English 1108 Final Exam: Spring 2021

Part 1: The Summary.

1. Write a well-organized summary – approximately 100 words – of the following article.
2. Your summary should begin with an overview sentence that contains the title, the author and
the
main idea of the article.
2. Your summary must be in your own words.
3. Check your summary carefully. Points will be deducted for unclear and ungrammatical
writing.

“The Importance of Small talk” by Clifton Mark, adapted by Sandra Slade

"It's meaningless" and "it's phony" are the two main reasons most people surveyed on social
media give for despising small talk. Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski, said small talk
consisted of "purposeless expressions of preference or accounts of irrelevant happenings,
comments on what is perfectly obvious." Although Malinowski was writing in 1923, his point
endures. Small talk often involves chatting about sports or the weather. Sometimes we ask
complete strangers, without hope of an honest answer, how they are doing. We want to avoid
silence without saying or learning anything, so why does small talk have such an important
social purpose?

Even though people aren't saying anything significant, this doesn't mean that small talk is
unimportant. As supporters of small talk are quick to point out, casual chit-chat performs a social
function. It establishes the familiarity and comfort that prepares people for deeper interactions.
Debra Fine, author of The Fine Art of Small Talk, calls small talk "the appetizer for any
relationship. You don't know where your next opportunity will be in life, in friendship, in
romance, in meeting people. In most cases, the relationship started with small talk”.
Consequently, so called superficial talk isn't pointless talk. It's the conversational beginning that
can develop into more purposeful discussions.

However, focusing too much on what people might gain from light conversation, highlights the
second problem people have with small talk: it can seem inauthentic or fake. In some
professional situations, small talk's reputation has been negatively associated with a practice
called networking. The purpose of networking is to create contacts within a professional context.
As a result, small talk for professional purposes can appear manipulative because a networking
conversation is not just about getting to know someone. It can be an attempt to make a favorable
impression or influence someone in a workplace setting.
Nevertheless, small talk isn't always just an empty introduction to a deeper conversation. Most
people enjoy chatting with others and that provides its justification. Nicholas Epley and Juliana
Schroeder are behavioural scientists at the University of Chicago, and authors of a paper titled
"Mistakenly Seeking Solitude". They conducted a series of experiments exploring whether
talking briefly with a stranger improved or worsened the experience of a daily commute. The
researchers found that not only do most people like small talk, but they actually like it more than
they think they do. Even people who expected to have a worse time when speaking to strangers,
reported having a more positive commute when they engaged in small talk.

Yet despite the overall benefits of small talk, many people avoid it. This is both because they
underestimate how much they'll enjoy this activity and because they overestimate how much
other people want to be left alone. These mistaken beliefs lead people to avoid superficial
conversations, even though this avoidance can make them less happy.

The main reason to engage in small talk is the beneficial social connections it can create. Both
you and the people you talk to are more likely to enjoy daily life when you engage in these
seemingly unimportant conversations

Part Two: The Essay

Write an essay of approximately 450 words about one of the following topics.
Make a brief outline before you write your essay.
When you have finished writing, check your work carefully.

1. If you could have a conversation with one of your ancestors, who would that person be?

Your essay must explain why you have chosen this individual from your family’s past.

You should include two or three specific questions that you would want to ask as well as
your reasons for asking them.

2. As a result of the recent death of Prince Philip, the deceased husband of Queen Elizabeth 11,
many people have been talking about the role of monarchies in 2021.

Write an essay about either the advantages or the disadvantages of having a ceremonial
leader,
such as a queen or an emperor, in addition to a political one.

You should include two or three specific reasons to support your viewpoint.