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ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION SECTION II Total time2 hours
Question 1 (Suggested time40 minutes. This question counts for one-third of the total essay section score.)
Many recent college graduates have faced record levels of unemployment. This situation has led people to question what they value about higher education. Some high school students and their parents are wondering if a college education is worth the cost. Others, however, believe that a college education prepares students for more than just a job or career.
Carefully read the following six sources, including the introductory information for each source. Then synthesize information from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed essay that evaluates whether college is worth its cost.
Your argument should be the focus of your essay. Use the sources to develop your argument and explain the reasoning for it. Avoid merely summarizing the sources. Indicate clearly which sources you are drawing from, whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. You may cite the sources as Source A, Source B, etc., or by using the descriptions in parentheses.
Source A (Crawford) Source B (Roth) Source C (chart) Source D (Leonhardt) Source E (Wieder) Source F (Pew)
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Source A Crawford, Matthew B. The Case for Working with Your Hands. New York Times Magazine. New York Times, 24 May 2009. Web. 19 Dec. 2011.
The following is excerpted from an article in the Sunday magazine section of a national newspaper.
High-school shop-class programs were widely dismantled in the 1990s as educators prepared students to become knowledge workers. The imperative of the last 20 years to round up every warm body and send it to college, then to the cubicle, was tied to a vision of the future in which we somehow take leave of material reality and glide about in a pure information economy. This has not come to pass. To begin with, such work often feels more enervating than gliding. More fundamentally, now as ever, somebody has to actually do things: fix our cars, unclog our toilets, build our houses.
When we praise people who do work that is straightforwardly useful, the praise often betrays an assumption that they had no other options. We idealize them as the salt of the earth and emphasize the sacrifice for others their work may entail. Such sacrifice does indeed occurthe hazards faced by a lineman restoring power during a storm come to mind. But what if such work answers as well to a basic human need of the one who does it? I take this to be the suggestion of Marge Piercys poem To Be of Use, which concludes with the lines the pitcher longs for water to carry/and a person for work that is real. Beneath our gratitude for the lineman may rest envy.
This seems to be a moment when the useful arts have an especially compelling economic rationale. A car mechanics trade association reports that repair shops have seen their business jump significantly in the current recession: people arent buying new cars; they are fixing the ones they have. The current downturn is likely to pass eventually. But there are also systemic changes in the economy, arising from information technology, that have the surprising effect of making the manual tradesplumbing, electrical work, car repairmore attractive as careers. The Princeton economist Alan Blinder argues that the crucial distinction in the emerging labor market is not between those with more or less education, but between those whose services can be delivered over a wire and those who must do their work in person or on site. The latter will find their livelihoods more secure against outsourcing to distant countries. As Blinder puts it, You cant hammer a nail over the Internet. Nor can the Indians fix your car. Because they are in India.
If the goal is to earn a living, then, maybe it isnt really true that 18-year-olds need to be imparted with a sense of panic about getting into college (though they certainly need to learn). Some people are hustled off to college, then to the cubicle, against their own inclinations and natural bents, when they would rather be learning to build things or fix things. One shop teacher suggested to me that in schools, we create artificial learning environments for our children that they know to be contrived and undeserving of their full attention and engagement. Without the opportunity to learn through the hands, the world remains abstract and distant, and the passions for learning will not be engaged.
The Case for Working with Your Hands by Matthew B. Crawford from Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work, copyright 2009 by Matthew B. Crawford. Used by permission. 2014 AP
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS
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Source B Roth, Michael. Whats a Liberal Arts Education Good For? Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 1 Dec. 2008. Web. 20 Dec. 2011.
The following is excerpted from an online article by the president of a liberal arts university.
Rather than pursuing business, technical or vocational training, some students (and their families) opt for a well-rounded learning experience. Liberal learning introduces them to books and the music, the science and the philosophy that form disciplined yet creative habits of mind that are not reducible to the material circumstances of ones life (though they may depend on those circumstances). There is a promise of freedom in the liberal arts education offered by Americas most distinctive, selective, and demanding institutions; and it is no surprise that their graduates can be found disproportionately in leadership positions in politics, culture and the economy. . . .
What does liberal learning have to do with the harsh realities that our graduates are going to face after college? The development of the capacities for critical inquiry associated with liberal learning can be enormously practical because they become resources on which to draw for continual learning, for making decisions in ones life, and for making a difference in the world. Given the pace of technological and social change, it no longer makes sense to devote four years of higher education entirely to specific skills. Being ready on DAY ONE, may have sounded nice on the campaign trail, but being able to draw on ones education over a lifetime is much more practical (and precious). Post secondary education should help students to discover what they love to do, to get better at it, and to develop the ability to continue learning so that they become agents of changenot victims of it.
