INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

SAMPLE MIDTERM EXAMINATION

Duration: 60 minutes

Student name: ____________________________________ Student ID: ____________________

Task 1: Read the following text and create a graphic display or an outline that categorizes the
points made in the text. (30 pts)

SOLVING SCHOOL CHEATING

     In my years of teaching, no student has ever admitted to a plagiary, even when questioned. The closest
admission which I get is that someone "read it over for me," or "I used my dictionary." It is a hard truth: even
when they are caught, cheaters continue to cheat. However, there is no harder task for a teacher than to
give a "0"! There are some common factors of cheating which need to be actively challenged.

    Students cheat primarily to make their lives easier. Young people, under heavy parental pressure, find
cheating a way to meet their parents' expectations. It is better to cheat than to have parents scold them
again and again. Recently in schools, the question which is often heard is, "What did you get?" Peer
pressure is another reason for student cheating. It is undesirable to say "I got a 'C'", especially in today's
competitive schools. It is possible that the most important reason for cheating is what Katie Hafner referred
to as "mental softness." It is the Internet that bears responsibility in this case. On the Internet, ideas
and words used to express ideas can be accessed easily. Why do students have to think hard if the
information is substantially provided? An easy life is available to the student cheater: a life without parental
nagging, ridicule at school, or the need to work hard.

     With such "softness" evident in our students, the solutions to cheating must be hard ones. Parents
need to accept their children's abilities, and to celebrate their accomplishments, no matter how small
they are. Heavy pressure, by itself, cannot make a child smarter. Students must be encouraged to make
comparisons on how much a peer has improved and on how hard that person had to work in order
to obtain a grade. For some students, a "C" is a major achievement. The hardest challenge will be to
reshape the Internet as a tool for creating higher order thinking, not one for avoiding difficult work.
Teachers, instead of trying to keep students away from Internet resources, must make themselves aware
of the Internet's potential for teaching. Research-based assignments (properly cited) that use the
Internet should be assigned in every classroom. In these ways, we can work on the soft attitudes and
remake them into a passion for disciplined work.
1
    Cheating is a danger to student achievements, one that needs to be challenged vigorously. Parents, who
always want to see geniuses in their family and put frequent pressure on their children, should learn to
ease up to some extent. Students can learn to admire each other's accomplishments without resorting to
comparisons that offer little in judging a person's true worth. Furthermore, teachers can learn from their
mistakes and begin to bring the Internet into their secluded classroom worlds. If we work on this together,
our success will be assured.

Write your answer here.

Signaling sentence: “There are some common factors of cheating which need to be actively

challenged.” => This essay will be classified into factors. Specifically, factors are about causes and

solutions.

1. Introduction: Talking about the current situation of cheating.

2. Body: => Where the points are classified according to causes and solutions

 Category 1. Causes:

 Sub-category 1: Parents: Heavy parents’ pressure, expectation.

 Sub-category 2: Peers/students: Competitive school -> undesirability to expect a lower score than

your friend.

 Sub-category 3: The Internet: Ideas and words are accessed easily.

 Category 2. Solutions:

 Sub-category 1: Parents: Accept children’s ability by accomplishing even small gestures.

 Sub-category 2: Peers/students: Should compare the dedication/hard work to earn high score.

 Sub-category 3: Teachers: Make more aware of the Internet potential => Assign more Internet-

based readings and assignments.

3. Summary about the factors from parents, students, and teachers.

=> The text classified into causes about parents, students and teachers and provided solutions according

to that subject.

2
Task 3: Comparison/ contrast essay (70 pts)

Write a comparison/contrast essay (in about 350 words) to analyze some differences between what
teenagers are now doing for entertainment and what their parents did 20 or 30 years ago. Pay
attention to the use of academic language and a clear text structure.

Over the past few years, life has been changing substantially in many aspects from medicine, schooling to the work

environment. This pattern of rapid movement also roots in the way entertainment is performed by humans, where the

past generation has different approaches to entertaining tools, and the duration of being entertained also has a larger

disparity, compared to the young generation.

To begin with, the tool for entertainment is widely altered when the time changes. In the past, 20 years ago, the most

common access to recreation was the use of radios and Black and White television. For example, a colossal number

of movies and documentaries were shown limitedly on monogram TVs. Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, and

other renowned playwrights were made in monotonous colors with no further alternatives. On the contrary, nowadays,

with the advent of technology, many entertainment alternatives also emerged. Moreover, TV no longer plays a

monopoly when it comes to means of relaxation because other platforms can also take the role. Computers are now

more portable to gain more user’s experience and accessibility to a wide range of art forms, more classification of

movies is created such as blockbusters, science-fiction, or real experience of adventurous voyages of Discovery.

The other factor that is worth mentioning is the duration of screening time for everyone. The more innovative the form

of entertainment is, the longer the exposure to screens can be observed. Back in the day, when showtime was

restricted to certain on-air TV hours, replays or records were not put in place, it was more challenging to re-watch a

documentary or a movie. In contrast, such an idea is now more feasible nowadays with the work of Netflix, or cable

services such as SCTV. Therefore, audiences now spend more time accessing platforms to watch videos and films.

The prolonged exposure has also rooted the diversity of movie categories, other creative forms of screen-entertaining

are boosted. For instance, whenever some browse a Netflix Page, they can be emerged by the plethora of movie

series, which would sometimes lead to confusion about movie choices.

To conclude, there has been a significant change in the screening time of one person in front of the TV by the altered

types of entertainment access rather than TV. The advent of technology has made it easier to gain access to movies,

which consequently puts a large emphasis on the duration of watching series.