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MID-SEMESTER EXAMINATION
SEMESTER I, ACADEMIC SESSION 2021/2022
DATE : DECEMBER 2021
DURATION : 1 HOUR
BIA3012
ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES
(BAHASA INGGERIS UNTUK KEPERLUAN AKADEMIK)
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SUMMARY
[40 marks]
Read the passage carefully. In a paragraph of about 120 words, summarise the benefits
of willpower and how it can be strengthened.
Whether it is giving up a bad habit, avoiding negative urges, sticking to a healthy
physical routine, or trying to achieve a set target at work---willpower is something essential
to achieve productivity in our lives. Everyone has struggled with lack of willpower at one
time or another, but fortunately, there are things we can do to strengthen this ability.
Willpower goes by many names: drive, determination, self-discipline, self-control,
resolve. At its simplest, willpower is the ability to control or restrain yourself, and the ability
to resist instant gratification in order to achieve long-term goals. According to the American
Psychological Association (APA), willpower can also be defined as the conscious, effortful
regulation of the self, by the self. There are some researchers who actually believe that
willpower is partly determined by genetics, too.
Willpower impacts every area of your life. It helps you accomplish a variety of
goals, from exercising to saving money. In fact, willpower may be even more important in
predicting success than IQ. Psychologist Walter Mischel's “marshmallow test” gives an indepth look at the relationship between willpower and success. The test went like this:
preschool-aged children are brought into a room and on the table is a bowl of
marshmallows. The children are then told that they can either eat one marshmallow right
away or wait 15 minutes and get two marshmallows.
Several years later, researchers tracked down these test subjects as adolescents.
They found that those who held out for more marshmallows had higher self-esteem,
achieved higher grades in their tests, managed stress more effectively, and performed
better in school. It was also found that these benefits seemed to extend well beyond
childhood and adolescence. Research shows that adults with high self-control are less
likely to abuse alcohol and other substances, they are able to have better relationships,
and they suffer fewer mental health problems, later on in life.
While many of us struggle with willpower and self-control, most people also seem
to believe that this is a skill that can be learned and strengthened. Fortunately, researchers
have also come to similar conclusions and suggest that there are many things you can do
to improve your self-control. Think of willpower as a muscle. Just like any other muscle,
willpower can be built up and strengthened with time and effort. Exercising your willpower
may also make it less vulnerable to being depleted.
Researchers found that creating simple but challenging tasks that require some
effort could actually help to train willpower. For example, using your left hand instead of
your right hand to open doors, or turning the light off every time you leave a room.
Engaging in these relatively easy tasks for a couple of weeks will sharpen your self-control
skills. Training your willpower can work wonders. But we must remember not to overdo it.
Another suggestion to improve willpower according to research, is to get enough
sleep. Bad sleeping habits (getting too little or too much sleep) will wear you out, both
physically and mentally. This, in turn, affects your ability to resist temptation. A review of
different studies found that sleep-deprived people are more likely to give in to impulses,
have less focus, and make risky decisions, hence, this will affect a person’s willpower.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, most adults need seven to nine hours of
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sleep each night to function at their best, thus, getting enough sleep is essential to
improving willpower.
In relation to getting better quality sleep, meditation was suggested as a powerful
way to increase willpower. Research shows that regular, mindful meditation can improve
your focus and self-control, even when you are not meditating. Meditation is something
you can do anywhere, at anytime, and even a 5-minute meditation session first thing in
the morning or during your lunch break is enough to get you started.
Another suggestion to improve willpower is to avoid temptations through constant
training and practice. It was found that the more you practice resisting your brain’s urge to
wander, the easier it will be to resist other temptations in your life as well. In Mischel's
classic marshmallow test, children who distracted themselves from the source of
temptation were able to resist it much longer than those who did not take their eyes off the
plate of treats. Some kids used techniques such as closing their eyes, while others turned
away and looked elsewhere. The kids who could not take their eyes off the treat, however,
were far more likely to give in.
When facing a temptation, whether it is the desire to eat, drink, or spend, try the
"out of sight, out of mind" tactic for better willpower; or better yet, physically remove the
temptation from your environment. If you cannot do that, then temporarily remove yourself
from the temptation. Hence, through constant practice, willpower can be trained like a
muscle, in order to be strengthened within oneself.
Adapted from: “Willpower: the Psychology of Self-Control”
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END OF QUESTION PAPER
Dicetak oleh:
Unit Peperiksaan dan Pengijazahan
Bahagian Pengurusan Akademik
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
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