ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS 20-2
January 2004
Mrs. Adolf
Description
Instructions
Part A: Written Response contributes
50% of the total ELA 20-2 Final
Examination mark and consists of three
assignments:
Read the whole examination carefully before you
begin to write.
- Follow instructions carefully.
- Complete all three assignments.
Visual Reflection
Suggested time
30 minutes
Value
20 marks
Literary Exploration
Suggested time
75 minutes
Value
50 marks
Persuasive Writing in Context
Suggested time
Value
45 minutes
30 marks
- You may use the following print references:
- a dictionary
- a thesaurus
- Communicate!
- Budget your time carefully; the suggested time
for each part is only a guideline for you.
- Format your work using
Times New Roman 12-point font
- Time: 2½ hours. You may take an additional ½
hour to complete the examination.
Save your exam as ELA202FINALsurname
Please enter this label in the subject box of your email as well.
Please print this document.
Do not write your final exam answers in the body of this assignments document.
Complete all three written assignments of this exam in the answer document open on your
computer.
SECTION I: VISUAL REFLECTION
(Suggested time: 30 minutes)
Examine the photograph below.
Consider how the composition of the photograph communicates a main idea.
THE ASSIGNMENT
What idea does the photograph communicate to you?
Support your response by referring to specific details from the photograph.
Your composition must be at least ten sentences long.
Note: You may respond from a personal, critical, and/or creative perspective.
In your writing, you should
• select a prose form that is appropriate to the ideas you wish to express and that will enable
you to effectively communicate to the reader
• discuss ideas and impressions that are meaningful to you
• consider how you can create a strong unifying effect
• consider the details in the photograph
• identity a main idea communicate by the photograph
Complete your assignment in the answer document,
and not in this one, containing the photo.
SECTION II: LITERARY EXPLORATION
(Suggested Time: 75 minutes)
Read the following excerpt and complete the writing assignment.
The narrator in this excerpt recounts the last day of his summer job as a member of a forest fire
crew at a remote ranger station in Montana. His boss, Bill Bell, owned the string of pack horses
that was used to carry supplies and equipment into mountainous regions.
from USFS 1919: THE RANGER, THE COOK, AND A HOLE IN THE SKY
Nowadays you can scarcely be a lookout without a uniform and a college degree, but in 1919
not a man in our outfit, least of all the ranger himself, had been to college. They still picked rangers
for the Forest Service by picking the toughest guy in town. Ours, Bill Bell, was the toughest in the
Bitterroot Valley, and we thought he was the best ranger in the Forest Service. . . .
. . . Bill threw the canvas manty over the load and each of us smoothed out his side of it. Bill
asked, tossing the cinch to me under the horse, "What'r you going to do next summer?" Until I
heard my answer tremble, I did not know how long I had been waiting for the question. "Nothing
yet," I answered.
"Let's tie a double diamond¹ on this last load," he suggested. "Fine," I said. "How would you like
to work for me next summer?" he asked.
I went looking for words like "privilege" and "honor" and ended with, "It's a deal."
"It's a deal," he replied. "I'll write you early in the spring."
"When I get here next spring," I said, hidden by my side of the horse, "I'll date that girl with all
the freckles."
"She's nice," he said, "real nice."
"I know," I said.
Suddenly I realized I had been scared for a long time, because suddenly I wasn't scared any
more. I had been scared ever since I had started getting in trouble with Bill, but didn't dare admit it
to myself. I don't believe I was ever afraid he would take a punch at me, because I don't believe I
ever thought he would. I was scared because I had to lose something I wanted to be like and yet
wanted to keep when the trouble was over.
On our last load of the summer, we threw the double diamond, and Bill was ready to go. He
didn't tie his string together-he had picked his best horses, and they would trail each other.
We stood beside Big Moose, his giant saddle horse. We stood close together and never said a
word. Then he turned slightly, twisted his stirrup, and with his back to me started a 180-degree
swing into the saddle. When he completed his semicircle, he was looking down at me from the sky.
From my angle below I could see right up the barrel of his .45 and up his nostrils rimmed with dry
blood.
