Preparing for the FD10A (English for Academic Purposes) Final Exam
Before students go to the FD10A examination room, there are some essentials to observe
and certain considerations to bear in mind:
A. Essentials to observe before the exam:
1. Under timed conditions, write a couple of practice essays leading up to the exam
so as to get a feel for the exam and to ascertain your strengths and weaknesses
when writing under timed examination conditions. (There are several past
examination papers/topics on this web site that you can use when practicing.)
2. Make sure to collect your examination card and secure your ID so that you have
both ready to take to the examination room.
3. Find out the date, time and location/venue for the FD10A exam long before and
turn up promptly on the day of the exam, with the confidence that you will apply
your knowledge and write a successful exam essay.
B. Considerations to bear in mind during the exam:
1. On the cover of the examination booklet, carefully fill in your required
personal/academic details. Clearly write the name of your instructor on the top
right hand corner of the booklet cover. (This is very important for locating your
paper.)
2. The final exam for FD10A is one ESSAY that each student will write in 2 hours.
3. Each student is expected to go through the writing process in the examination
room. Therefore:

Select a topic on which you are knowledgeable, comfortable and can write
a 500 – 800 word essay;

Generate ideas and write them down in your examination booklet;

Construct a thesis statement and organize your generated ideas around that
thesis statement;

Write in the examination booklet an essay outline that evolves from the
thesis statement and generated ideas;

Write in the examination booklet the essay, making sure to use the essay
outline to guide your writing of the essay;
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
Continually revise and edit your essay so that it is grammatically correct
(Mechanics); is organized and flows well because of the use of
appropriate transitions (Organization); has very good & relevant content
(Content); addresses the topic fully and precisely (Analysis); and
conforms to tertiary level writing expectations (Style).

Use your dictionary – NOT a thesaurus – to re-check words for accuracy
of spelling, word choice, and/or parts of speech.

When you have completed the essay, make sure to carefully proofread and
correct all errors – then proofread again – before finally submitting the
essay to the examiner.

The final exam essay is not a research essay; therefore, there should be
NO References or Works Cited list at the end of your exam essay. Of
course you can quote sources and write their names within the body of the
essay – if you remember their names – but no page numbers or dates of
publication should be written within the essay.
4. The MOCAS scheme is used to grade the final exam essay and students must get
4/10 (or higher) for each area of the MOCAS in order to pass the exam, that is,
Mechanics = 4/10; Organization = 4/10; Content = 4/10; Analysis = 4/10; &
Style = 4/10. Therefore 4x5 = 20/50 (or higher if you got more than the
minimum score for each area of the MOCAS)
If you worked hard and well throughout the semester you have absolutely no reason to be
fearful or despair about the final FD10A exam. Just go to the exam and give it your best,
making sure to consistently and relevantly apply all the concepts that have been taught to
you about writing good essays. We wish you all the best in FD10A and your other final
exams.
“The only place you’ll ever find ‘success’ before hard ‘work’
is in the Dictionary”.
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