ENGL 203/Schwartz

ENGL 203/Schwartz

Information Sheet: Final Exam

The three-hour, closed book Final will take place during the scheduled exam time as listed in the university Final Exam schedule. Except under truly exceptional circumstances, you should plan to take the final at the time scheduled for your class section. If you will be taking the exam through DSR, please remember to schedule well in advance, if possible on the same day as the scheduled exam time for your section.

The exam will be worth 300 points. In format it will resemble the midterm. It will be semi-cumulative: all works read this quarter will be covered in some parts (see below), but particular emphasis will be on readings since the midterm. You are responsible for material covered in lectures, study guides, on-line readings and assigned background pages as well as the primary readings themselves. In the calculation of the final course grade, your cumulative exam score (based on 500 total exam points for midterm and final) will be worth 40%.

The final exam will cover differences between medieval and modern notions of literature and textuality, the development of vernacular literature from the Old English period through the 15th century, and your knowledge of the works read in class. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of significant issues in individual works and your ability to make meaningful connections among readings. It will also test your familiarity with the tools introduced in the research exercises and your ability to write correct Works Cited entries in proper MLA bibliographic format for primary texts in anthologies, single-author books, essays in edited collections and journal articles.

NOTE: on the Passage ID and Item ID sections, the following count as separate works: each lyric poem (you can refer to a poem that doesn't really have a title simply as "lyric poem"); each Chaucer reading (specify GP, WBP, WPT, "Truth," "Gentillesse"); each version of the Romance of the Rose (specify author, Guillaume de Lorris or Jean de Meun); each reading by Christine de Pizan (specify title: the God of Love's Letter, the Debate on the Romance of the Rose, The Book of Fortune's Transformation, Christine's Vision, The Book of the City of Ladies, the Letter of Othea, the Path of Long Study); each canticle of the Divine Comedy (specify INF, PURG or PAR; of course, the Vita Nuova also counts as a separate work!).

Objective Portion will be divided into the following sections:

1) Chronology of significant historical milestones/periods from the whole quarter and of life spans of authors and dates of works read since the midterm exam. You will be expected to match items/people/events with dates given on study guides, in Norton or in other text introductions. No choice -- as on the midterm, you will be expected to answer ALL questions in this section.

2) Item IDS: Identifications of various elements -- characters, objects, themes or motifs -- from readings since the midterm, including ALL the work(s) in which they occur, with enough detail to distinguish between them if there are significant differences between the role played by the item in different works. Each item you select is worth 2 pts. total. You will receive 1 pt. for both the general ID of the item (e.g. "Cupid" = the God of Love) AND, if relevant, for explaining any significant differences between the role played by that item in different readings. So, to use an example that could have been on the midterm exam, Aeneas/Eneas is, in general terms, always the Trojan prince who becomes the legendary founder of Rome (general ID); but there are significant differences between his roles in the various readings in which he appears: in the Romance of Eneas, he is in love with Lavinia, but not in the Aeneid, where he marries her purely to fulfill his destiny; additionally, Aeneas is mentioned in the framing passages of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (but plays no role in the narrative itself). You will also earn 1 pt. for listing ALL readings in which that item appears (even if there are not significant differences between the roles played by the item in each work). For example, to get the full point for the works in which Cupid appears, you would need to mention 4 works: both Guillaume de Lorris's and Jean de Meun's Romance(s) of the Rose, the God of Love's Letter, and Dante's Vita Nuova). As on the midterm, you will be required to select items from a broad sampling of the readings covered in class, but there will be an element of choice in this section.

3) Factual questions concerning authors, genres, forms, languages, sources, and literary terms associated with assigned readings, including Translatio and "Courtly Love" (yet again). Format: multiple choice, T/F, matching, and/or short answers. You must answer ALL questions in this section. While this section will be cumulative, there will be heaviest emphasis on works read since the midterm exam.

4) Questions concerning assigned portions of the MLA Handbook, research tools introduced in class and the correct MLA bibliographic format for Works Cited entries for the following types of works: primary texts in anthologies, single-author books, essays in edited collections and journal articles. There will be no choice -- as on the midterm exam, you must answer ALL the questions.

You should know the above material well (and do these sections quickly) so you have adequate time for interpretive sections of exam.

