ENG 206 Final, Spring 2001

English 206 Final Examination SPRING 2000-2001 Name: Instructor: Time: 2 hrs 45 min. Section: The Day the ‘Net Died by Fredric Paul 1. These days, people tend to get a little crabby* when their Internet access goes down. Even though most people have been on the Web only a few years or less, every little glitch* is front-page news. If a big site or major ISP goes dark fora few hours, you half expect Amnesty International to take to the streets to protest the sheer torture of being locked out of cyberspace. So what would happen if the Internet just stopped working? Not for an hour or two—but forever? What would the world be like the day the Internet dies? _ First, forget about checking e-mail. You want to talk to someone? Call them on the phone. If they're not in, leave a voice mail. Better yet, send them a letter. After all, IT (Intemet time) is not longer ticking. Suddenly a year is once again a year. (Unless you're a dog, of course. Then a year is still seven years.) In other words, you'll be able to start working the moment you arrive at your desk. No more wasting time catching up on spam and stupid jokes. And without the ‘Net, there’s no more checking sports scores during lunch hour, either, Or surfing for the hell of it. And when it comes to tracking the disaster du jour, well, you'll just have to wait until you can get home and flip on CNN. So, how are you going to spend all that extra time at work? You could call your brother to buy and sell your stocks. But not ‘Net stocks—they re worthless! Yesterday you were a virtual millionaire. Today those profits aren’t worth the paper they’ re not printed on. Then again, the only way to be sure is to check the newspaper—tomorrow morning. . If you have any money left, you might want to take a stroll over to the local bookshop or music emporium. After all, you can’t order online from Amazon.com anymore. You'll actually have to go into a store and look around. Who knows? You might enjoy the experience. More likely, though, some tattooed, nose-ringed clerk will not-so-subtly sneer at your choice of the Eagles’ I tseller). No more hiding your bad taste And forget about those “online recommendation engines” that purport to help you find music and movies and books you'll like by comparing opinions of other people who seem to like what you like. They were hard to figure out anyway, but now, if you want suggestions on what to buy next, you'll have to ask your friends. You do still have friends, don’t you? Not just e-mail acquamtances? If you can’t remember, head down to the local watering hole, buy some other former “Net addict a drink, and practice your real-life conversation skills. . You’ll need them, because sex and romance are going to change, too. You'll actually have to go face to face with your romantic partners. They may not exactly match your fantasies of blonde and beautiful (or tall, dark, and handsome, for that matter), but at least you’ll have an idea what gender they really are. . Back at work, all of those client-server apps* you put in mothballs will suddenly be mission-critical again. You did save ail the code and documentation, didn’t you? Or maybe you were so far behind the curve that you were actually still using them. Surprise! Denial and incompetence are suddenly seen as genius! . This is all just the beginning. Who knows—in 500 years, sages may speak of The Age of the Internet to disbelieving skeptics who will dismiss the concept as just another lame tale of lost Atlantis. 13. But it wasn’t. It was real. It just ended too soon. Source: Paul, F. (1999, September 21). The day the net died. Data Communications 128. *crabby: (an informal adjective) means grouchy, irritable, ill-tempered *glitch: (a slang noun) means a minor defect of malfunction in a machine or plan *apps: is an informal abbreviation for applications “~ English 206 \.. Final Exam Spring 2000-2001 Answer the following questions restricting your answers to the spaces provided. 1. How would the explanation for a specialized (expert) audience differ from that for a lay audience? (2.5 points) 2. A. In English 206, you leamed and practiced how to deliver an oral presentation effectively. A friend of yours who has not taken this course needs to give an oral presentation. Write him a list of instructions to help him improve his delivery. Focus on four aspects. (4 points) a. b. c. d. B. Rewrite the above instructions to describe the process of effective delivery. (3 points) _ Write a formal, useful, and accurate one-sentence definition of each of the following terms. At the end of each of the required parts in a formal definition, write the label of that part in parenthesis. (9 points) a. A bid specification b. A manual What is the logical process that involves not only the “why” ofa situation but also the “what should I do” in a situation? (5 points) a. Name this process b. Does this process involve comparison/ contrast? If yes, explain how. If not, explain why not. Enumerate the three most important ways in which you can prepare yourself for a job interview. (7.5 points) a. Name the frames of reference (i.e., the organizing principles or headings) according to which a technical writer