Curtin University Dubai ENGL0003 Midterm Exam: Trimester 2A, 2020

This document presents a comprehensive solution to the ENGL0003 Advanced Critical Thinking, Research, and Academic Writing Midterm Exam from Curtin University Dubai, Trimester 2A, 2020. The exam covers a variety of topics, including reading comprehension of an article on the impact of COVID-19 on rice farmers in Southeast Asia, with questions addressing key points and implications. It also includes tasks on citing and referencing scholarly sources using Chicago 17th B style, and exercises in summarizing and paraphrasing passages from the provided article. Furthermore, the solution identifies and explains logical fallacies and cognitive biases presented in various scenarios. The exam assesses critical thinking skills, research abilities, and academic writing proficiency, providing a detailed breakdown of answers and justifications for each section.

UNIT: ENGL0003, Advanced Critical Thinking, Research and Academic Writing
: Exam Paper document (soft copy) and Reading Comprehension document
(soft copy, attached); Answers to be typed in the exam document)
SUPPLIED BY THE STUDENT: NONE
THIS IS AN OPEN BOOK EXAM
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
 The completed mid – term paper needs to be submitted on Blackboard on the
Turnitin Link under the assessments tab titled as ‘Midterm exam submission link’
within the given time frame mentioned above.
 Late submissions will not be accepted.
 You are not to discuss the answers with anyone. You need to follow the Academic
Integrity guidelines of the university.
FAMILY NAME:
GIVEN NAME:
STUDENT ID NO:
For the Examiner Only:
Part 1 ______/10
Part 2 ______/10

Part 3______/15
Part 4______/9
Part 5______/6
TOTAL______/50
Percentage Grade Grade Notation

Part 1: Reading Comprehension
Read the article titled Impact of Covid-19 on Rice Farmers in South East Asia
(attached) by Jefferson M. Fox, Arunee Promkhambut and Phanwin Yokying
and answer the questions below. Write your answers in the space provided (10
marks):
a) ___/1 Explain one point which the authors had said made the
situation stressful before Covid-19.
Yes, the situation is stressful because they face a situation
of drought including the problem of land tenure and
access to credit.
b) ___/1 Which country is considered as the largest consumer of
rice in the world?
China
c) ___/1 Which people of society have been identified as now
being reliant on food banks?
Taxi drivers, street vendors, day labourers, elderly
citizens
d) ____/1 Explain why access to clean water is increasingly difficult.
Access to clean water is increasingly difficult because of
drought and emphasis on hand washing due to campaign
(COVID - 19)
e) ____/1 In the context of the article, explain what the authors
mean when they said “Assistance has been spotty.”
Though government provide range of facilities to farmers
but newspaper shows that it is quite difficult for farmers
to raise money. It is so because government loans have
paused and the operations of micro financing have also
suspended.
f) ____/1 According to the article, there has been an increase in the
amount of labourers available to work. True/False/Not
Mentioned (Answer Below)
False
g) ____/1 List three ways in which the pandemic has affected rice
farming in South East Asia.

Disrupt food supply chain
access of cleaning water is problematic
security of land tenure and access to credit, capital
inputs, remittance income
h) ____/1 According to the article, all urban areas are affected by
the clean water shortage.
True/False/Not Mentioned (Answer Below)
True
i) ____/1 Along with Covid 19, what was the other emergency that
the farmers faced in 2019?
Drought
j) ____/1 Which two countries does the article state are considered
as the financially better off in South East Asia?
Thailand and Vietnam
____/10

Part 2: Citing and Referencing
Below is the information about two different scholarly sources. Using the
information provided, create a reference list and one in-text citation for
each source, all in Chicago 17th B Style (10 marks):
Source 1:
Anna Carolina Menezes, Andrew Cripps, Dino Bouchlaghem, Richard Buswell
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2014.02.009
(*please note that in all names above, last name(surname) comes second)
End-of-text reference: …
1
1 Menezes, Anna Carolina, Andrew Cripps, Dino Bouchlaghem, and Richard Buswell.
"Predicted vs. actual energy performance of non-domestic buildings: Using post-occupancy
evaluation data to reduce the performance gap." Applied energy 97 (2012): 355-364.

Source 2:
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812143-6.00007-2
Place of Publication: Ontario
End-of-text reference: …
2
Reference List:
In-text citation 1: (Menezes et.al., 2012 , 355-364)
In-text citation 2: (Martin and Ford, 2018)
____/10
2 Martin, Rod A., and Thomas Ford. The psychology of humor: An integrative approach.
Academic press, 2018.

