Cairo University - Faculty of Engineering

Technical English
Chemical, Mining, Petroleum and Metallurgical Engineering Departments
M. Sc. Preparatory Year
Time: 3 hours
1999/2000
Open Book Examination: All text Books and Dictionaries are allowed
You are advised to read the whole exam first. Then select questions in the
order you like. Re-read each question before answering; do not rely on initial
reading. Plan your time to include revision of your answers. Neat and
organized answers are given a maximum supplement of five points. Write
Complete English Sentences. Incomplete sentences and mere listing are not
accepted.
I. Study the sentences of the following paragraph. For each one if it is
ineffective, show what is wrong, and propose a corrected version that
eliminates ineffective natures of these texts.
The price of the first prototype of the computer was unaffordable
and the results of its first test was a total surprise. While early
computers were the size of a big room, they were enormous
compared to modern computers of the same speed. What appears
to be a violation of all basics is the processing unit whose
efficiency exceeds one 100%. The circulation of the information by
the computer became very popular these days. It is our work.
------------------- 10 points
II. What is wrong with the following paragraph?
Unlike readers of the academic world, most readers of the real world read
selectively. Readers of the academic world digest a piece of writing. Most
readers of the real world skim-read most of it. They skip from one main idea
to another until they come to something that particularly interests them.
Such readers are forced to read this way.
---------------- 10 points
III. Do the following sentences belong to three paragraphs? Justify your
answer.
a. Above all remember that the audience may have less than two
minutes to view each slide. KEEP IT SIMPLE.
b. GOOD visual aids facilitate the communication path and
increase the chance of conveying ideas and impressions.
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Choose the type of slide that best meets the objective of your
presentation -- whether to give facts, illustrate points, evoke
emotions, or motivate the viewer.
c. Design texts on graphs for maximum legibility. Do not make
the mistake of thinking that a larger drawing will make a more
legible slide. It is the relationship between the letter size and
the size of drawing that is important. The larger the drawing,
the larger the letters will have to be in order to show up
effectively on screen.
------------------- 12 points
IV. For the text of Question III, write
1.
2.

an appropriate title.
the thesis statement.
------------------- 8 points
V. What are tools for variety used in the following paragraph?
Support your answer with examples taken from the paragraph.
As a writer, therefore, you can do everything possible to ease this
kind of readers burden; in particular, you should make your
writing easy to skim-read. One of the best ways to do this is to write
a good paragraph. What makes for a good paragraph in scientific,
technical writing? First of all, a good paragraph has unity: focuses
on a single idea or theme. Second, a good paragraph has coherence;
one sentence leads to the next in some kind of logical sequence.
Finally, a good paragraph has adequate content: each sentence
contains appropriate details to support the main idea. Readers expect
to find these qualities in paragraphs, and you as a writer should take
care not to frustrate their expectations.
------------------ 10 points

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VI. Explain the message of the attached graph. Do not be laconic,

but don not expand unnecessarily. Make an outline before
writing. Show an introduction, a conclusion and a body. Define
the way to begin and to develop of each paragraph.
------------------ 25 points

Product Life-Cycle

(Sigmoid Curve)
Growth
I

III
Maturity
IV

Introduction

Output, Result, Growth, ...

II

Decline

Breakpoint

Time, Input, Effort, ...



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