Proficiency Exam

Directions:

--Read the essay “College Pressures” by William Zinsser
-Read the five prompts and respond only to one prompt.
-Write an essay response of at least five to eight (5-8) paragraphs. Use reasons and examples to support your stand.

Essay Prompts:

Essay Prompt 1
Zinsser writes as if all students are the same - panicky, overwrought, and materialistic. Take a position counter to his and write an essay explaining that campuses contain many students different from those Zinsser writes about. To support your point, categorize students into types, giving examples of what each type is like. Be sure that the categories you identify refute Zinsser’s analysis of the typical student.

Essay Prompt 2
Is economic security the only kind of satisfaction that college students should pursue? Write an essay classifying the various kinds of satisfaction that students could aim for. At the end of the essay, include brief recommendation about ways that students could best spend their time preparing for these different kinds of satisfaction.

Essay Prompt 3
Using Zinsser’s analysis of the pressures on college students, write an essay explaining how these pressures can be reduced or eliminated. Give practical suggestions showing how students can avoid or get around the pressures. Also, indicate what society, parents, and college staff can do to help ease students’ anxieties.

Essay Prompt 4
Zinsser‘s essay indicates that today’s students are “slotting” themselves into preordained careers and not leaving themselves open to later opportunities. Write an essay arguing that this tendency to specialize early in college is either beneficial or disastrous for students. Consider such issues as individual freedom, career confusion, changing job markets, changes in society, and the like. In making your argument, consider the effects on students of earlier specialization.

Essay Prompt 5
Many students feel pressured by college graduation requirements. Do you? What courses are you required to take that you wouldn’t ordinarily choose? What courses would you like to take but don’t have time for? Should colleges require students to take courses that aren’t part of their majors? Why or Why not?

Write an essay arguing in favor of or against the policy of requiring college students to take courses outside their major field.

A title page is probably unnecessary.

-Place your name, date, and course number at the top left side of the first page.
-Place your last name and page number in the upper right corner of every page beginning with page two.
-Never use the back of a sheet of paper; staple additional sheets at the upper left-hand corner.

Double-space all typing in all documents.

A serif typing font should be used (Times, Times Roman, or Times New Roman in a 12-point font size). Cursive scripts are forbidden.

Never mix font styles.

Don't use anything fancy and avoid the non-serif fonts (except for titles and subtitles, if you have any), as they can become difficult to read after a while.

Use one-inch margins (or a bit more, never less), all the way around the edge of your text. Do not use justified margins (even right margins), even though your word-processor makes that look really nifty.
Justified margins tend to create some word-divisions and spacing that are not appropriate.

Use plain, white, 8 1/2- by 11-inch paper. If you use tractor-fed paper, use only laser-cut paper and carefully remove the fringes. (But it is definitely time for a new printer!)

Use plain black printing off a good laser or bubble-jet printer. Dot-matrix printing is acceptable if the copy is strong and dark; otherwise, take your disc into a computer lab where you can print your paper using a better printer.

Spacing: With modern word-processors, it is a good idea to get into the habit of using only one space after a period, question mark, semicolon, colon, etc. Word-processors will allow for the appropriate spacing. A double-space can actually do weird things, especially if your margin is justified (which is probably not a good idea). If you have any questions about this, ask your instructor (some of whom learned to space their typing on ancient typewriters and still use double-spacing after periods). Spacing around quotation marks and parentheses can raise questions. The most important rule you must remember about quotation marks is that in the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks regardless of logic.

(Titles can be important. If you can't think of a good title, it might mean that your paper has no real focus. Capitalize the first, last, and important words of your title. A title can end in a question mark or exclamation mark, but it cannot end in a period. (This is different from usage in other languages.)

You might use quotation marks in a title if it refers to someone else's title (of a poem, say), but do not put quotation marks around your own title (e.g., Robert Frost's "Design" could be your title, but not "Robert Frost's 'Design'.").

Please do not use plastic binders; they're cumbersome and a waste of money. Plastic folders just get in the way when it's time to grade the papers.

Evidence of careful re-reading and editing here and there (a last-minute correction done neatly with pen) is permissible; sloppiness is not. Last-minute corrections can be accomplished on a word-processor, and your paper ought to be nearly perfect when you hand it in.