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English I · Writing: letters, articles & editing

BSHS1001 · 20 questions · 40 marks · 2 papers

Answer key

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

BS Degree Programme · Examination & Study Paper

BSHS1001 · English I

Writing: letters, articles & editing

Official Paper

Examination Instructions & Guidelines

Solve on notebook/paper first before checking solutions.
MCQ: Exactly 1 option is correct. Negative marking applies.
Scientific calculator allowed for all calculations.
Official answer key is sealed at the end of this sheet.

End Term · 13 Apr 2025 (AN)End Term

Read the passage below, then answer Q1–Q10
Read the following letter and answer the given subquestions
The General Secretary
Narmada Hostel for Boys
Pondicherry Central University
XX/YY/ZZZZ
The Dean, Hostel Affairs
Pondicherry Central University
Unavailability of Necessary Facilities in Narmada Hostel
Respected Sir,
I am writing to you to draw your attention to some necessary student facilities which are found to be lacking in Narmada Hostel. The washing machines on all floors have stopped working, but the hostel authorities have not taken any measures to get them repaired despite repeated pleas by the student community.
One of the elevators in the hostel ceased to work a year ago and has not yet been repaired. Consequently, there is overcrowding in the one available elevator, which, in addition to being inconvenient, is a grave safety hazard. Several toilets in the hostel do not have operational flushes. This causes unsanitary living conditions in the hostel and does not aid the cause of the residents’ well-being.
Inedible and possibly hazardous materials such as strands of a steel scrubber, insects and glass shards have lately been found in the mess food. A sickly looking rat was seen scurrying through the mess hall during dinner time. The green moong dal served in the mess in the past two weeks tasted discernibly stale. As evident from these instances, the mess management is unscrupulously lax in the discharge of their duties.
The newly admitted students have been accommodated in rooms without almirahs, tables and chairs. Even after the newly ordered furniture reached the hostel, no provisions were made for its being shifted to the rooms in need.
I kindly request you to address these pressing concerns with the hostel management and enable their hasty redressal.
Yours sincerely,
[Sign]
XYZ General Secretary
Ph: 1234567890
Q1MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Why is it necessary to list the lacking amenities in the letter?
1. ATo support the topic statement
2. BTo ensure clarity
3. CTo serve the purpose of the letter
4. DAll of these
Q2MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
State true or false. The part of the sentence marked out in bold cannot be omitted from the below-given statement because it is used as a transitional device. As evident from these instances, the mess management is unscrupulously lax in the discharge of their duties.
1. ATRUE
2. BFALSE
Q3MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
This is an example of a/an _____ letter.
1. AInformal
2. BFormal
Q4MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
This is a letter that wishes to express an urgent need. Pick out the statement that conveys this urgency.
1. AThe washing machines on all floors have stopped working, but the hostel authorities have not taken any measures to get them repaired despite repeated pleas by the student community.
2. BOne of the elevators in the hostel ceased to work a year ago and has not yet been repaired.
3. CEven after the newly ordered furniture reached the hostel, no provisions were made for its being shifted to the rooms in need.
4. DAll of these
Q5MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Why does the speaker’s identification of herself/himself as ‘I’ not make the letter unprofessional?
1. AThe letter is written in his/her capacity as a student representative; the individual is stating and representing a collective need.
2. BThe sender of a letter can identify themselves in the first person and yet maintain an impersonal and professional tone using direct and factual language.
3. CThe letter is addressed to a superior and the sender’s use of ‘I’ indicates that he/she is accountable for this communication.
4. DAll of these
Q6MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
What suitable action does the letter seek?
1. AAn extermination of rats
2. BBuilding new elevators
3. CA hasty redressal of the issues stated in the letter
4. DCease new admissions
Q7MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
The topic sentence in this letter is:
1. AA question
2. BA statement
3. CAn exclamation
4. DAn adverb
Q8MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
The argumentative strategy used most profusely in this letter is:
1. AExamples
2. BQuotations
3. CStatistical data
4. DLiterary devices
Q9MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
State true or false. The sentence below does not make use of transitional words. Consequently, there is overcrowding in the one available elevator, which, in addition to being inconvenient, is a grave safety hazard.
1. ATRUE
2. BFALSE
Q10MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
State true or false. This letter does not use a definition-based style of argumentation.
1. ATRUE
2. BFALSE

