MIDTERM TEST 2 - Writing 2

Time: 60 minutes

Task 1 1. Write a good topic sentence for this paragraph. 

Natural beauty has been gradually ruined by humans' activities. To

illustrate, suppose a person is tired of the city - the smog and the hurry - and he
decides to get away for a while. He gets into his car and travels away toward
freedom and relaxation. Along the way, he pulls over to the side of the road to
enjoy the quiet beauty of a country scene. What does he see? Billboards! One

billboard shows giant dice dripping dirty motor oil; another billboard displays
huge slices of bread falling on an immense plate; still another shows pastel toilet
tissue, spelling out the name of the product he should buy. These and numerous
other billboards are ugly substitutes for the trees and meadows, rivers, lakes,
deserts, hills, and mountains he is seeking. These eyesores spoil his enjoyment of
natural roadside beauty.

2. Write a good concluding sentence for this paragraph

My two cousins Mary and Anne are very similar in appearance and
personality. In fact, some people think the two girls are twins rather than sisters
because they are close in age, both of them in their early teens, and because they
look and act a good deal alike. They are both tall for their age and slender, and they
both wear their dark-brown hair long and straight. Mary, who is 15, has stunning
large brown eyes with long dark eyelashes; and Anne, who is 14, also has beautiful
dark eyes. They both have lovely olive complexions, and when they smile, they
radiate warmth and happiness. They even dress alike. Mary sews almost all of her
own clothes, and Anne is also learning to sew. Because they are almost the same
size, they can borrow each other's patterns as well as each other's clothes. What is
most noticeable about the two girls is that they are both talented, outgoing, and
friendly. Mary is the vice president of her class and active in dance and drama.
Anne, who is also a good student, is a star member of the tennis team as well as an
accomplished guitarist. In short, Mary and Anne seem to be alike to each other
in everything.

Task 2: Learning autonomy of students between online and offsite learning

process. (150 -180 words) 

The direct learning process is always better for promoting student's

autonomy in studying than the online one because it helps reduce cheating in
exams and boost the interaction between people in school. Particularly, studying on
the internet brought the ability to quickly and efficiently transmit information on
anything from anywhere, which increases the chance of cheating in exams. Instead
of that, if students take their test offsite, they will have to study seriously and
practice harder for better grades. The other difference which makes offline-
learning a solution for lazy students is that it bridges the gap in relationships at
school. The contacts between students and teacher or students with each other
would be more frequent; therefore, every student can have the opportunities to
learn from their teachers and friends and widen their knowledge. Moreover, this
way of learning also brings up healthy friendships and relationships for a better
study environment. To sum up, with all the benefits of the offsite learning process,
every school should take it into consideration to encourage student’s self-learning
attitude.