I worked for a brief while in a college in Delhi, and among my more uncomfortable memories is a language exercise, I gave a group of eight undergraduates: I asked them to imagine that they had already graduated and wanted them to write an application for a suitable job. Seven of the eight students wrote applications for the jobs of clerks. Even in one of the good universities, and in a college that had a reputation for its academic standards, the system had snuffed out all youthful ambition.

Even the highest youthful ambition in the prestigious colleges is to pass the competitive examination for appointments in the administrative services, and there are colleges that are more proud of the bureaucrats among their alumni than of any scholars, scientists or leaders of opinion. And these latter, understandably, are a small number. Students derive the meanness of their ambitions from the meanness of the goals that the colleges propose to themselves. And of the most ambitious, as well as of the least, among the students, it could be said that they think more of what society will do to or for them, than of what they would be able to do for and to society. This is an excellent apprenticeship for joining the ranks of hirelings or of the unemployed.

What exercise did the author give the students?

Question

I worked for a brief while in a college in Delhi, and among my more uncomfortable memories is a language exercise, I gave a group of eight undergraduates: I asked them to imagine that they had already graduated and wanted them to write an application for a suitable job. Seven of the eight students wrote applications for the jobs of clerks. Even in one of the good universities, and in a college that had a reputation for its academic standards, the system had snuffed out all youthful ambition.

Even the highest youthful ambition in the prestigious colleges is to pass the competitive examination for appointments in the administrative services, and there are colleges that are more proud of the bureaucrats among their alumni than of any scholars, scientists or leaders of opinion. And these latter, understandably, are a small number. Students derive the meanness of their ambitions from the meanness of the goals that the colleges propose to themselves. And of the most ambitious, as well as of the least, among the students, it could be said that they think more of what society will do to or for them, than of what they would be able to do for and to society. This is an excellent apprenticeship for joining the ranks of hirelings or of the unemployed.

What exercise did the author give the students?

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:
The passage clearly and explicitly states the nature of the task given by the author. The text reads: "...among my more uncomfortable memories is a **language exercise**, I gave a group of eight undergraduates: I asked them to imagine that they had already graduated and wanted them to write an application for a suitable job." While the specific task was writing a job application, the overall category or description the author uses for this task is "a language exercise." The term is used as a definitive label for the activity, and since the specific task (writing a job application) is not an option, the broader classification provided by the author is the accurate answer. This exercise served as a starting point for the author's reflection on the limited ambitions of the students.

The incorrect option is 1:
"A comprehension passage" is incorrect because a comprehension passage typically requires students to read a text and answer questions based on it. The author's exercise was a writing task (writing a job application), not a reading task designed to test understanding of a given text.

The incorrect option is 2:
"Precis writing" is incorrect because precis writing involves summarizing a larger piece of text into a concise, accurate overview. The assignment given was to write a job application, which is a form of functional writing and not a summary exercise.

The incorrect option is 3:
"Expansion of a poem" is incorrect as this would involve students taking a short poetic text and elaborating on its themes, imagery, and meaning in prose. The author clearly assigned a task focused on practical, formal communication—writing an application for employment—which has no relation to poetic expansion.