A successful liberal arts education develops the capacity for innovation and for judgment. Those who can image how best to reconfigure existing resources and project future results will be the shapers of our economy and culture. We seldom get to have all the information we would like, but still we must act. The habits of mind developed in a liberal arts context often result in combinations of focus and flexibility that make for intelligent, and sometimes courageous risk taking for critical assessment of those risks. . . .
Americas great universities and colleges must continue to offer a rigorous and innovative liberal arts education. A liberal education remains a resource years after graduation because it helps us to address problems and potential in our lives with passion, commitment and a sense of possibility. A liberal education teaches freedom by example, through the experience of free research, thinking and expression; and ideally, it inspires us to carry this example, this experience of meaningful freedom, from campus to community.
The American model of liberal arts education emphasizes freedom and experimentation as tools for students to develop meaningful ways of working after graduation. Many liberal arts students become innovators and productive risk takers, translating liberal arts ideals into effective, productive work in the world. That is what a liberal education is good for.
President Michael S. Roth Wesleyan University Huffington Post 2014 AP
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The following is from an online article published by a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that aims to broaden discussions about economic policy to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers.
As college students head back to the classroom this semester, a harsh reality confronts themthe rewards for the time, energy, and money that young people put into college are less than they were a decade ago. Since 2000, Americas young college graduates have seen wages, adjusted for inflation, deteriorate. This lack of wage growth may be particularly surprising to those used to reading about the vast unfilled need for college graduates, which if true would lead to increases in their earnings. The chart below tracks the average inflation-adjusted hourly wage for young college graduates with no advanced degree from 1979 to 2010.
After gains in the 1980s and particularly in the 1990s, hourly wages for young college-educated men in 2000 were $22.75, but that dropped by almost a full dollar to $21.77 by 2010. For young college-educated women, hourly wages fell from $19.38 to $18.43 over the same period. Now, with unemployment expected to remain above 8% well into 2014, it will likely be many years before young college graduatesor any workerssee substantial wage growth.
Source: EPIs analysis of the Current Population Survey, Outgoing Relations Group. Taken from New college grads losing ground on wages by Heidi Shierholz, copyright 2011 by Economic Policy Institute. Used by permission. Source C Shierholz, Heidi. New college grads losing ground on wages. Economic Policy Institute. Economic Policy Institute, 31 Aug. 2011. Web. 20 Dec. 2011. 2014 AP
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Source D Leonhardt, David. Even for Cashiers, College Pays Off. New York Times. New York Times, 25 June 2011. Web. 20 Dec. 2011.
The following is excerpted from an online article in a national newspaper.
The evidence is overwhelming that college is a better investment for most graduates than in the past. A new study even shows that a bachelors degree pays off for jobs that dont require one: secretaries, plumbers and cashiers. And, beyond money, education seems to make people happier and healthier. Sending more young Americans to college is not a panacea, says David Autor, an M.I.T. economist who studies the labor market. Not sending them to college would be a disaster. The most unfortunate part of the case against college is that it encourages children, parents and schools to aim low. For those families on the fenceoften deciding whether a student will be the first to attendthe skepticism becomes one more reason to stop at high school. Only about 33 percent of young adults get a four-year degree today, while another 10 percent receive a two-year degree. So its important to dissect the anti-college argument, piece by piece. It obviously starts with money. Tuition numbers can be eye-popping, and student debt has increased significantly. But there are two main reasons college costs arent usually a problem for those who graduate. First, many colleges are not very expensive, once financial aid is taken into account. Average net tuition and fees at public four-year colleges this past year were only about $2,000 (though Congress may soon cut federal financial aid). Second, the returns from a degree have soared. Three decades ago, full-time workers with a bachelors degree made 40 percent more than those with only a high-school diploma. Last year, the gap reached 83 percent. College graduates, though hardly immune from the downturn, are also far less likely to be unemployed than non-graduates. Skeptics like to point out that the income gap isnt rising as fast as it once was, especially for college graduates who dont get an advanced degree. But the gap remains enormousand bigger than ever. Skipping college because the pace of gains has slowed is akin to skipping your heart medications because the pace of medical improvement isnt what it used to be. The Hamilton Project, a research group in Washington, has just finished a comparison of college with other investments. It found that college tuition in recent decades has delivered an inflation-adjusted annual return of more than 15 percent. For stocks, the historical return is 7 percent. For real estate, its less than 1 percent. Another study being released this weekendby Anthony Carnevale and Stephen J. Rose of Georgetownbreaks down the college premium by occupations and shows that college has big benefits even in many fields where a degree is not crucial. Construction workers, police officers, plumbers, retail salespeople and secretaries, among others, make significantly more with a degree than without one. Why? Education helps people do higher-skilled work, get jobs with better- paying companies or open their own businesses.
