonin levels.

Cognitive/behavioural therapies: CBT
Yes it's appropriate because... the relationship between the client and therapist may boost confidence in the client and in others and give them a sense of purpose. The behaviourist element to CBT also encourages and rewards self-motivation and non-depressed activities, which helps to teach the client to overcome possible future relapses.
No it's not appropriate because... it requires a LOT of motivation on behalf of the client, it's often quite a lengthy process which people suffering with depression are unlikely to have the energy to go through, etc.

And my conclusion would probably be that drug therapy is appropriate for those with short-term, reactive depression because they need a "quick fix", but if depression is long-term or recurring, therapy enables skills to deal with depression more effectively and thus this may be more appropriate in the long run.