GEPT Advanced Writing Test

General Instructions: In this test, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate how well
you can extract main ideas from both verbal and non-verbal input, organize these ideas
effectively in writing tasks and make clear your own viewpoint on these main ideas.
There are two tasks in this test. Each task has a different time limit. You must complete
both tasks or your test will not be marked. Detailed instructions will be given to you at
the beginning of each task.

Read these instructions carefully and plan ahead so that you can complete all the
requirements within the time limit. Insufficient development of any part of either task
will result in a lower score for that task. Your performance will be scored according to the
following criteria: relevance and adequacy, coherence and organization, lexical use, and
grammatical use.

The entire writing test takes 105 minutes.

Task 1

You are going to take part in the GEPT Composition Contest and the winning prize is an
NT$5,000 book voucher. The title of the composition is The Advantages and
Disadvantages of Advertising. Information about this topic is provided in the two
articles on the following pages.

 First, read each text to establish the main points the writer is making. You can
use the space provided on your test paper to make notes.

 Then, in your own words as far as possible, write a composition that

 In the final part of the composition, you should make clear your own viewpoint
on these main ideas and come to a conclusion.

Your composition must be about 250 words. You have 60 minutes to complete Task 1.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Advertising

Anyone who lives in America is aware of advertising. Reading newspapers and magazines, we see
full-page ads urging us to buy clothes, autos, cigarettes, and kitchen appliances. Television and
radio programs include commercials; we all have heard the phrases "brought to you by" and
"sponsored by" hundreds of times. If we drive, we see road signs or billboards proclaiming the
qualities of products or the location of restaurants or motels. If we commute on a transit system, we
cannot help but notice the prominent signs displayed on the buses and subways. And in our mail,
along with the bills and the letters, come shiny flyers and circulars promoting products and
announcing sales.

Advertisements in some form intrude into nearly every waking minute of our lives. We simply
cannot get away from their pounding, incessant messages. Because ads permeate radio and
television, we find ourselves singing their silly jingles and repeating their "cute" lines. Sellers
admonish us to buy through a profusion of techniques: hard sell, soft sell, music, comedy, and
appeals to all our emotions and fears.

Some ads are even potentially harmful. Perplexing or misleading sales pitches may lure unwary
buyers into financial trouble. It is always best to remember: "caveat emptor"－let the buyer beware.
Many commercials go far beyond the mere transmitting of information when they attempt to
transform our values and attitudes. Cigarettes ads, for example, often imply that smoking is a
manly or sexy habit. It is neither.

Because of these problems, many people have become extremely critical of commercials,
especially those directed at children. As adults, we are often skeptical of what we read or hear in
advertisements. Children, because they are not as mature or experienced as we are, cannot judge
how reasonable or accurate ads are. If the man on TV says chocolate-covered, sugar-coated
wheat toasts are healthful and nutritious, children may very well believe it. Many parents feel
sellers take unfair advantage of children's inability to evaluate what they see or hear.

Unfortunately, despite their problems, commercials and ads are an established part of modern life.
Providers of goods and services will always try to persuade us to purchase what they are selling.
As consumers, we must learn not to believe everything we hear or read, so that we will not be
fooled into buying things we don’t need.
(Adapted from the article by Dennis Keen)

NOTES
 The Advantages of Advertising

Advertising plays an extremely important role in our society. Perhaps most obviously, it keeps us
informed about the latest products and services, thus enabling us to buy intelligently. Advertising
also has a positive impact on our economy, by providing funding for the media and stimulating
competition among goods and service providers. In addition, advertising can be used to promote
public welfare, thus exerting a positive social impact on society.

We as consumers benefit greatly from advertising. By reading bank ads, for example, we might
decide to transfer our money from our current bank to one offering better rates or more convenient
hours. When traveling, we can save hundreds of dollars on transcontinental airfares by comparing
the ads in the travel section of the newspaper.

Advertising can also be used to increase awareness in society about particular issues, and in so
doing, it becomes a form of education. Anti-drug advertising such as "Just say NO", and drunk
driving campaigns are just two examples of how society uses the advertising industry as a means
to promote public welfare.

In addition to the social benefits, advertising also brings huge economic benefits to society. Without
advertising, the media -- including newspaper, television, radio, etc. -- would be much less
vigorous. Advertising provides revenue for commercial mediums which would otherwise need to be
funded by the actual consumer of these mediums. For example, a newspaper would cost up to
three times as much money (since advertising provides two-thirds of the revenue of the print
media), or all television, bar government funded networks, would be pay-TV (since nearly all
revenue for television is currently provided by advertising). The price a consumer may have to pay
to receive very cheap, or even free, news and entertainment may include sitting through a 30-
second commercial break while watching a television program, or flicking a couple of extra pages
in a magazine, to get through the advertisements to the articles.

Although advertising might appear to raise the prices of goods and services, a closer look will show
that it actually helps to keep prices low. Advertising stimulates economic activity, with vigorous
competition between institutions and higher buying rates of products. This, in turn, leads to lower
product costs for the consumer.

(Adapted from article found at: http://www.essayworld.com/members/essays/30/4020.shtml)

NOTES
 GEPT-Advanced Writing Test

Task 2

A local English newspaper has just printed some worrying statistics on the traffic
accidents that occurred in the downtown area in June. The data are shown in Figures 1
and 2 below. As a citizen, you would like to help improve the situation.

Write to the Opinion section of this local English newspaper:

 Firstly, summarize what you think are the main findings from the reported data
and discuss the possible causes.

 Secondly, make suggestions about what can be done to reduce the number of
accidents in the downtown area.

Your report must be about 250 words. You have 45 minutes to complete Task 2.

Figure 1. Number of accidents in the downtown area in Figure 2. Percentage of accidents involving
June drivers in different age groups