describes a representative mechanism. Explain briefly what should be included under each. (6 points) a. 7. Name three advantages ot visuals that make them worth using in a written or oral presentation. (3 points) a. b. A. The outline below does not meet the four characteristics of good classification and partition systems. Underline each error, and write-next to it what characteristic/s it lacks. (4 points) Letter layout forms A. Block form 1. Heading 2. Inside address 3. Signature B. Simplified block form 1. Salutation 2. Complimentary close Letter types Order Response/ transmittal Persuasive Periodic Complaint Collection Applications (employment) Job interview . Other types Organizational plans A. Direct organizational plans B. Indirect organizational plan 1, Routine letters/ messages C. Bad news letter/ messages A. B. Cc. D. E. F. G. H. _ B. Rewrite your revised version of the outline in the space below. (4 points) To solve the problem at hand, Tina Martin wrote a letter to all employees in her company. Was her choice of medium and format appropriate? Are the organization, style, and tone of her letter appropriate? As her assistant, you need to help Tina revise her message in order to achieve her purpose. A. Edit this message to make it clear, grammatically correct, concise, etc. B. Decide on the most appropriate means to send this message: letter by mail, email message, memo. Remember that your decision will affect the format of the message. C. Rewrite this message on page 8. (20 points) Tina Martin, Network Manager Advanced Digital Systems 3010 Summertime Court Columbus, OH Att. All employees Advanced Digital Systems 3010 Summertime Court Columbus, OH Subject: Abuse of the network Twe top-level managers could not take care of company business between 11:00 and 1:00. This happened today. The reason is that the network was saturated with irresponsible users surfing the Web and downloading and printing silly graphics for your own personal use. For days now during regular business hours, I confiscated printouts- - in color- - of the President’s cat, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and the Baywatch crew. I wonder don’t you have anything better to do. T will say it again: It is AGAINST company policy to use the network, to surf the Web, or to download and in addition the printing of colored graphics for PERSONAL USE. Of course, I mean during regular business hours. I would like to add that I also found at least 40 users logged on to the network when they have left the office for the day. Also, some people leave their computers logged on even when they themselves are out of town. Unbelievable! In the future, I will permanently log off all users who fail in logging off after leaving the office or in downloading graphics for personal use and printing them too. This will not be tolerated even if they do so after regular business hours. If you do so, you may face termination. Anyway, we will think about whether to terminate you or log you off permanently. Questions could be asked about company policy. Please feel free to contact this office. Sincerely yours, Tina Martin Tina Martin A. Write an evaluative summary of Fredric Paul’s article “The Day the Net Died” analyzing its usefulness, appeal, style, readability, etc. Would you recommend such an article to certain readers? Why or why not? That is, to what kind of audience does it appeal (or fail to appeal) to? What purpose does it serve (or fail to serve)? B. Write your summary on page 11. Try to limit it to one page. (10 points) By hypothesizing about the changes that may affect our lives if the internet ceases to exist, Fredric Paul in his article “The Day the Net Died” is indirectly observing current internet activities, Throughout his article, he implies (does not state) the existence of problems resulting from overdependence on the internet, thus implicitly evaluating these activities and guiding the readers towards drawing their own conclusions and tecommendations in regard to these activities. As a consultant for the Lebanese government, you are requested to write an observation report describing current activities ofthe intemet. Your client is specifically interested in the impact of internet activity on (1) social and interpersonal communication, (2) business and office work, and (3) the media and news broadcast. (This report will most probably be used by the Ministers of Social Affairs, of Education, of Tele-communications, of Commerce, etc.) Use the information in the article to write your observation report. (You may supplement it with information from your general knowledge, if need be.) Your report may include all or some of the following parts. (You should be able to decide which parts apply in this case.) © Review of background information ¢ Purpose of the report ¢ The facility observed and an account of the description of observed activities i.e., the aspects of the subject presented An analysis and commentary Conclusions and recommendations Use the appropriate style in writing your report, and give it a memo format addressing it to the Lebanese Cabinet. Observe the principles of good layout and design. White your report on pages 13-14. (22 points)