Practice assessment 3.

English Stage 8
Unit 3: Terrific technology Name:

Becoming a software engineer: from

Silicon Valley to Shoreditch
Section A: Reading
Read the text below from Becoming a software engineer: from Silicon Valley to Shoreditch
by Tony Chen and answer the questions that follow.

I have had the privilege of working at four very different start-ups all within various
company life cycles. While each had its innovations, they had their fair share of
challenges as well. As an engineer, you’re often given tasks to build features that a
consumer will directly interact with, such as: a new game element, a preview mode for
5 the book that you’ve been putting together online, or a shiny new graph that helps you
track your financial progress.
But at a start-up, you may have the urge to dig deeper and go beyond your assigned
tasks. There’s often an open forum for discussion between engineers, product manager,
and designers as you work together to get the best product out. This could mean
10 sacrificing nice-to-have features in favour of delivering a focused and easy-to-use user
experience. In addition, you’ll always be finding new ways to optimise every step along
the way. In terms of speed, every 0.2 seconds count. Why 200 milliseconds? It takes the
brain roughly 200 milliseconds to recognise facial expressions, and is equivalent to what
a user considers an action to be instant.
15 Growing up in the Silicon Valley, I was either destined to become an engineer or at the
very least work for an engineering company. Everyone is always looking for the latest
and greatest iPhone app, following to see what Google, Facebook and Twitter are
doing next, or keeping up with emerging start-ups. Even non-engineers follow these
trends because it’s part of our culture. The technology industry is ever-changing and
20 knowledge is the key to survival.

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1. Look again at lines 1–6. Give one word to show that working as a software engineer
can be difficult and one phrase to show that your software needs to be easy to use
for everyone.

Word: ........................................................................................................................... [1]

Phrase: ........................................................................................................................ [1]

2. Look again at lines 7–14.

a) Who do engineers need to discuss their product with?

............................................................................................................................... [1]

b) Why is the time span of 0.2 seconds important?

............................................................................................................................... [1]

3. Look again at lines 15–20.

a) Explain in your own words why everyone follows the latest apps and
developments in social media and support this with a quotation.

Explanation: ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� [1]

Quotation: ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ [1]

b) What does Chen suggest is the most important requirement for a software
engineer?

............................................................................................................................... [1]

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4. a) Give one example of a closed question used by Chen.

............................................................................................................................... [1]

b) Now add a closed question of your own that asks the reader about the key skills
needed by software engineers.

............................................................................................................................... [1]

5. How is this information text structured? Tick two boxes.

As a question and answer session. �
Uses direct speech. �
Uses real place names and brands. �
Has several lists of three. �
Written in the third person. � [2]

6. Look at the heading: what technique is used to link together the job and the places
where Tony Chen has worked?

�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� [1]

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Section B: Writing
Your best friend would like to work as a software developer in the technology industry.
Give them advice about the skills they need to develop.
Consider the following:
● the kind of work they will end up doing
● how they will develop ideas with other people
● knowledge and interests they will need for this work. [12]

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