Part 3: Summarising and Paraphrasing
1) The passage below is an excerpt from the article Impact of Covid-19 on
Rice Farmers in South East Asia by Jefferson M. Fox, Arunee
Promkhambut and Phanwin Yokying, published in 2020, no page or
volume given. Paraphrase (do not reword) the passage and include an
in-text citation in Chicago 17th B style (5 marks):
Lockdowns to contain COVID-19 have also exposed farmers in some areas to unprincipled
land grabs. News reports from eastern Cambodia say that a Vietnamese rubber company,
Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), illegally cleared swaths of land in Ratanakiri. Province that
belonged to indigenous farming communities. Despite pledges to return the land to local
farmers, the company bulldozed sacred sites, burial grounds, traditional hunting areas,
farm lands, wetlands and old-growth forests, while local residents sheltered at home due
to COVID-19.
In Southeast Asia, the pandemic has affected rice farming in many ways including security
of land tenure and access to credit, capital inputs, remittance income, and safe food and
water. During emergencies such as the 2019 drought and the COVID-19 pandemic,
farmers need assistance, either from the government or private philanthropy. Thailand
and Vietnam, the wealthier countries in the region, have provided farmers with basic
assistance. Farmers in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia are struggling.
Lockdown which was done to reduce Covid 19, had created negative impact for the
farmer, as they were served with the issue of unprincipled land grabs on their land. This
statement is passed on by the eastern Cambodia a news report company, in the new
report company highlighted that Vietnamese rubber company, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL)
has grabd land in Ratanakiri, which was owned by farmer community. Company has taken
unwanted advantage of resident as all of them were at home due to Covid 19 and on the
back of same company has pull down sacred sites, hunting are and old growth forest3.
Looking at the situation in Southeast Asia, it has been identified that Covid 19 pandemic
had impacted rice farming, security of land tenure, capital input and safety of food and
water in negative way. As Farmer are the one who are not that rich commodity they
desire to have assistance from government or private philanthropy. For the same reason
some countries such as Thailand and Vietnam has helped the farmer by providing some
assistance to them.
____/5
3 Fox, Jefferson M., Arunee Promkhambut, and Phanwin Yokying. "Impact of COVID-19 on rice
farmers in Southeast Asia." (2020).

2) The passage below is a section of the article Impact of Covid-19 on Rice
Farmers in South East Asia by Jefferson M. Fox, Arunee Promkhambut
and Phanwin Yokying, published in 2020, no page or volume given.
Summarise the passage in your words and include an in-text citation in
Chicago 17th B style (10 marks):
*space for your answer is provided on the following page

Southeast Asia, has been impacted by the drought in the recent time and now Covid 19, has
created variety of issue for farmer and above it to make it worse for them as price of rice is
pushing.
Asia is the largest exporter of rice, as account three-quarter of total rice. India, the largest
exporter of rice has suspended export for three weeks in Lock down. Not only India other
Asian Countries has also done the same.
Thailand was the one country who had manufactured rice as per expectation but market had
turnaround and price of rice has increased by 25%. No only Thailand, countries like
Cambodia and Vietnam had also pulled off way above their weight by producing good
quantity of rice in first five months.
Looking at the demand side of rice it has been seen that China world largest importer has
imported 60% more rice as compare to past4. At the same time Company like Indonesia and
Philippines had stockpiles sustainable supply.
Looking at the problem for rice farmer it has been identified that shortage of worker and
higher capital require are two issue which is faced by the farmer in general.
___/10
4 Fox, Jefferson M., Arunee Promkhambut, and Phanwin Yokying. "Impact of COVID-19 on rice
farmers in Southeast Asia." (2020).

Part 4: Logical Fallacies (__/5)
1) Each example below illustrates a different logical fallacy. Identify and
explain why it is the correct fallacy in the space provided (5 marks):
Answer:
1. In a local council debate, the Councillor for
Manchester said that we should put more money
into the Police, his opponent responded by
saying that she was surprised that the Councillor
dislikes Manchester so much that he wants to
leave it worse off by cutting its Education budget.
(1 mark)
Appeal to Ignorance
The correct fallacy is he wants
to leave it worse off by cutting
its Education budget because
Councillor dislikes Manchester
and that is why, they have to
cut from Education budget.
2. Cognitive Biases are not a part of the physical
world, since Biases are in their nature, non-
physical. (1 mark)
False dilemma
Cognitive bias is correct fallacy
because mainly arise in
person's line of reasoning
while making any decision by
their personal beliefs.
On the other side, Bias are in
people nature and that is why,
it is consider non- physical
which is true.
3. If we continue to live in fear of Covid-19, it won’t
be long until we are too frightened to come out
of our homes ever again. (1 mark)
Hasty Generalization
people frightened to come out
of our homes is a correct
Fallacy because the pandemic
causes death and people will
be scared to come out. But
they have to live with COVID-
19.
4. I watched American Football once and that was
enough for me to know they are all aggressive
and unsporting athletes. (1 mark)
Appeal to authority
It is a correct fallacy that by
watching a single match
people interpret the
performance of athletes, but it
does not mean that all the
players are play in aggressive
manner.
5. After Marjan presented an eloquent and
compelling case for School reform, Fatemah
Strawman arguement
there is no need to ask any
women if she did not have any

