ENG2612
SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATION
20th of January 2026 at 08:00am
BEFORE 08:00 am, 22nd January 2026
2026
THIS EXAMINATION CONSISTS OF TWO QUESTIONS. CHOOSE ONE OF THE TWO
QUESTIONS AND WRITE DOWN THE NUMBER OF THE QUESTION YOU HAVE
SELECTED IN THE TEMPLATE WE HAVE PROVIDED YOU WITH.
0 7 6 4 0 3 1 2 2 9
, ENG2612 SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATION
20th of January 2026 at 08:00am
BEFORE 08:00 am, 22nd January 2026.
QUESTION ONE:
The article Assessment of Student Learning Is Broken by Zach Justus and Nik Janos is a
persuasive opinion piece published on Inside Higher Ed. Its primary purpose is to argue
that traditional methods of assessing student learning in higher education have been
rendered ineffective by the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Through the
strategic use of genre, contextual awareness, formal style, and carefully chosen linguistic
features, the writers seek to influence academic stakeholders to reconsider assessment
practices. This essay argues that the authors effectively use a persuasive academic
genre, authoritative context, formal style, and rhetorical language features to
communicate their message and justify their call for institutional reform.
The target audience of the text consists mainly of higher education professionals,
including lecturers, administrators, accreditation bodies, and policymakers. This is
evident from references to “institutional accreditation,” “program-level assessment,” and
“deans’ offices” (Justus & Janos, 2024). The context is contemporary and technologically
driven, responding to the rapid emergence of AI tools such as ChatGPT. By situating
their argument in the post-2022 “release of ChatGPT” era, the writers acknowledge a
major shift in educational practice. The article appears in a professional academic
platform, Inside Higher Ed, which further confirms its relevance to an informed,
academic readership. The authors use this context to frame AI not merely as a classroom
tool, but as a disruptive force that challenges long-standing assessment systems.
In terms of genre, the text is an opinion article with persuasive and argumentative
features. The writers do not simply describe the problem; instead, they advocate for
specific changes, including “a one-year pause on assessment requirements” and a
“wholesale re-evaluation of how to measure student learning” (Justus & Janos, 2024).
This shows that the article aims to influence policy and practice rather than merely
inform. The inclusion of a “Specific Example” section strengthens the argument by
providing real-world evidence from a sociology class. This blends academic