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MINISTERIAL EXAMINATION OF COLLEGE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AND LITERATURE

WRITING GUIDELINES

18 December 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 Himmelfarb's essay and structure your essay around a thesis statement which expresses your understanding of her arguments. Be sure to make appropriate references to her text and to comment on the techniques and devices* she uses to support her position.

Text :  “A Neo-Luddite Reflects on the Internet” by Gertrude Himmelfarb

Reference : 

Himmelfarb, Gertrude. “A Neo–Luddite Reflects on the Internet.” In Reader's Choice, Third Canadian Edition, edited by K. Flachmann, M. Flachmann, and A. MacLennan, 147-150. Scarborough, ON: Prentice Hall Allyn and Bacon, 2000.


READING 2: A short story

Identify a main idea in Darby'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 :  “Italian” by Stephanie Darby

Reference : 

Darby, Stephanie. “Italian.” Canadian Fiction Magazine 72 (1990): 158?161.


READING 3: An essay

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

Text :  “A Fragile Freedom” by Julius Grey

Reference : 

Grey, Julius. “A Fragile Freedom.” The Gazette 12 January 2002: B5.


* 

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


© Gouvernement du Québec, 2009