When you enter the room there will be a sheet of paper that illustrates how to complete an origami (paper folding) project. On the other side of the room, there is another candidate who can’t look at you, but who has a blank piece of paper. Verbally guide your colleague to completion of the origami project.
You have 5 minutes to complete the project after which you will be given 3 minutes to discuss with your colleague any difficulties that arise during your communication.
Universities are commonly faced with the complicated task of balancing the educational needs of their students and the cost required to provide learning resources to a large number of individuals. As a result of this tension, there has been much debate regarding the optimal size of classes. One side argues that smaller classes provide a more educationally effective setting for students, while others argue that it makes no difference, so larger classes should be used to minimise the number of instructors required.
Discuss your opinion on this issue with the examiner
A message that recently appeared on the Web warned readers of the dangers of aspartame (artificial sweetener –Nutrasweet, Equal) as a cause of an epidemic of multiple sclerosis (a progressive chronic disease of the nervous system) and systemic lupus (a multisystem auto-immune disease). The biological explanation provided was that, at body temperature, aspartame releases wood alcohol (methanol), which turns into formic acid, which ‘is in the same class of drugs as cyanide and arsenic.’ Formic acid, they argued, causes metabolic acidosis. Clinically, aspartame poisoning was argued to be a cause of joint pain, numbness, cramps, vertigo, headaches, depression, anxiety, slurred speech and blurred vision. The authors claimed that aspartame remains on the market because the food and drug industries have powerful lobbies in Congress. They quoted Dr Russell Blaylock, who said, ‘The ingredients stimulate the neurons of the brain to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees.’
Critique this message, in terms of the strength of the arguments presented and their logical consistency. Your critique might include an indication of the issues that you would like to delve into further before assessing the validity of these claims.