Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.
Cambridge University is considering axing compulsory written exams, allowing students to use laptops or iPads instead, after tutors complained that students' handwriting is becoming illegible. Academics say the move, which would bring an end to over 800 years of tradition, has come about because students rely too heavily on laptops in lectures, and are losing the ability to write by hand.
Dr Sarah Pearsall, a senior lecturer at Cambridge University, said handwriting is becoming a
''lost art'' among the current generation of students. She added,
''It's increasingly hard for our examiners to read students' scripts. Those with illegible writing are forced to come back to their college during the summer holidays to read their answers aloud in the presence of two university administrators. It's extraordinarily commendable that the University is considering reforms to its examination practices.''
Sir Anthony Seldon, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, said it is inevitable that universities will move to computers as handwriting
deteriorates in the coming years.
''We have to accept the reality. Handwriting has now become an optional, not a necessary, part of education. There simply isn't the same time in the curriculum for learning elegant, beautiful handwriting. Life is so quick now. Everybody writes as if they were a doctor writing a prescription,'' he said.
''Handwriting is not necessary for great thought, great English, or great intelligence. Some of our finest wordsmiths today write using laptops, and we have to fight to preserve what is really important, such as the use of great English or great sentence structures.''
Others, however, were not very positive about the move. Tracey Trussell, a handwriting expert, urged Cambridge to ensure that students continue to write by hand. She said,
''It's vital that people continue to write by hand. Writing by hand improves memory and equates to a higher rate of comprehension and information retention.'' There is also concern that schools could follow Cambridge's example by moving away from handwriting. Dr Jane Medwell, Associate Professor of Education at the University of Nottingham, is concerned that
scrapping handwritten exams in universities could prompt
''downward curriculum pressure'' on primary and secondary schools to follow suit.
(Adapted from http://www.telegraph.co.uk)
