110 Sample Exam PDF
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University of Ghana
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This is a sample exam paper covering academic writing, essay structure and paragraphing The paper includes various sections with questions on these topics, including a passage analysis section and a proofreading component.
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Answer all the questions. Total Marks: 50 Time allotted: 2 Hours SECTION A: DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF ACADEMIC WRITING [20 MARKS] Closely read the pair of paragraphs below — Passage A and Passage B — and answer the questions that follow them. Passage A I won’t be the least surprised if you are q...
Answer all the questions. Total Marks: 50 Time allotted: 2 Hours SECTION A: DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF ACADEMIC WRITING [20 MARKS] Closely read the pair of paragraphs below — Passage A and Passage B — and answer the questions that follow them. Passage A I won’t be the least surprised if you are quick to agree with me, since you may know as much as I do, that there are plenty banks in Ghana. What pains me is that not many of them are standard. Any wonder then that there is a collapse of a number of them of late? Yet many more remain. Because these banks are many and they all want the same people to bank with them, they often fight among themselves to get us. They make use of different tactics like making juicy offers, some of which are foxy. Some reduce charges; some make some of their services like alerts free; some offer very big interest rates; others make deceivingly attractive ads, very cool ones; others erect expensive buildings with murderously beautiful offices. They will do everything to win the guys or dudes they call ‘customers’, and that includes you and me. Passage B Pursuant to a rise in the number of banks and banking institutions in Ghana, financial institutions can hardly help but enter into competition with one another for the same publics (Opoku, 2019). As Agyekum-Andoh (2022) observes, the recourse left in such a situation is the rolling out of both discursive and non-discursive strategies to win new clients and sustain the loyalty of existing ones. The non-discursive approaches include offering lower charges or waving some charges, higher returns on savings and investments, ease and flexibility in account opening and maintenance, technological advancement, better customer service and sumptuous buildings and office spaces among others. These offers are obviously appealing. But there are some not so direct means of persuasion such as through the tactical deployment of attitudinal linguistic resources. These constitute the discursive strategies. Although these strategies are not as overt as the non-discursive approaches, they are equally effective in winning clients for the competing banks. 1) a. Which of the two passages above do you consider to be a good example of academic writing? [2 marks] b. With evidence from your chosen passage, explain three (3) reasons for your answer in 1a. [9 marks] c. Explain three (3) reasons why you do not consider the other text as a good example of academic writing. [9 marks] SECTION B: ESSAY STRUCTURE, PARAGRAPHING & ITS PRINCIPLES [20 MARKS] Closely read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow it. Indigenous Ghanaian culture, customary law and what is known in nature are not the only bases for discountenancing this practice; the major religions of the world, namely Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are also seriously against homosexuality, transgender, and the like. In fact, it is an abomination in Christianity, and Ghana is, to a large extent, dominated by Christianity. Do you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and their destruction? Why were they destroyed? Leviticus 18: 22 categorically condemns homosexuality, describing it as, “it is abomination”, which is why they were destroyed. It does not matter the change in time and generations, God does not, has not, and will not change. Although in the name of modernity, even these major religions may make compromises when pressured by the world, like the way in America some ministers of God are being forced to accept same sex marriage, as far as God is concerned, His standard has not changed; and, as a matter of fact, it will bend for no one. As a nation, we may be doing things that God is not too proud of already; we do not want to add on to this by legitimising LGBTQ+ practices which God has declared an abomination. 2) a. What type of paragraph is this in the structure of an academic essay? [2 marks] b. Justify your answer to question 2a by describing the structure and development of this paragraph as a basis for your conclusion on its paragraph type. [9 marks] c. Comment on the status of the paragraph with reference to the application of the principles of paragraphing taught in this course. [9 marks] SECTION C: POST-WRITING (PROOFREADING & EDITING) [10 MARKS] 3) The passage below contains some errors; proofread it and rewrite the paragraph in your answer booklet as you correct the errors identified. Underline your corrections in the re-written paragraph. Additionally a responsible press which gathers, analyses, organises, presents, and disseminates information is considered vital to create greater public awareness and to provide the momentum for undertaking reforms to overcome corruption. Secretiveness, among other things, have being a key factor that has enabled public officials and politicians to get away with corruption. A responsible and an investigative press has played, and continues to play, an important role in many countries. Both developed and developing countries, in exposing misconduct as well as in serving as a watchdog to limit corruption and prevent it from getting out of hand. The press has not always acted in a responsible manner, like everything else in this world, it is not perfect. Nevertheless, its power to limit misconduct and improper behaviour should not be underestimated. [10 Marks]