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1. Where was this picture taken?
This picture was taken outside, on an athletic field.
2. Whom do you see in the picture?
We see a man and a girl in the picture.
3. What are they doing?
They are standing, and the man is passing something to the girl.
4. What is the man dressed in?
The man is dressed in a suit and tie.
5. What is the girl dressed in?
The girl is dressed in a cap and gown.
6. What is in their hands?
A diploma is in their hands. The man is handing out a diploma to the girl.
7. Why is the man giving the girl a diploma?
The man is giving the girl a diploma because she has graduated from school.
8. What is this ceremony called?
This ceremony is called a graduation ceremony, or commencement exercises.
9. Who is usually present at a graduation?
The people that are usually present at a graduation include parents, the graduates, the faculty, friends and family of the graduates, and the members of the band and choir.
10. What parts are usually in commencement exercises?
Commencement exercises often consist of procession, speeches, awarding of honors, distribution of diplomas, and recession. There is also often special music by the band and/or the choir.
11. What kinds of awards are usually presented at a graduation ceremony?
The awards that are usually presented at a graduation ceremony include graduation cum laude (with honor), magna cum laude (with great honor), and summa cum laude (with highest honor). In addition, the school recognizes the top two students, based on grade point average (GPA): valedictorian (highest GPA) and salutatorian (second highest GPA).
12. Who might give a speech at commencement exercises?
The principal of the school, or a well-respected teacher, might give a speech at commencement exercises. Sometimes there is also a guest speaker at commencement exercises, especially at a college or university. And usually the valedictorian and/or the salutatorian will give a commencement speech as well.
13. How is it determined which students will give a speech?
The valedictorian and salutatorian are chosen to give a commencement speech based on their class rank.
14. How do the graduates get their diploma?
The graduates line up to get their diploma, and they walk across the stage after their name has been called. They walk up to the person handing out the diplomas and shake his hand as he gives them the diploma.
15. What does a graduate do right after he receives his diploma?
Immediately after receiving the diploma, the graduate switches the tassel on his mortarboard from the right-hand side to the left (undergraduate and high school).
16. What does the graduating class often do after everyone has received his diploma?
After everyone has received his diploma, the entire graduating class often toss their mortarboards high into the air.
17. What can take place after a graduation ceremony?
After a graduation ceremony, there usually is picture-taking. People also like to have celebrations like a graduation party.
18. How might a family celebrate a son or daughter’s graduation?
A family might celebrate a son or daughter’s graduation by taking family and friends out to dinner, or hosting a dinner party at their home.
19. What kind of graduation present might be given to the graduate?
Graduation presents that are often given to the graduate range from nice pens or dictionaries (especially for those who are going on to college or university) to cars or apartments (especially for those who have graduated from college or university, and are starting off on their own life).
20. How might the graduate celebrate?
The graduate might celebrate by attending a graduation party with his friends or classmates. This is usually separate from a graduation party with the family.
Paragraph: Graduation
When I graduated from high school, the weather was nice. It wasn’t too hot, it wasn’t too cold, and it was sunny, so we were able to have the graduation ceremony on the football field. The commencement exercises were scheduled for 1 p.m., so all the graduates gathered at the high school beforehand to get ready. The girls wore nice dresses, and the boys wore suits and ties. Of course everyone would wear a cap and gown for the graduation ceremony, but we still dressed up. Many of us would have some sort of celebration, such as a graduation dinner, afterwards, so dressing up was appropriate. A number of the girls wore a corsage on their gowns. Just before the start of the graduation ceremony, we lined up at the end of the football field and waited for the band to start playing the traditional graduation music, Pomp and Circumstance. We marched in procession to our seats and sat down, row by row. One of our classmates was handicapped and thus in a wheelchair, so a couple of the boys wheeled him in the procession.
Once everyone had taken their seat, the principal gave some opening remarks. A local pastor opened with a word of prayer, and then there several speeches – one by the superintendent, one by the principal, one by the valedictorian, and one by the salutatorian. Although the speeches were all different, they all had a common theme – the secret to success in life lay in hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Like most commencement speeches, they were meant to inspire us to work hard and dream for our future.
It was difficult to remember exactly who said what, because we were all excited to be graduating from high school – it was an important milestone in our lives, a marker that we were finally adults: some of us would start working full time and move out on our own, some of us would go into military service, and some of us would be getting ready to attend college or university in the coming fall. Before we knew it, all the speeches were over, and it was time to begin handing out the diplomas. Row by row, we stood up and got in line, waiting for the moment when our name was called and we would march across the stage, shake hands with the superintendent as he handed us our diploma, pause a moment for the photographer who took a picture of our personal milestone, and switch the tassel on our cap from the right side to the left, to signify our new status as graduates. We then finished the walk across the stage and went back to our seats.
After everyone had received his diploma, the principal then addressed the audience of family and friends: “Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you the Class of 1981. Congratulations!” At these words, a number of the graduates took off their caps and tossed them high into the air, happy to hear those magic words. Then the band struck up the recessional music, and we marched off the field, marching away from high school, away from our childhood and into adulthood, into the future.
