COM200: Critical Thinking and Composition

COM200: Critical Thinking and Composition

Mid-Semester Exam

Sept. 13, 2015, 10:30am – 12:30pm Total Marks: 20

SECTION I: 10 Marks

Please answer the following questions based on your understanding of the article ‘Whose Land Is It, Anyway?’ by P. Jeganathan.

1) What is the form of composition used by this essay?

(a) Argumentative with expository sections where it provides an analytical basis for its claims.

(d) Overall argumentative because it claims that both humans and animals should be protected.

2) What is the pattern of organization used in this essay?

(c) Overall problem-solution because it begins with the problem of human-animal conflict and ends with solutions to this problem.

(d) Cause-effect embedded within problem-solution because it looks at the cause of the problem as well as some solutions before moving on to the final solution.

3) What is the purpose of this essay?

(b) To analyse the reasons for human-animal conflict.

(d) To offer solutions that help both humans and animals to survive this conflict.

4) What is the best place for such an essay to be published?

AND/OR (because the ‘best’ in the question may be correctly interpreted to mean that there should be only one answer)

(d) In a magazine focusing on environmental issues for an audience interested in understanding human-animal conflict.

5) What solutions to the human-animal conflict are supported by this essay?

(a) Spreading awareness amongst people about the importance of animals in our lives.

(b) Ensuring that animal habitats are maintained even in the midst of human development.

6) Paragraph 2 is the thesis statement of this essay. Keeping this in mind, what are the categories under which all the ideas in this essay can be clustered?

(b) Causes of human-animal conflict, Effective solutions to the conflict

7) What order has been followed in arranging the sequence of ideas in this essay?

(a) From the obvious way of looking at the human-animal conflict to a more complex way of dealing with the problem

(c) From a narrow one-sided view of the human-animal conflict problem to a broader two-sided understanding of the problem

8) What is the purpose served by the use of questions in the essay (in paragraphs 1, 4, and 9)?

(b) They encourage readers to mentally engage with the problem themselves.

(d) They highlight the progression of the argument from a simple understanding of the human-animal conflict to a more complex understanding of the human-animal conflict.

9) Which of the following is NOT a strategy used by the essay to create an emotional bond with the readers?

(a) Objective statement of facts regarding human-animal conflict

(d) Disturbing details of animal violence

10) What is the purpose served by paragraph 8 in the overall development of the argument of the essay?

(b) It makes us realize that increased instances of human-animal conflict show that humans are also responsible for the problem.

(d) It combines narrative and expository forms of composition to make readers accept the turn in the argument both emotionally and intellectually.

SECTION II: 5 Marks

1) The information given in ‘Wikipedia Entry on Bats’ is organized under three categories – physical qualities of bats, differences between various bat species, ecological importance of bats. Keeping these three categories in mind, which of the three paragraphs in this essay is NOT coherent? Give a specific reason for your answer.

The third paragraph is not coherent because it includes details about physical qualities of bats even though the paragraph begins with a focus on ecological importance of bats.

2) If information from Ranjit Lal’s ‘A World Upside Down’ was added to the Wikipedia essay, what would be changed?

(a) A new category about human-bat relationship could be added to the Wikipedia Entry on Bats.

(b) The language used to describe bats in the Ranjit Lal essay would be changed

3) Can an effective comparison be done between ‘The Art of Reading’ and ‘Effective Reading’?

(d) Yes, because both talk about reading for advanced comprehension but in slightly different contexts.

4) What is the best way of describing the relationship between the SQ3R method and Active Reading?

(a) Active reading is part of the SQ3R method.

AND/OR (because the ‘best’ in the question may be correctly interpreted to mean that there should be only one answer)

(d) SQ3R includes passive reading, while active reading is the opposite of passive reading.

5) Based on the Four Cs criteria of good composition, what would be the evaluation of the paragraph ‘Participatory Planning by the Government’?

(c) It is concise because it uses a single example to prove its point about the importance of public participation in planning.

(d) It is complete because it looks at multiple aspects of the PPC.

SECTION III: 5 Marks

Given below is an advertisement to appear in the local edition of ‘The Times of India’. Read it carefully and then answer the following questions based on your understanding of this passage:

Foreign Language Programme at IIT Kanpur

Apply NOW!

Anyone interested in learning a foreign language can apply to the FLP at IITK. The session will start in August 2015. Application forms are available from the DoSA office or online. Completed applications must be submitted in the DoSA office by 5pm on July 20, 2015. You have to attach proof of having passed your Class XIIth exam. There are limited seats. There is a non-refundable fee for this year-long programme which you have to submit after you have been admitted into the programme. Admission is on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you have any questions, contact the DoSA office at 123456.

1) Based on the information available within the given paragraph, what is the one incorrect claim made by the advertisement? Give reasons for your answer.

The claim that anyone is eligible to apply for FLP is incorrect because it is open only to those who have passed the 12th class.

2) Who is intended to be the primary audience for this advertisement?

(b) Kanpur city residents because it appears in the local newspaper.

3) Does the advertisement provide complete necessary information?

(b) No, it does not include information about the languages being taught under the FLP.

4) What categories of information does the advertisement try to provide?

(d) Admission Process for the Programme

5) Is the arrangement of information in the advertisement coherent?

(b) No, because the information related to the admission process does not follow a logical sequential order.

6) What form of expression has been used in the advertisement?

(b) An incoherent mixture of formal and informal language and modes of address.