End Term · 22 Dec 2024 (AN)End Term

Read the passage below, then answer Q11–Q20
Read the following article and answer the given subquestions.
Indigenous People May Have Created the Amazon’s ‘Dark Earth’ on Purpose
Indigenous people in the Amazon may have been deliberately creating fertile soil for farming for thousands of years. At archaeological sites across the Amazon River basin, mysterious patches of unusually fertile soil dot the landscape. Scientists have long debated the origin of this “dark earth,” which is darker in color than surrounding soils and richer in carbon. Now, researchers have shown that the indigenous Kuikuro people in southeastern Brazil intentionally create similar soil around their villages. [Edit i] The finding, presented December 16 at the American Geophysical Union meeting, adds evidence to the idea that the Amazonians deliberately manufactured such soil long-ago. [Edit ii] In doing so, these early inhabitants may have inadvertently stored massive quantities of carbon in the soil, says study presenter Taylor Perron, an earth scientist at MIT. [Edit iii] The technique, he says, could provide a blueprint for developing methods of sustainably locking atmospheric carbon in tropical soils, helping fight climate change.
The Western world has long viewed the Amazon as a vast wilderness that was relatively untouched before the Europeans showed up. At the center of this argument is the idea that the Amazon’s soil, which is poor in nutrients, precluded its inhabitants from developing agriculture at a scale required to support complex societies. But a slew of archeological finds in recent decades — including the discovery of ancient urban centers in Amazonian areas of modern-day Bolivia — has revealed that people were actively shaping the Amazon for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans. Perron and his colleagues reviewed interviews of the Kuikuro people conducted by a Kuikuro filmmaker in 2018. Those conversations revealed that the Kuikuro villagers actively make dark earth — eegepe in Kuikuro — using ash, food scraps and controlled burns. “When you plant where there is no eegepe, the soil is weak,” explained the elder Kanu Kuikuro in one of the interviews. “That is why we throw the ash, manioc peelings and manioc pulp.” [Edit iv] The team found “striking similarities” between dark earth samples from ancient and modern sites, says Perron. Both were far less acidic than surrounding soils — probably thanks to the neutralizing effect of ash — and contained higher levels of plant-friendly nutrients.
These analyses also revealed that dark earth holds twice the amount of carbon as surrounding soils on average. The technique highlights how the ancient people were able to thrive in the Amazon by developing sustainable farming that doubled as a carbon-sequestration technique. With more and more greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere, making dark earth — or something like it — could be a method of mitigating climate change while supporting agriculture in the tropics. “People in the ancient past figured out a way to store lots of carbon for hundreds or even thousands of years,” Perron says. “Maybe we can learn something from that.” Adapted from: Kreier, Freda. “Indigenous People May Have Created the Amazon’s ‘Dark Earth’ on Purpose.” Science News, 05 Jan, 2023, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/indigenous-people-created- amazon-dark-earth.
Q11MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Proofread the sentence marked in bold as [Edit i] to improve the article. [Edit i] The finding, presented December 16 at the American Geophysical Union meeting, adds evidence to the idea that the Amazonians deliberately manufactured such soil long-ago.
1. AThe finding, presented on December 16 at the American Geophysical Union meeting, adds evidence to the idea that the Amazonians deliberately manufactured such soil long- ago.
2. BThe finding, presented in December 16 at the American Geophysical Union meeting adds evidence to the idea that long-ago Amazonians deliberately manufactured such soil.
3. CThe finding, presented at December 16 at the American Geophysical Union meeting, adds evidence to the idea that long-ago, Amazonians deliberately manufactured such soil.
4. DThe finding, presented december 16 at the American Geophysical Union meeting, adds evidence to the idea that Amazonians deliberately manufactured such soil long- ago.
Q12MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Punctuate the sentence marked in bold as [Edit ii] correctly to improve the article. [Edit ii] In doing so, these early inhabitants may have inadvertently stored massive quantities of carbon in the soil, says study presenter Taylor Perron, an earth scientist at MIT.
1. A“In doing so, these early inhabitants may have inadvertently stored massive quantities of carbon in the soil, says study presenter Taylor Perron, an earth scientist at mit.