To prepare:

Make a study sheet for each work we have read this quarter. List titles from syllabus/study guides (don't forget the works of which we read a short selection, e.g. Langland's Piers Plowman). For each title, jot down author (if known); language of composition (Latin, Old English, Middle English, French, Italian); genre; and the formal characteristics of the language (prose, specific kinds of verse, rhyme schemes, correct terminology for divisions of the work, etc.) List names of principal characters in each reading. Be sure you can describe/ explain what is meant by the terms listed under "genre" and "form"! NOTE: Study guides clue you in to which characters and terms are particularly important.
Review class notes, study guides, Introduction and individual author/ work headnotes in The Norton Anthology, and assigned introductions in other texts. Make a timeline of significant historical events and periods from the WHOLE class and of dates for the authors and works read SINCE THE MIDTERM. Be able to match events/periods, authors and titles to the dates on your time-line.
Complete/correct background questions on reading quizzes and use them to review.
Review notes you made in preparation for the midterm exam.
You are also expected to demonstrate familiarity with the research tools covered in research assignments (MLA Handbook, Polycat, Net Library, MLA Bibliography, journal databases, EIL, Link+). Know what they are (and aren't) useful for and be aware of their shortcomings. Review basic rules of punctuation, capitalization and italics/underlining used in bibliographic formats as found in MLA Handbook. Know correct MLA bibliographic format for Works Cited entries for primary texts in anthologies, single-author books, essays in edited collections and journal articles.

Interpretive Portion of exam will include some combination of Passage IDS, Passage Interpretation and Essay. There will be choice in all of these sections.

1) Passage IDs: key passages from ALL readings since the midterm exam. Passages chosen will be similar to those found on reading quizzes. You will be asked to choose a certain number of these passages, identify the work/author, and answer several other questions (speaker, what is being described, etc.). The following count as separate works: each lyric poem (since they don't really have titles, you can refer to them simply as "lyric poem"); each Chaucer reading (specify GP, WBP, WPT); each version of the Romance of the Rose (specify author: Guillaume de Lorris or Jean de Meun); each reading by Christine de Pizan (specify title: the God of Love's Letter, the Debate on the Romance of the Rose, The Book of Fortune's Transformation, Christine's Vision, The Book of the City of Ladies, the Letter of Othea, the Path of Long Study); each canticle of the Divine Comedy (specify INF, PURG or PAR).
2) Passage Interpretation: Discuss the THEMATIC SIGNIFICANCE of ONE of the listed passages. Discussion should be concise (one meaty paragraph) but detailed: refer to specific words/images/themes in the chosen passage, explaining its thematic relevance in the work as a whole. (In other words, why was the passage significant enough to be included on the exam?)
3) Essay: a choice of questions (most of which allow you to discuss works of your choice). Most topics require you to make meaningful connections between works. You may NOT write on the same works or topics which were the focus of your out-of-class essay OR your midterm exam essay. Substantial penalty if you do!!

To prepare:

Use study guides and class notes to review significant themes and trace their development across the readings.

Use Reading Quizzes to review some key passages that may reappear on the exam or be useful support for an essay question.

Consult class notes and be sure to review any passages in your texts which you have underlined during class discussions. Consider how these particular passages fit into the key themes and developments discussed in class. Brainstorm with a friend or group of classmates to identify important themes /motifs/ connections which you may not have noticed yourself.

TIPS: you should know (and be able to spell correctly) the titles and authors of ALL works read this quarter along with their language of composition, genre and form, the literary terms associated with these genres and forms, and their definitions. Genres covered include (but are not limited to) lyric, chronicle, dream vision, epic, treatise, prologue, lai, verse romance, prose romance, canticle, sermon, mystery play, frame narrative, estates satire, literary confession, letter, razo; forms include (but aren't limited to) alliterative verse, rhymed verse, prose, octosyllabic rhyming couplets, thirteeners, terza rima; languages represented include Old English, Middle English, French, Italian and Latin. Know dates for works and authors read since the midterm and for the most significant historical milestones covered in the whole quarter.

REMEMBER: There will be choice in many BUT NOT ALL sections. You are advised to have read ALL the material assigned, since it will be difficult to camouflage large gaps. You WILL be required to demonstrate SOME knowledge of ALL works/authors read this quarer.

A WORD TO THE WISE: The exam will closely resemble the midterm in format -- now that you know what to expect, you can prepare accordingly. And (as I hope the midterm demonstrated), remember that while my exams are demanding, I try to ensure that they are not "random" or unfair. I tell you exactly what to expect and how to preapre for them. They DO cover a lot of ground, but there will NOT be any trick questions or nasty surprises (except, perhaps, for the fact that they really DO cover the material I say they will!). If you know the material well, you should be able to complete the exam in the allotted time and earn a good grade.

DON'T FORGET to bring an EXAM BOOK with you to class (large format preferred).

Final words of wisdom:

DON'T stay up all night before the exam.

DO have a good breakfast/lunch as applicable.

DO study with a group or a friend!

You've done GREAT jobs so far; prepare well and GOOD LUCK ON THE FINAL!!!!