The City School

Mid-Year Examination 2022-23

Student’s Name: Student ID: Section:

Subject Teacher’s Name: School Name:

ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1123/22

Class 9 2 hours
Paper 2 Writing

You must answer on the answer sheets.

INSTRUCTIONS
• Answer two questions in total:
Section A: answer Question 1.
Section B: answer one question.
• Use a black or dark blue pen.
• Write your Full Name, Student ID, Section and Subject Teacher’s Name, and School Name in
the boxes above.
• Do not use an erasable pen or correction fluid.

INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 50.
• The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].

Invigilated by: ___________ Marked by:____________ Marks tallied by: __________

This document has 6 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.

The City School / Unified Mid-Year Examination, December 2022 / English Language/ Paper 22 / Class 9 Page 1 of 6
 Section A: Directed Writing
Read both texts and answer Question 1.
Text A
The predominance of technology and smartphones in particular has led to many suggestions
that creativity is being killed by our reliance on these tools. This isn’t a new thought - people
were suggesting that technology was extinguishing creative impulses long ago. When I was a
kid, it was TV and computer games that were to bring the downfall of imaginations
everywhere.
Yet here we still are, creating stuff. Aldous Huxley, in 1932, suggested a future in which
humans sated a constant desire for distraction through technology. Thought could be kept at
bay because we would simply zap any boredom by distracting ourselves with our
technological devices.
We are sacrificing original thought for keeping ourselves constantly entertained. It’s also
argued that if we can find everything online somewhere, we don’t give ourselves room to
problem-solve and innovate on our own.
A strong argument for technology killing creativity is that kids (and adults) who always have
their heads in their phones, tablets or laptops lack imaginative activities that help to promote
creativity, slowly becoming the technological distraction that keeps thought at bay?
Scientific study tells us that we need time to daydream as daydreaming boosts our creativity.
If we’re filling any possible down time with scrolling through devices, are we inhibiting that
daydream time? Creativity is often referred to as a “use it or lose it” discipline. You might
work in a creative job role, but even you could be strangling your creativity by being fastened
to a device constantly.
You can access basically anything you like online. There are templates for everything and even
academic information is available all over the internet, resulting in more piracy and allegedly,
less creative thought when it comes to academic settings.
Lack of originality is one thing with content, but technology is also accused of promoting lazy
communication and diminishing our creativity in that area, with a recent study indicating that
while intelligence scores have steadily risen, creativity scores have been declining.

The City School / Unified Mid-Year Examination, December 2022 / English Language/ Paper 22 / Class 9 Page 2 of 6
Text B
Is technology limiting creativity? When the first video games were released, the public were
told it would have this effect. Now, science is showing video games can help users to
become more creative, not less. We can see in the accusation that tech generally is killing
creativity the same sort of knee-jerk negativity that comes with any significant cultural
change. In the case of technology, the benefits far outweigh those drawbacks.
Information does not eliminate creativity. Who could have guessed fifteen years ago that
people all around the world would be getting into the cars of strangers, or sleeping in the
beds of people they’d never met? And yet Uber and Airbnb – two truly original companies –
are now household brands. And that’s to say nothing of the way Google has changed the way
we live through its inventiveness. We take search-engine technology for granted, but Google’s
mastery in the field represents some of the most creative thinking for a generation.
Technology doesn’t only enable creativity, but nurtures it. Through platforms like YouTube,
anyone with an Internet connection can hone their skills and be inspired by others, while
meeting sites allow budding musicians, writers or filmmakers to get together and explore
ideas and techniques.
In the past, there were barriers to creative success that technology has eroded. Thanks to the
Internet, artists in tiny villages can reach a broad audience on the other side of the planet.
Forums and media platforms represent safe discussion arenas for all topics and people, where
exercises and conversation can stimulate original thought.
Far from killing creativity, technology allows for a greater proliferation of ideas and products,
which means more inspiration. Sites like Instagram do same thing in the realm of
photography: the vast number of images available means a limitless supply of inspiration for
aspiring and professional photographers.
Technology is not perfect, but the idea that there is something inherently creativity-stifling
about technology simply isn’t true. Creatives shouldn’t fear the tech “onslaught” but take
advantage of it to become better at what they do for what we will soon find is a not a
shutdown in the imagination, but an unprecedented period of creative flourishing.

The City School / Unified Mid-Year Examination, December 2022 / English Language/ Paper 22 / Class 9 Page 3 of 6
Question 1
Imagine you are the parent of a student at the school where a recent decision has been taken
to discourage the use of technology and focus entirely on traditional academics. Concerned
at this, you decide to write to the Head teacher, voicing your opinion.
• identify and evaluate your concerns at this decision
• explain your views on why technology boosts creative thought and a boost for
students’ future prospects
Base your letter on what you have read in the speech, but be careful to use your own words.
Address each of the bullet points.
Begin your letter, ‘Dear Headteacher…’.
Write about 250 to 350 words.
Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 15 marks for the
quality of your writing.
[25]

The City School / Unified Mid-Year Examination, December 2022 / English Language/ Paper 22 / Class 9 Page 4 of 6
 Section B: Composition
Answer one question.
Write about 350 to 450 words on one of the following questions.
Up to 10 marks are available for the content and structure of your answer and up to 15
marks for the style and accuracy of your writing.
EITHER
Descriptive Writing
2 Describe your feelings and reactions when you realise you have lost a very important
item. [25]
OR
Descriptive Writing
3 Describe what you see, hear and feel when you look up into the sky as day changes into
night) [25]
OR
Narrative Writing
4 Write the story of a day that remains an ever-lasting memory, although you were much
younger at the time [25]
OR
Narrative Writing
5 Write a story which includes the line, “It was in that moment that I understood a friend
in need is a friend indeed’. [25]

The City School / Unified Mid-Year Examination, December 2022 / English Language/ Paper 22 / Class 9 Page 5 of 6
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The City School / Unified Mid-Year Examination, December 2022 / English Language/ Paper 22 / Class 9 Page 6 of 6