"I'll be seein' you," he said.
Continued
¹double diamond-system of knots designed to secure a load on a pack horse
"Me, too," I answered, but didn't quite know what I meant.
I let down the bars of the corral, and the moment the outfit was on the road each assumed his
own character and collectively all became Bill's string. Big Moose immediately hit his five-mile-anhour stride; dark brown and mooselike, with head thrown back, he coasted on slipperlike feet. You
wouldn't realize he was covering five miles an hour until you noticed that the other horses . . . .
would drop behind when they walked and every now and then had to trot to catch up. . . .
. . . Bill studied his horses almost to the turn. Then he must have stood up in his stirrups, for
suddenly he took off his hat and gave me a big wave, and I stood on the middle rail of the corral
and gave him a big wave back. . . .
I had the promise that I could work for him again. I was only seventeen, and I hoped more than
ever that someday I would become a packer.
Then the string swung to the left and trotted in a line toward Blodgett Canyon, with a speck of a
dog to the side faithfully keeping always the same distance from the horses. Gradually, the trotting
dog and horses became generalized into creeping animals and the one to the side became a
speck and those in a line became just a line. Slowly the line disintegrated into pieces and
everything floated up and away in dust and all that settled out was one dot, like Morse code.² The
dot must have been Morse code for a broad back and a black hat. After a while, the sunlight itself
became disembodied.³ There was just nothing at all to sunlight, and the mouth of Blodgett Canyon
was just nothing but a gigantic hole in the sky.
"The Big Sky," as we say in Montana.
Although I had no way of knowing it at the time, I was never to cross the Bitterroot Mountains
again. When early spring came, I was offered a job for the summer with the engineering
department of the Forest Service on a mapping crew that was going to work in the Kootenai Forest.
For a long time I wondered why by the spring of 1920 it seemed to me that having a different and
more professional job in a different part of the woods was better than working again for Bill Bell,
and I think the: answer has something to do about my becoming eighteen. I was very conscious of
becoming eighteen.
So I was never to see Bill Bell or any of the other men again. Or the girl my age from Darby.
When the dot of Morse code disappeared into the sky, another Summer Crew of the United States
Forest Service had come and gone forever.
Everything that was to happen had happened and everything that was to be seen had gone. It
was now one of those moments when nothing remains but an opening in the sky and a story-and
maybe something of a poem. Anyway, as you possibly remember, there are these lines in front of
the story:
And then he thinks he knows
The hills where his life rose. . .
These words are now part of the story.
Norman Maclean
²Morse code - a sequence of dots and dashes, representing the alphabet and numbers, used to transmit messages
³disembodied - without body, immaterial, diffused
THE ASSIGNMENT
In this excerpt, the narrator suggests that our experiences can provide us with the confidence to try
something new.
Write an essay based on the excerpt and on literature you have studied
where characters encounter events which change them.
What is your opinion of the idea that confidence can provide a basis for
change in our lives?
In your writing, you must
• consider the details in this excerpt
• select supporting examples from literature or film that you have studied
Our own observations and experiences are useful in understanding why people act the way they
do. Therefore, in your writing, you may also use your own relevant experiences and/or
observations to support your ideas.
Suggestions for Writing
• Select literary examples that are relevant to this assignment and interesting to you from
the short stories, novel, play, poetry, non-fiction, or film that you have studied in ELA 10-2
this semester. You should focus your discussion on a particular character or situation from
the literature you have studied. You may choose your examples from more than one
selection.
• Organize your discussion so that your ideas are clearly and effectively presented. Make
sure that the examples and details that you select are relevant and support your idea(s)
about the ways that individuals respond to difficult or challenging situations.
Present your ideas in PROSE.
Complete your assignment in the answer document,
and not in this one, containing the readings.
SECTION III: PERSUASIVE WRITING IN CONTEXT
(Suggested Time: 45 minutes)
Read the situation described below and use it to complete the writing assignment that follows.
