BALIUAG UNIVERSITY

Special Program for International Students

English as a Second Language

Batch 6 – Summer Semester, 2021 – 2022

Examination
May 17, 2022

Name WU NING NING Course

English Name Lucky

I. Choose the best topic sentence for each group of supporting sentences. Shade or
highlight your answer from the given choices. (1 point each item)

Example:
I usually go skiing every weekend in the winter even though it is expensive. I love
the feeling of flying down a mountain. The views are beautiful from the top of a mountain
and along the trails. Even the danger of falling and getting hurt can’t keep me away from
the slopes on a winter day.

a) Skiing is expensive.
b) Skiing is my favorite sport.
c) Skiing is dangerous.

1. North Americans send cards for many occasions. They send cards to family and
friends on birthdays and holidays. They also send thank-you cards, get well cards,
graduation cards, and congratulation cards. It is very common to buy cards in stores and
send them through the mail, but turning on the computer and sending cards over the
Internet is also popular.

a) Sending cards is very popular in North America.

b) Birthday cards are the most popular kind of card.
c) It is important to send thank-you cards.

2. I enjoy summer sports like water skiing and baseball. The weather is usually sunny
and hot, so I can go to the beach almost every day. Gardening is my hobby and I spend
many summer days working in my garden. Unfortunately, the days pass too quickly in
summer.

a) I like to garden in summer.

b) Summer is my favorite season.
c) Summer is to short.

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3. First of all, we need money to repair old roads and build new roads. We also need
more to pay teachers’ salaries and to pay for services such as trash collection. Finally,
more tax money is needed to give financial help to the poor citizens of the city. It is clear
that the city will have serious problems if taxes are not raised soon.

a) We should raise city taxes.

b) City taxes are too high.
c) City taxes pay for new roads.

4. For example, a person can have breakfast in New York, board an airplane, and have
dinner in Paris. A businesswoman in London can instantly place an order with a factory
in Hong Kong by sending a fax. Furthermore, a schoolboy in Tokyo can turn on a TV and
watch a baseball game being played in Los Angeles.

a) Airplanes have changed our lives.

b) Advances in technology have made the world seem smaller.
c) The fax machine was an important invention.

5. One thing you must consider is the quality of the university’s educational program.
You also need to think about the school’s size and location. Finally, you must be sure to
consider the university’s tuition to make sure you can afford to go to school there.

a) It is expensive to attend a university in the United States.

b) There are several factors to consider when you choose a university to attend.
c) You should consider getting a good education.

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II. Answer the following questions in your own words. (3 points each item)

1. What is a topic sentence? Score:

Answer:

A topic sentence is the sentence that tells the main idea of a paragraph.
This sentence tells the reader what the paragraph will be about, and then
the rest of the paragraph is built around this topic.

A topic sentence is sometimes referred to as a focus sentence. The topic

sentence helps organize the paragraph by summarizing the information in
the paragraph.

In formal writing, the topic sentence is usually the first sentence in a

paragraph (although it doesn't have to be).

Every topic sentence has two parts: a topic (what the paragraph is about)
and a controlling idea (the direction the paragraph will take)

2. What is a paragraph? Give its 3 parts and describe each one. Score:
Answer:

A paragraph is a group of sentences about one idea.

A paragraph has about 5 sentences.
The first sentence of a paragraph is indented.

A paragraph has three parts:

Topic sentence - tells the main idea
Detail sentences - explain and support the main idea
Conclusion sentence - reminds us of the main idea

3. What is an essay? Give its 3 parts and describe each one. Score:
Answer:

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 An essay is a piece of writing that is written to convince someone of
something or to simply inform the reader about a particular topic. In
order for the reader to be convinced or adequately informed, the essay
must include several important components to make it flow in a logical
way.

In a standard short essay, five paragraphs can provide the reader

with enough information in a short amount of space.

An essay can be as short as 500 words, it can also be 5000 words or

more. However, most essays fall somewhere around 1000 to 3000
words; this word range provides the writer enough space to thoroughly
develop an argument and work to convince the reader of the author’s
perspective regarding a particular issue.

There are three main parts of an essay.

1. Introduction
- Must contain an attention grabber for the reader or at least
make the essay sound interesting, may begin with a quote about the
particular topic

- Ensure that the intro moves from the general to the specific in
regards to the topic

- Provides the reader with a “road map” of the essay in a logical

order

- At the end there should be what is called a thesis statement,

arguably the most important component of the introduction

- The thesis statement states the aim of the paper and may give
insight into the author’s examples and evidence

2. Body
- Includes the evidence and support of the paper in addition to the
author’s ideas

- Paragraphs must include a topic sentence which relates the

discussion back to the thesis statement

- Ensure that transition sentences are present to create a good

flow to the essay

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 - Include substantial examples and evidence to support your
argument and remember to cite, cite, cite!

- Make sure each example is relevant to your particular topic

3. Conclusion
- This section should wrap all of your arguments and points
- Should restate the main arguments in a simplified manner
- Ensure that the reader is left with something to think about,
particularly if it is an argumentative essay

4. Why is grammar important in academic writing? Score:

Answer:

1.Grammar is your first impression.

Above your ideas, your essay’s length, or even your pretty
formatting, grammar is your real first impression on readers of your writing.
You might have the most apt metaphor for the topic in question, but if you,
for instance, confuse “affect” versus “effect,” the intended effect of your
sentence might be muted altogether.

2.Bad writing distracts from good idea.

- Grammatical errors are distracting.
- Grammatical errors interfere with clarity.
- Too many little errors will make you seem careless.
- A big error will make readers think you don’t know what
you’re talking about.

3.Grammar is a measure of perceived quality.

If you have poor grammar in your academic writing, a determined
reader might read the whole piece anyway—but even so, they’re likely to
miss the quality of your content if their attention is caught on repeated,
grammatical mistakes.

Don’t let avoidable errors, like incorrect spelling, take your readers’ or
teachers’ focus away from the depth of your ideas.

5. How can you avoid plagiarism? Score:

Answer:

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1. Don’t just copy
2. Use a range of resources
3. Develop your own style
4. Keep good quality notes(see sample table)
5. Use quotation marks

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