2. B“In doing so, these early inhabitants may have inadvertently stored massive quantities of carbon in the soil,” says study presenter Taylor Perron, an earth scientist at MIT.
3. CIn doing so these early inhabitants may have inadvertently stored massive quantities of carbon in the soil, says study presenter Taylor Perron an earth scientist at MIT.
4. D“In doing so these early inhabitants may have inadvertently stored massive quantities of carbon in the soil,” says study presenter Taylor Perron an earth scientist at MIT.
Q13MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Punctuate the sentence marked in bold as [Edit iii] correctly to improve the article. [Edit iii] The technique, he says, could provide a blueprint for developing methods of sustainably locking atmospheric carbon in tropical soils, helping fight climate change.
1. A“The technique, he says, could provide a blueprint for developing methods of sustainably locking atmospheric carbon in tropical soils, helping fight climate change.”
2. B“The technique he says could provide a blueprint for developing methods of sustainably locking atmospheric carbon in tropical soils, helping fight climate change.”
3. C“The technique,” he says, “could provide a blueprint for developing methods of sustainably locking atmospheric carbon in tropical soils, helping fight climate change.”
4. D“The technique,” he says could provide a blueprint for developing methods of sustainably locking atmospheric carbon in tropical soils helping fight climate change.”
Q14MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Punctuate the sentence marked in bold as [Edit iv] correctly to improve the article. [Edit iv] The team found “striking similarities” between dark earth samples from ancient and modern sites, says Perron.
1. A“The team found striking similarities between dark earth samples from ancient and modern sites” says Perron.
2. B“The team found ‘striking similarities’ between dark earth samples from ancient and modern sites,” says Perron.
3. CThe team found ‘striking similarities’ between dark earth samples from ancient and modern sites, says Perron.
4. D“The team found “striking similarities” between dark earth samples from ancient and modern sites,” says perron.
Q15MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Which of the following can be considered an example of technical vocabulary used in the article?
1. ACarbon sequestration
2. BSlew
3. CFood scraps
4. DMysterious patches
Q16MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
State true or false. The below-given is an example of an effective concluding sentence that gives a suggestion without making a prediction. “People in the ancient past figured out a way to store lots of carbon for hundreds or even thousands of years,” Perron says. “Maybe we can learn something from that.”
1. ATrue
2. BFalse
Q17MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
Which of the following does the article NOT attempt to do?
1. AIt shows that scientific evidence can disprove some of Europe’s preconceived notions about the Amazon.
2. BIt shows that the Kuikoro people’s technique might be helpful in teaching us to sustainably store atmospheric carbon in the soil.
3. CIt shows the importance of manioc peelings and manioc pulp in developing a model of sustainable carbon sequestration for the future.
4. DIt shows that the ancient people of the Amazon may have had their own techniques of sustainable farming in a soil that was not rich in nutrients.
Q18MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
State true or false. A working knowledge of the Kuikuro language is a prerequisite to understand this article.
1. ATrue
2. BFalse
Q19MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
“When you plant where there is no eegepe, the soil is weak,” explained the elder Kanu Kuikuro in one of the interviews. “That is why we throw the ash, manioc peelings and manioc pulp.” Study the quote given above. The article uses this quote to _____.
1. AEmphasise the feelings of the Kuikuro people
2. BReveal that the Kuikuro villagers actively make “dark earth”
3. CAllow room for disagreement
4. DTo mitigate climate change
Q20MCQ2 Marks·Choose one option
Key ↓
With more and more greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere, making dark earth — or something like it — could be a method of mitigating climate change while supporting agriculture in the tropics. In the above-given sentence, the relevance of the modal verb is that
1. AIt shows that the source of the article is not credible
2. BIt is a unifying strategy for the article
3. CIt offers comparison and contrast
4. DIt allows room for disagreeing with the idea

Official Key

Master Answer Key & Explanations

Official answer keys from IIT Madras BS past papers. Click any question to review.

Reveal Key

Q1D

Q2A

Q3B

Q4D

Q5D

Q6C

Q7B

Q8A

Q9B

Q10A

Q11A

Q12B

Q13C

Q14B

Q15A

Q16A

Q17C

Q18B

Q19B

Q20D

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