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Sample 1

Directions: Choose ONE of the following topics and write an essay of at least three well-developed paragraphs. Your essay should be thoughtful, well-organized, and as grammatically accurate as possible. Take a few minutes to organize your thoughts before you begin writing, and try to leave a few minutes at the end to check and correct what you have written. Make paragraph divisions clear. You will have a total of 30 minutes. You do not need to skip lines. You may use the back of this booklet as scratch paper.

Topic 1: Which person has had the greatest influence on your life? In what way has your life been influenced?

Topic 2: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Why? "People who have been deprived of their basic human rights can protest and even use violence in order to achieve justice."

RESPONSE:

    My mother is the person who has had the greatest influence on my life. She is the one who stays with me longer than others.

    There are several ways and reasons that my mother has been influenced on me. Firstly, because she stays with me from the time I was born until now, she has to be the greatest influence person on my life. I always look at her behavior, and her behavior gradually gets into my posture. She has been influenced on the way I live. For example, I like to stay home and watch television like my mother during the holiday. Everyone told me that my mother and I look similar, excepting the size. Moreover, our life style are also the same such as the way we eat and dress. Additionally, she has been influenced on the way I think. Due to her teaching, my opinion almost the same as my mother in term of political and cultural issues.

     However, other people also have been influenced on my life especially friends. They have been influenced on me, and they also have a significant role in my life.

     I think different people have different influence persons. It depends on the way they live. I think most children usually look at their mother as a model, and try to mimic their mothers' behavior. So, my mothe has had the greatest influence on my life.

Sample 2

Directions: Choose ONE of the following topics and write an essay of at least three well-developed paragraphs. Your essay should be thoughtful, well-organized, and as grammatically accurate as possible. Take a few minutes to organize your thoughts before you begin writing, and try to leave a few minutes at the end to check and correct what you have written. Make paragraph divisions clear. You will have a total of 30 minutes. You do not need to skip lines. You may use the back of this booklet as scratch paper.

Topic 1: What person, living or dead, do you admire the most? Explain why you admire this person.

Topic 2: What changes have your seen in your country in your lifetime? What changes do you expect to see in the future?

RESPONSE:

     The Humen lives in this Earth for million and million years. At the begning the life was hard. So the people had to strugel to live. But year after year the life begun to change. Every thing goes to be easyer. For example when I was young we can't talk and see people live from a long distence country. Wright know with the new tecnology every thing had changed. So people's begin to study and discover new things as same as the Internet what made the world conect in an International net were they can talk and see each ather what ever the distence is and study and joins the world Orgnizations from any country and update the world news and many aother things. The idea is that the world is going to the best and every step is going to be easyer then what it realy was but will the Humen's get this chance to work for serving the Humen's and live in peace or they will destroy their selves by there on I hope not.

Sample 3

Directions: Choose ONE of the following topics and write an essay of at least three well-developed paragraphs. Your essay should be thoughtful, well-organized, and as grammatically accurate as possible. Take a few minutes to organize your thoughts before you begin writing, and try to leave a few minutes at the end to check and correct what you have written. Make paragraph divisions clear. You will have a total of 30 minutes. You do not need to skip lines. You may use the back of this booklet as scratch paper.

Topic 1: Which person has had the greatest influence on your life? In what way has your life been influenced?

Topic 2: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Why? "People who have been deprived of their basic human rights can protest and even use violence in order to achieve justice."

RESPONSE:

    I disagree with the statement "people who have been deprived of their basic human rights can protest and even use violence in order to achieve justice." I agree that people can protest, but they shouldn't get their deprived basic human rights by using violence. There are some reasons.

     First of all, it would be a bigger struggle by using violence. Many people could be killed, and cities would be destroyed, too. this is just waste of human lives and time. If one wants to protest against something, they should consider how rather than simply using violence.

     Second of all, people have to know some succeded to protest in another way. That was the way that Martin Luther King, Jr. used. He tried to gain civil rights of blacks but never used violence. Instead of that, he gave many speeches and asserted his opinions. Although it was slow, black people regained civil rights at the end.

     People tend to use violence when they want to protest, but they have to know that it can be the longest way to go. For example, there've so many struggles all over the world. When they use [other sentences that have been crossed out] force, it always lasts long. However, when they have peace talks, it's solved smoothly. I don't say it's the most effective way to achieve justice, but it could be reasonable for both of them in order to understand each other.

    There are the reasons why I disagree with the statement. I think using violence is the worst way to protest, so people should be more patient and smart if they want to protest or it'll destroy everything and be hard to solve the problem.

TESOL Program
Language and Foreign Studies
American University
Washington, DC 20016-8045