asked the audience whether we should believe
anything from a woman who does not have
children herself and has a strange accent. (1
mark)
child (experience) is a fallacy
that a person do not have any
experience, then he or she is
not able to provide solutions
because it provides wrong
results.
6. Due to a drop in sales, we are closing 5 stores
across the Middle East. It should be remembered
that our products are the best on the market and
we thank our Engineers deserve praise for that.
Casual Fallacy
Drop in sales does not mean
our product is best in the
market. There is no point
appraising Engineers for their
efforts.
7. Mosquitos are just like flies; they both can fly
and cause mischief, it would be ridiculous to
suggest one poses more threat to your health
than the other.
appeal to ignorance
Mosquitoes can create
bigger health issue as
compare to flies, as
Mosquito can cause you
variety of diseases likeZika
virus, West Nile virus,
Chikungunya virus, dengue,
and malaria. So it is not
ridiculous to select one out
of both.
8. The seriousness of a punishment should match
the seriousness of the crime. Right now, the
punishment for driving without an eye test may
simply be a fine. But driving with weak eye sight
is a very serious crime that can kill innocent
people. So the death penalty should be the
punishment for drunk driving.
ad hominem argument
Death Punishment should be
their for drunk and drive cases
if they have killed someone. If
they have not killed someone
then there should be no death
punishment for drunk and
drive case.
9. Giving money to charity is the right thing to do.
So charities have a right to our money.
Circular Argument
There is no right of charity over
our money. As money which
we provide to them is for the
purpose of environment
betterment. Giving money to
charity is the right thing to do
_____/9

Part 5: Cognitive Biases
Each scenario below illustrates a different cognitive bias. Identify and write the
correct bias in the space provided (6 marks):
The Covid-19 pandemic swept into our lives quite suddenly, and, in a way, left no stone
unturned. It reminded us, yet again, that not only do our bodies have weaknesses, but so do
our cognition and, on a much larger scale, our societies, too.
The virus has produced different responses in the media. Many news articles have
highlighted that people can limit the spread of the virus by following certain guidelines,
particularly social distancing, but one particular article said we cannot avoid the virus and
that it will most likely infect all of us at some point. That particular article invoked a lot of
upset responses, many people have been unable to ignore the claims that were made. (1.
________Confirmation____________) At this time next year we will all have moved on from
this virus, many of us would agree that this was a one off and will never happen again, there
shouldn’t any need to change policies in the government or stock on supplies like an
emergency is coming. (2. ____________Hindsight Bias_______)
A Doctor has recently claimed he has seen a greater increase in Covid-19 symptoms from
patients. He recently attended a conference given by the NHS in the UK where they
informed Doctors of all the symptoms, even the most peculiar and unusual ones that have
been discovered such as dizziness and fatigue. At least three patients a day have had similar
symptoms since then.

(3. _Availability heuristics__________Representative Heuristic________)
The way the general public was introduced to the particularities of the virus has played an
important role in how people perceive it. For instance, the first thing we learned about the
novel Coronavirus was that there was a high mortality rate among older generations. This
immediately led people to assume that the virus was a serious threat only to those older
than 60 and that others have nothing to worry about. (4. _____________Anchoring
bias_______).
Different countries have been handling the crisis in different ways. For instance, the
government of a certain country decided to provide all its citizens with a one-off financial
support package roughly amounting to $100 per citizen. The majority gladly accepted the
package, not showing any interest in the government’s long-term plans on how to deal with
the impending economic crisis. (5. __________Framing_____________)
There has been disputes amongs cities in many large countries. An example being Swansea
refused to share an excessive amount of PPE with Cardiff, even though they are both from
Wales and the UK. The Councillor for Swansea justified the decision as people in Cardiff are
mostly students anyway and don’t deserve the PPE from other cities, (6. ________Herd
Mentality___________).
____/6
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