From The New York Times, 6/25/2011 2011 The New York Times. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited. 2014 AP
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The following is excerpted from an online article in a publication for college and university faculty members and administrators.
The winners were announced today for a new fellowship that has sparked heated debate in academic circles for questioning the value of higher education and suggesting that some entrepreneurial students may be better off leaving college.
Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, will pay each of the 24 winners of his Thiel Fellowship $100,000 not to attend college for two years and to develop business ideas instead.
The fellows, all 20 years old or younger, will leave institutions including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University, to work with a network of more than 100 Silicon Valley mentors and further develop their ideas in areas such as biotechnology, education, and energy. . . .
At least one student initially chosen as a Thiel fellow, however, ended up turning down the deal, opting to continue her traditional education by accepting admission at MIT.
Mr. Thiel said he had expected some applicants would decide to stay on their academic track.
He admits he probably wouldnt have applied for a program like the Thiel Fellowship when he was a student in the 1980s either.
Mr. Thiel studied philosophy at Stanford in the 1980s and later completed law school there, but he now wishes he had given more thought to the educational decisions he made and their implications.
Instead, it was just this default activity, he said.
Questioning the Value of College The fellowship seeks to help winners develop their ideas more quickly than they would at a traditional university. Its broader aim goes beyond helping the 24 winners, by raising big questions about the state of higher education.
Mr. Thiel ignited controversy when he told TechCrunch in April that he sees higher education as the next bubble, comparable to previously overvalued markets in technology and housing.
Both cost and demand for a college education have grown significantly in the years since Mr. Thiel was a student. He sees that rise as irrational.
Students today are taking on more debt, and recently tightened bankruptcy laws make it more difficult to shake that debt, he argues, and those factors make higher education a risky investment. If you get this wrong, its actually a mistake thats hard to undo for the rest of your life, he said.
Critics contend that even so, Thiels advice to leave school and develop a business is applicable only to a tiny fraction of students and that Thiels own success, aided by business relationships forged during his days at Stanford, argues against leaving school.
But Thiel is convinced that the social pressure for students to pursue lower-risk trajectories in their career choices will lead to less innovation in the future. Copyright 2011 The Chronicle of Higher Education. Reprinted with permission. 2014 AP
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Source F Pew Social & Demographic Trends. Executive Summary. Is College Worth It? Pew Research Center, 15 May 2011. Web. 20 Dec. 2011.
The following is excerpted from a 2011 report on a national survey of 2,142 adults ages 18 and older.
Here is a summary of key findings: Survey of the General Public
Cost and Value. A majority of Americans (57%) say the higher education system in the United States fails to provide students with good value for the money they and their families spend. An even larger majority 75%says college is too expensive for most Americans to afford. At the same time, however, an overwhelming majority of college graduates86%say that college has been a good investment for them personally. Monetary Payoff. Adults who graduated from a four-year college believe that, on average, they are earning $20,000 more a year as a result of having gotten that degree. Adults who did not attend college believe that, on average, they are earning $20,000 a year less as a result. These matched estimates by the public are very close to the median gap in annual earnings between a high school and college graduate as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2010: $19,550. A more detailed Pew Research Center analysis . . . shows that this gap varies by type of degree and field of study. Student Loans. A record share of students are leaving college with a substantial debt burden, and among those who do, about half (48%) say that paying off that debt made it harder to pay other bills; a quarter say it has made it harder to buy a home (25%); and about a quarter say it has had an impact on their career choices (24%). Why Not College? Nearly every parent surveyed (94%) says they expect their child to attend college, but even as college enrollments have reached record levels, most young adults in this country still do not attend a four-year college. The main barrier is financial. Among adults ages 18 to 34 who are not in school and do not have a bachelors degree, two-thirds say a major reason for not continuing their education is the need to support a family. Also, 57% say they would prefer to work and make money; and 48% say they cant afford to go to college. Split Views of College Mission. Just under half of the public (47%) says the main purpose of a college education is to teach work-related skills and knowledge, while 39% say it is to help a student grow personally and intellectually; the remainder volunteer that both missions are equally important. College graduates place more emphasis on intellectual growth; those who are not college graduates place more emphasis on career preparation. For Most College Graduates, Missions Accomplished. Among survey respondents who graduated from a four-year college, 74% say their college education was very useful in helping them grow intellectually; 69% say it was very useful in helping them grow and mature as a person; and 55% say it was very useful in helping them prepare for a job or career. Above All, Character. While Americans value college, they value character even more. Asked what it takes for a young person to succeed in the world, 61% say a good work ethic is extremely important and 57% say the same about knowing how to get along with people. Just 42% say the same about a college education. 2014 AP
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Question 2 (Suggested time40 minutes. This question counts for one-third of the total essay section score.) In the following letter, Abigail Adams (17441818) writes to her son John Quincy Adams, who is traveling abroad with his father, John Adams, a United States diplomat and later the countrys second president. Read the letter carefully. Then, in a well-developed essay, analyze the rhetorical strategies Adams uses to advise her son. Support your analysis with specific references to the text.
