Preparation material
In the following section, we will outline the texts and sources in the preparation booklet. We will provide an overview over genres, content and most important points in the preparation material, and give you some ideas you can use in a discussion on whether people are masters of their own lives or not. The preparation material consists of these six texts.
- Discussion
- Outlines
- Text 1: "Brighton residents arrested in fracking demo"
- Text 2: Sebastian Knowles' Curriculum Vitae
- Text 3: Portrait of Malala
- Text 4: "How millennials are transforming the workplace"
- Text 5: A graph showing statistics on 2009 high school graduation rates in the USA
- Text 6: Excerpts from "The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian"
- Preparing for the exam
Discussion
First of all, consider what it means to be the master of your own life. Is it the free will? Is it financial independence which allows us to do what we want? Is it following our dreams no matter what?
Some people want to be masters of their own lives, while others prefer having a leader. Consider how much responsibility mastering one’s life implies. Do you think everybody is ready to take on such responsibility?
Reflect on the media role in shaping our opinions. If we are told a version of the truth and lead our life based on that version, are we really masters of our own lives?
Consider society norms and peer pressure. We may not always be able to lead our lives as we would like. We are often coerced into living a life that respects certain norms or we tend to live up to others’ expectations of us. How can we find a balance between others’ expectations and our own needs and desires?
These are just a few points you can consider in your discussion of whether people are masters of their own lives or not. You will find more useful information on the topic in this study guide. Also, you are always free to come up with your own ideas and arguments on the topic.
Outlines
Text 1: "Brighton residents arrested in fracking demo"
Text 1 belongs to the non-fiction genre and it is a news article. A news article discusses current or recent news of either general interest and is published in print or in an electronic medium.
In what follows, we will list the features of articles with examples from Text 1:
Headline – it is the title of the article; it typically consists of four or five words. It is supposed to catch the reader’s eye and it includes information on what is the story about.
Look at the headl...
