Essay Writing in English

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Essay Writing in English
Careers Education and Placement Centre

• Date 10 February, 2000 (Thursday)
• Time 515 p.m. - 615 p.m.
• Venue T6, Meng Wah Complex

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Ms Rachel HongSenior ManagerEmail
rkmhong_at_hkusua.hku.hkHomepage
http//www.hku.hk/cepc
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Examples from past papersSample IEmployer
A marketing and distribution companyTime
allowed 1 hourLength of paper 800
wordsQuestion Briefly explain how you know
about XY Company and why you want to join this
company?
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Sample IIEmployer A public utility
companyTime allowed 45 minutesLength of
paper 300 wordsMarking criteria (a) no
right or wrong answers, (b) imagination,
(c) ideas, (d) grammar, (e) legibility
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Question Choose one from two topics Question
1Recently, Hong Kong is facing with a number of
economic issues the Asian financial crisis,
the fluctuation of the property market, the
persistent decline in tourist arrivals, the
downturn in retail sales and profits, the
daunting hotel business, the continuous increase
in unemployment ... etc. The future of Hong Kong
looks bleak. What is your outlook about Hong
Kongs future? Please choose one issue and
suggest ways to improve the situation.
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Question 2 At the SARs National Peoples
Congress in Beijing, one of our Hong Kong
deputies created a furore over RTHKs
independence. There have been claims from the
media as well as the public that Press Freedom
is being eroded. What is your opinion on the
matter? How would you propose to rectify the
situation and what future plan would you put
forward for RTHK to consider?
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Sample III Employer A bank Time allowed 45
minutes Question Discuss the pros and cons of
ending the port of first asylum policy.
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Sample IV Employer A conglomerate
company Time allowed 2 hours Marking
criteria (a) Grammar (b) Creativity (c) Anal
ytical Skills (d) Presentation
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Answer all of the following 3 questions
Question 1 As the Promotions Advertising
Manager, you have been assigned to devise a
programme to celebrate the Companys 100th
Anniversary. Please describe your plan with
proposed budget and justifications.
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Question 2 A staff member wrote to you requesting
to work on staggered hours as he has to spend a
lot of time to travel to work from his residence.
Please draft a reply to him and explain your
decision. Question 3 Please describe your career
objectives in a few sentences.
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Summary of question types

• Personal Experience
• How well do you think your education has prepared
  you for your future career?
• Why you would like (or would not like) to travel
  to Europe?
• The best (or worst) trip or vacation you have
  ever taken.

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General Discussion

• Good managers are good people. Comment.
• Why having a tertiary education is important?
• Teenagers should be able to do what they want.

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Political Issues

• Comment on the relationship between commerce and
  politics in China.
• Hong Kong will continue to enjoy benefits of
  being a unique place where East meets West beyond
  1997. Comment.
• Living in Hong Kong after 1997.
• The United Kingdom and China will (or will not)
  work out their problems.

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Business Letters

• Draft a letter replying to a customer concerning
  a complaint about
• incorrect meter reading
• the service attitude of your staff
• Others
• As a Graduate Trainee, how would you contribute
  to the business success of our company?

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Before writing the answer

• analyse the question / case
• understand the causes of the problem
• suggest possible solutions
• - explain why
• make recommendations
• propose action plan
• name expected outcome

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General points to note

• appropriate use of language
• clarity of thought
• legible hand-writing
• spelling grammar

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Points to note regarding the business letter

• Structure
• state the objective of the letter
• explain the situation
• state the problem
• ask for help or suggest solution
• state actions to take
• Approach
• leads to solution
• clear and succinct
• enclose reference if appropriate

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• Points to remember - report
• structure
• clear and succinct - even with major points
• wide coverage
• supported by evidence
• leads to action
• to sell and suggest but not to tell

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You will be judged on - summary

• structure / presentation
• analytical ability
• whether you can see things from different angles
• whether you can suggest alternatives
• whether your suggestions are practical
• persuasiveness
• whether you can handle the sensitive aspects of
  the problem / case

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You will be judged on - details

• 1. Structure
• - is it logical
• 2. Analytical Ability
• - quantity and quality of issues raised
• - the relationship between these issues
• - the relevance and impact of these issues to
  and on the task in question
• 3. Lateral Thinking and Creativity
• - quantity and quality of options suggested

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You will be judged on - details contd

• 4. Decision Making
• - one clear and firm recommendation
• 5. Practical Orientation
• - how practical is the recommendation
• - is it the best deal for the organization
• 6. Interpersonal Sensitivity
• - impact of recommendation on staff
• - impact of recommendation on clients

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You will be judged on - details contd

• 7. Impact on the physical / cultural / social/
• ethical environment
• 8. Motivation and Stress Tolerance
• - reason / principles / ethical issues behind
  the recommendation
• - persistence and determination despite
  difficulty and complexity

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You will be judged on - details contd

• 9. Communication
• - to sell not tell
• - clear, succinct
• - supported by evidence
• - grammatically correct
• - easy to read, flows well
• - high-level vocabulary
• - appropriate / eloquent and elegant writing
  style

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Useful reference books available in the CEPC
Careers Library

• Assessment Centres
• Identifying and developing competence

Reference Chapter 8 getting ready for the
centre pre-selection briefing documents and
timetables
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Useful reference books available in the CEPC
Careers Library - (Contd)

• Business Letters for All
• Oxford University Press
• This book can offer readers phrases on typical
  business matters a wide range of business
  letter for reference

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Useful reference books available in the CEPC
Careers Library - (Contd)

• How to Write A Report
• John Fletcher

Reference Chapter 5 How to make a report
readable

• Professional Report Writing
• Simon Mort

Reference Chapter 24 Clothes - line analogy
for construction of a sentence
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Useful reference books available in the CEPC
Careers Library - (Contd)

• Effective Writing
• Improving Scientific, Technical and Business
  Communication Christopher Turk and John Kirkman
• Reference Chapter 11 Writing / Instruction

• Modern Chinese English Practical Writing
• Reference I. About English Practical Writing

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Useful reference books available in the CEPC
Careers Library - (Contd)

• Better Business Writing
• Susan L Brock
• Reference Part 2 Style

• Practical Writing
• K C Yuen K F Lee
• This book can provide examples of different
  writing styles of letters

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Useful video available at theCEPC Careers
Library

• Strictly Speaking (32 mins)
• The video suggests to viewers that they ought to
  use clear, concise, concrete, creative and
  correct English in their writings. Examples of
  using the language inappropriately are shown.
  The video also reveals that poorly prepared
  messages frequently cause financial loss and
  confusion in communication.
• Revised as at 10 February, 2000

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ANSWERS
QUESTIONS