Question Analysis + Comments From Miss Tann

Question Analysis + Comments from Miss Tann UE 2004 Section B: Question 1 1. Your school has received a donation of HK$1,000,000 and can spend it EITHER on one more MMLC (Multi-Media Learning Centre) OR on employing one more NET (Native English-speaking Teacher) for two years. As Chairperson of the Student Association, you have collected a variety of opinions from your schoolmates. Write a letter to your principal summarizing their different views for and against each option and making a recommendation on their behalf. Sign your letter ‘Chris Wong’. Do not write an address. Our analysis for UE 2004 Section B: Question 1 Type: Language: Format: From Miss Tann:

Argumentative Formal Letter to Principal I told you the Examinations and Assessment Authority will try to trick you by using different wording. In this case, making a recommendation means you have to express your view or give your opinion. It is just a simple piece of argumentative writing. If you got tricked by it, you failed to 活學活用. Also, you should be very familiar with the mechanics of such writing type as you are tested very often in your PSWS. But the most crucial point and unusual part to this topic is that you need to touch on ALL 4 AREAS of the topic or you will be missing out on some part of the content.

UE 2004 Section B: Question 2 2. Your school has decided to take part in a voluntary work project in one of two major areas: helping EITHER poor elderly people OR primary schoolchildren newly arrived from the mainland. Your class teacher is collecting opinions from the class in the form of essays written by the students. Write your own essay, outlining your personal preference and stating at least three reasons to support your choice. Give your essay a title. Our analysis for UE 2004 Section B: Question 2 Type: Language: Format: From Miss Tann:

Argumentative Formal Essay (a title is needed) Again, don’t be ticked by the different phrasing. Outlining your personal preference simply means giving your personal opinion. Don’t forget to back up your view with at least 3 reasons and don’t forget you have to write your opposing view.

UE 2004 Section B: Question 3 3. Your friend, Lucy Lau, has won a major singing competition and has been offered a recording contract. She has also been offered a place at the police training school to become a policewoman. She cannot decide which offer to accept and has written to ask your advice. Write a letter in reply advising her to accept the place as a police cadet and giving reasons why you feel that this would be a better career choice for her. Sign your letter ‘Chris Wong’. Do not write any address. Our analysis for UE 2004 Section B: Question 3 Type: Language: Format: From Miss Tann:

Persuasive Informal Letter to a friend Remember we did an exercise on writing Persuasive Letter to a friend in early November? We wrote about giving advice on whether he should continue to study at university or pursue his career as a rock band member. You are very, very well equipped to write about this as there are loads of vocabulary and phrases as well as different appeals (logical, emotional, ethical) that we had taught you that would be extremely useful for this question. Did you do your revision?

UE 2004 Section B: Question 4 4. Many teenagers have been strongly affected by advertisements promoting slimming products and programmes. Some now believe that they have to be slim to be beautiful and go to extreme and unreasonable lengths in an attempt to lose weight. You have just attended a talk on ‘Health and Beauty’ organised by the Department of Health. At the talk, a medical doctor, a social worker and an ex-patient recovering from an eating disorder spoke about the issue, drawing on their expertise and experience. Write an article for your school newspaper sharing what your learnt from each of the three speakers. Give your article a title. Our analysis for UE 2003 Section B: Question 4 Type: Language: Format: From Miss Tann:

Discursive Formal Article (with a title) If you just wrote about telling people or your friend the bad effects of losing weight in an INFORMAL way, you just fell into the trap of another “model-essay-tipping”. As I’ve mentioned in your last few lessons, ‘Slimming’ will be a hot topic but you have to be careful of ‘Which Aspect’ of ‘Slimming’ they want you to write about. In this article, you have to know enough about ‘eating disorder’ and you need to write about what you have learnt from: 3 experts ~ medical doctor Æ expertise Æ what advice? Æ experience Æ why give advice? ~ social worker Æ expertise Æ what advice? Æ experience Æ why? ~ ex-patient Æ expertise Æ what advice? Æ experience Æ why? If I were you, I wouldn’t rush in and write a discursive piece of writing cutting in at such a demanding aspect and requiring such specific information even if the tip came from the Examinations and Assessment Authority itself, never mind if Miss Tann did tell you how likely ‘Slimming’ will come up in your Section B. ‘Hot topic’? It sure is! Dangerous and untouchable? Definitely!