INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

SAMPLE MIDTERM EXAMINATION

AE2 WRITING
Date: ________, 2014
(Only textbooks allowed; No dictionary; No electronic devices)

Duration: 60 minutes

Student name: ____________________________________ Student ID: ____________________

Vice chair Proctor Examiner Score

Vu Tien Thinh

Task 1: The following text contains some problems with the writing style. Look at the 6 non-
academic phrases or sentences and edit them to make the text more academic. There is one
example. (30 pts)

CAN MEDICATION CURE OBESITY IN CHILDREN?

A Review of the Literature

In March 2004, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona called attention to a health problem in the United
States that, until recently, we (0) had overlooked: childhood obesity. Carmona highlighted that the
“astounding” 15% child obesity rate constitutes an “epidemic.” Since the early (1) ‘80s, rate has “doubled in
children and tripled in adolescents.” Now more than nine million children are classified as obese. While the
traditional response to a medical epidemic is to hunt for a vaccine or a cure-all pill, childhood obesity has
proven more elusive. (2) Lacking success of recent initiatives suggests that medication (3) mightn’t be the
answer for the escalating problem. (4) In this literature review, I will consider whether the use of medication is
a promising approach for solving the childhood obesity problem by responding to the following questions:

1. What are the implications of childhood obesity?

2. Is medication effective at treating childhood obesity?

3. Is medication safe for children?

4. Is medication the best solution?

Understanding the limitations of medical treatments for children highlights the complexity of the childhood
obesity problem in the United States and underscores the need for physicians, advocacy groups, and
policymakers to search for other solutions.

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 What Are the Implications of Childhood Obesity?

Obesity can be a devastating problem from both an individual and a societal perspective. Children are put at
risk by obesity for a number of medical complications, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea,
and orthopedic problems (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004, p. 1). In the Table 4 below, researchers
Hoppin and Taveras (2004) have (5) said that obesity is often associated with psychological issues such as
depression, anxiety, and binge eating.

Obesity also poses serious problems for a society struggling to cope with rising health care costs. The
cost of treating obesity currently totals $117 billion per year—a price, according to the Surgeon General, is
“second only to the cost of [treating] tobacco use” (Carmona, 2004). (6) Of course, as the number of children
who suffer from obesity grows, long-term costs will increase.

Write your answer here.

Original word/phrase Possible edited word/phrase
0 had overlooked have overlooked/ have been overlooking
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Task 2: Read the following text and create a graphic display or an outline that categorizes the
points made in the text. (20 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

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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.
    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.

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Task 3: Comparison/ contrast essay (50 pts)

Write a comparison/contrast essay (in about 350 words) about life in Vietnam now and a decade
ago. Pay attention to the use of academic language and a clear text structure.

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This is the end of the test.