12 January, 1780.
MY DEAR SON,
I hope you have had no occasion, either from enemies or the dangers of the sea, to repent your second voyage to France. If I had thought your reluctance arose from proper deliberation, or that you were capable of judging what was most for your own 5 Line benefit, I should not have urged you to accompany your father and brother when you appeared so averse to the voyage. You, however, readily submitted to my advice, and, I hope, will never have occasion yourself, nor 10 give me reason, to lament it. Your knowledge of the language must give you greater advantages now than you could possibly have reaped whilst ignorant of it; and as you increase in years, you will find your understanding opening and daily improving. 15 Some author, that I have met with, compares a judicious traveller to a river, that increases its stream the further it flows from its source; or to certain springs, which, running through rich veins of minerals, improve their qualities as they pass along. 20 It will be expected of you, my son, that, as you are favored with superior advantages under the instructive eye of a tender parent, your improvement should bear some proportion to your advantages. Nothing is wanting with you but attention, diligence, and steady 25 application. Nature has not been deficient. These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. Would Cicero have shone so distinguished an orator if 30 he had not been roused, kindled, and inflamed by the tyranny of Catiline, Verres, and Mark Anthony? The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. All history will convince you of this, and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of 35 experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities, which would otherwise lie dormant, wake into life and form the character of the 40 hero and the statesman. War, tyranny, and desolation are the scourges of the Almighty, and ought no doubt to be deprecated. Yet it is your lot, my son, to be an eyewitness of these calamities in your own native land, and, at the same time, to owe your existence 45 among a people who have made a glorious defence of their invaded liberties, and who, aided by a generous and powerful ally, with the blessing of Heaven, will transmit this inheritance to ages yet unborn. Nor ought it to be one of the least of your 50 incitements towards exerting every power and faculty of your mind, that you have a parent who has taken so large and active a share in this contest, and discharged the trust reposed in him with so much satisfaction as to be honored with the important embassy which at 55 present calls him abroad. The strict and inviolable regard you have ever paid to truth, gives me pleasing hopes that you will not swerve from her dictates, but add justice, fortitude, and every manly virtue which can adorn a good 60 citizen, do honor to your country, and render your parents supremely happy, particularly your ever affectionate mother,
A. A.
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS
Question 3 (Suggested time40 minutes. This question counts for one-third of the total essay section score.) Authors Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman published The Creativity Crisis in Newsweek.com in July 2010. They reported that the Torrance Test, a test of creativity that has been administered to millions of people worldwide in 50 languages, indicates that the publics creativity quotient has steadily crept downward since 1990. In their article, Bronson and Merryman cite the claim of Professor Kyung Hee Kim at the College of William and Mary: Its very clear, and the decrease is very significant. Kim reports that it is the scores of younger children in Americafrom kindergarten through sixth gradefor whom the decline is most serious. Bronson and Merryman state that [t]he potential consequences are sweeping. The necessity of human ingenuity is undisputed. A recent IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 leadership competency of the future. Yet its not just about sustaining our nations economic growth. All around us are matters of national and international importance that are crying out for creative solutions, from saving the Gulf of Mexico to bringing peace to Afghanistan to delivering health care. Such solutions emerge from a healthy marketplace of ideas, sustained by a populace constantly contributing original ideas and receptive to the ideas of others. One possible approach to this reputed decline in creativity is to explicitly teach creative thinking in school. Write to your school board explaining what you mean by creativity and arguing for or against the creation of a class in creativity. STOP END OF EXAM 2014 The College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.org. -10-
Excerpt From "Higher Education in America" by Derek Bok. Copyright 2013 by Derek Bok. Reprinted Here by Permission of Princeton University Press 2013. All Rights Reserved.