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MINISTERIAL EXAMINATION OF COLLEGE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AND LITERATURE

WRITING GUIDELINES

15 May 2002


Write a 750-word essay that explores a main idea in one of the three readings. Your essay should include an interpretation of the reading and discussion of the ways in which the author develops his/her ideas. Make sure that your essay does more than simply summarize the reading; make sure, as well, that you write the required number of words.



READING 1: An essay

Identify a main idea in Hoagland's essay and structure your essay around a thesis statement which expresses your understanding of his observations. Be sure to make appropriate references to his text and to comment on the techniques and devices* he uses to support his position.

Text :  “Howling Back at the Wolves” by Edward Hoagland

Reference : 

Hoagland, Edward. “Howling Back at the Wolves”. In Literature and Nature, edited by Bridget Keegan and James C. McKusick, 1029-1034. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001. (First published in The Edward Hoagland Reader edited Geoffrey Wolff, 1968).


READING 2: An essay

Identify a main idea in Thomas's essay and structure your essay around a thesis statement which expresses your understanding of his observations. Be sure to make appropriate references to his text and to comment on the techniques and devices* he uses to support his position.

Text :  “Seven Wonders” by Lewis Thomas

Reference : 

Thomas, Lewis. “Seven Wonders”. In The Fourth Genre, edited by Robert L. Root and Michael Steinberg, 207-211. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. (Fisrt published in Late Thoughts on Listening to Mahler's Ninth Symphony by Lewis Thomas, 1983).


READING 3: A short story

Identify a main idea in Simmie's short story and structure your essay around a thesis statement which expresses your interpretation of her story. Be sure to make appropriate references to the reading and to comment on her use of techniques and devices.*

Text :  “Emily” by Lois Simmie

Reference : 

Simmie, Lois. “Emily”. In The Last Map is the Hearth: An Anthology-Western Canadian Fiction, edited by A. Forrie, P. O'Rourke, and G. Sorestad, 256-262. Saskatoon: Thistledown Press, 1989. (First published in Pictures, 1984).


* 

Techniques and devices may include the following: narration, description, dialogue, analogy, example, contrast, setting, narrative point of view, comparison, characterization, irony, tone, symbolism, imagery, simile, metaphor, repetition, diction, and level of language. You may be familiar with others as well.


© Gouvernement du Québec, 2009