Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success : A Self-management Approach

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TAKING EXAMS 271

such individuals from paying taxes until such time as they

are financially better off. Still, what drives this whole issue

are. People feel that they are paying too much money and

are receiving too little in return. The rich seem to have ways

to hide or shelter their income, and the poor see what little

they earn shrink under an ever increasing tax burden. The

flat tax will not solve the whole tax problem in one step,

but it will help to create more fairness for everyone who has

to pay taxes. An example of a flat tax is state sales taxes;

rich and poor pay the same percentage, but not the same

amount. The rich pay more in total dollars because the

items they buy cost more.

It is not possible to totally eliminate problems associated

can help bring the country one step closer to the realization

is the population’s perception that things are not fair as they

with taxes, money, fairness, and poverty, but the flat tax

of an equitable society.

Evaluating the Two Essay Responses

Read this section only after you have evaluated the two essay

responses. The response to the essay on the proposed flat tax requires

the student to discuss and describe. If you refer to the list of key terms

presented earlier, you will see that discuss requires the student to con-

sider the various points of view by presenting all sides of the issue,

whereas describe requires the students to state the particulars in detail.

The following guidelines were presented for writing an essay: Begin

with an introductory paragraph to define terms or describe your

approach to answering the question; state each main idea and back it

up with supporting details or examples; add transitional words such as

first, second, third, moreover, in addition, in conclusion, and therefore;

add a summary or conclusion; and proofread and revise your answer.

In Response 1, the student’s introduction describes why some indi-

viduals are interested in the flat tax and defines what it would accom-

plish. In the next two paragraphs, the student presents the pros and

cons of the flat tax (i.e., satisfying the “discuss” aspect of the question).

In the third paragraph, the student describes the effects it may have on

the U.S. economy, the second part of the question. In the fifth para-

graph, the student uses the information presented in the earlier para-

graphs to reach some important conclusions regarding the flat tax. The

response is well organized, with each paragraph serving an important

function in answering all parts of the question. The essay is well writ-

ten and does not include any serious grammatical or spelling errors.