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APPENDIX I

Focus-Group Study for Ranking Difficult or Easy Writing Topics

Instruction: Please check the topics you feel easy or difficult in the following sheet. Topic # 1 Writing Topics in the LPI Workbook (2008) Some hospitals run lotteries for which the tickets cost as much as $100. Do you think this is a fair way to raise money? Explain why you would OR would not buy such a lottery ticket. Be specific. Explain why you do OR do not take an interest in federal politics. Be specific Will you OR will you not take an interest in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler and Vancouver? Provide reasons. If there is a major court trial that is frequently reported on in the media, do you Or do you not follow it with interest? In either case, explain why. Identify something that you have succeeded at in your life, and explain why you succeeded. (Was it natural talent, hard work, the influence of family or friends, or help from a coach or teacher?) What are some of the things about which you are superstitious? Explain why you came to have these superstitious? Do you think stories in the media related to human health, or a possible threat to human health, are interesting? Explain why you do or do not. Be specific. Explain why you think being a young person today is more difficult than it was about 20 years ago. Be specific. What are some of the disadvantages of being either left-handed or very tall? Give specific examples In your opinion, if public transportation in a large city were free, would enough people leave their cars at home to significantly reduce traffic congestion? Why OR why not? Be specific. Identify two or three of the heroes you have looked up to during your lifetime. Are they OR are they not still heroes to you? Provide reasons. Easy/Difficult

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Writing Topics in the LPI Workbook (2008) Which individuals or groups contribute to making your school or workplace as special place? Be specific. Provide reasons. What, in your view, are some of the potential problems associated with the Internet? Be specific. Agree OR disagree with the following statement: The larger a city gets, the more it has to offer the people who live there. Provide reasons Write an essay in which you contrast different attitudes you have had at different times in your life toward some persons, activities, or places. Be specific What personality trait or attitude do you most dislike in other people? Provide reasons. Be specific. If you plan to attend a college or a university, what factors will influence your choice of what to study? Provide reasons. Do you OR do you not think that the world is undergoing a period of global warming at the present time? Provide evidence in support of your opinion. Write an essay in which you explain why you would OR would not run for public office such as city councillor. Provide reasons. Identity some of the strategies that you used to get through your years as a teenager. Give examples. Be specific. What, in your opinion, are some of the reasons that radio talk shows (including the numerous sports talk shows) are often more irritating than informative? Be specific. Agree OR disagree with the following statement: There has never been a better time to be alive than the present. Provide reasons. Be specific. What conflict or social issue that is frequently in the news do you feel you have heard enough about? Provide reasons In what way OR ways do you think your life will be different from the life of your parents? Be specific.

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