THE SITUATION
Mr. Nick Gordon, president of the Nalwen Business Association, has proposed that businesses
should not hire students for part-time work if they do not maintain a high school average greater
than 75%. Students learned of Mr. Gordon's proposal through his letter to the editor of The Nalwen
News (see following page). The Nalwen Business Association has learned that the Nalwen High
School Students' Union is strongly opposed to the proposal and has invited a student
representative to speak at their next meeting.
You are Pat Jones, the Grade 11 representative on the Nalwen Students' Union. You have been
chosen to write and deliver a speech to persuade the members of the Nalwen Business
Association to either accept OR reject Mr. Gordon's proposal.
You have asked Anita Collins, the NHS Guidance Counsellor, to give you her opinion on the
benefits of part-time work. She has responded by e-mail (see following page). The Students' Union
executive surveyed Nalwen High School students regarding their employment and academic
performance and has posted the results of their survey on the web (see following page).
THE ASSIGNMENT
Write a speech to the Nalwen Business Association to
persuade its members to ACCEPT or REJECT the proposal to hire only
those students with an average greater than 75%.
In preparing your speech, BE SURE TO
– consider your purpose and audience
– study the information below and use it to write a persuasive speech
– use an appropriate tone
Remember that you must clearly and directly
choose to either accept or reject the proposal.
Remember this is a speech, not a letter. Do not sign your speech.
Continued
The Nalwen News
January 10,
2004
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A Modest Proposal
Young people today are exposed to
strong messages to consume, to
purchase, and to acquire. In an affluent
society, nothing seems more important
than the jingle of coins in our pockets.
Attractive as it is for high school
students to have money earned from
part-time jobs; the fact remains that the
most important thing in their lives
should be their school education. Thus, I
propose that all businesses in Nalwen
hire only those students whose school
average is greater than 75%.
This proposal will ensure that
students place their priorities on their
education rather than on earning money;
however, it will not prevent students
with high academic standing from
seeking part-time employment. In short,
this proposal represents the best possible
balance between personal choice and
responsibility.
In this highly competitive world,
students must have the marks necessary
to be employable in rapidly changing
work environments. I urge all members
of the Nalwen Business Association to
recall the significance of their own
education as part of the groundwork for
their own success. We need to send the
message to the youth of today that if
they work hard in school; the rest will
take care of itself.
Nick Gordon, President of the
Nalwen Business Association
E-MAIL
From: Anita Collins, NHS Guidance Counsellor
Sent: June 12, 2002
To: Pat Jones
Subject: Employability Skills
Dear Pat,
I'm happy to be able to help you. As we know, part-time work provides many
benefits beyond "spending money:' The critical thinking skills gained through parttime employment enable people to evaluate situations, solve problems, and make
decisions.
Part-time employment also fosters positive attitudes such as personal initiative,
energy, and persistence, and serves to build self-confidence. Setting goals and
determining priorities, managing time and money, and being accountable for one's
actions are critical skills gained through working. In addition, planning and making
decisions with others develops a spirit of cooperation and helps to develop leadership
ability.
The skills necessary for success are developed in school and through a variety of life
experiences outside school. One should strive to achieve a balance of different kinds
of skills, not just academic skills.
Summary of NHS Student Survey on
Employment and Academic Performance
Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12
94
80
103
number of students surveyed
number of students holding part-time jobs
31
44
26
average number of hours worked per week
by students holding part-time jobs
6
10
8
number of students with part-time jobs
who have an average greater than 75%
3
4
2
high school average of students not employed
69%
56%
66%
high school average of students holding part-time job
68%
64%
68%
Reasons for working part-time
Earning spending money
40%
Earning money for necessities
30%
Saving for college/university
15%
Gaining work experience
15%
Student comments:
"Whether or not I work part time is a decision that should be made by my parents and me, not by
Mr. Gordon and other Nalwen businesspeople."
"This idea would make it impossible for some students to save money for college."
"The 75% average is way too high."
"Mr. Gordon doesn't seem to understand the importance of work experience on a student's
resume. In many cases, experience counts for more than marks."
Complete your assignment in the answer document,
and not in this one, containing the readings.