ENGL 339: Shakespeare Dr. Debora B. Schwartz English Department, California Polytechnic State University     Information on the Midterm Exam (day 2 of week 6) The midterm Exam will be worth 150 to 200 points, equally divided between the objective sections and the essay (possibility of GWR certification). Be aware that my exams are meaty; you will probably need the full two hours.If you do not know the material well, you will have difficulty finishing the exam in the allotted time. HINT:  Even if you prepare thoroughly and breeze through the exam, you are strongly advised to use the full time allotted to you. Should you be tempted to leave before the end of the allotted time, don't!  Instead, use that time to PROOFREAD EXAM CAREFULLY. Verify that you have followed instructions exactly in each section.  Make sure you have answered all required questions on objective portion, but NOT more than are required on a section where there is choice. (Unlike the reading quizzes, there is NO E.C. for doing more than the specified number of IDs; you will simply lose time and points, since any answer that's wrong or incomplete will count off!) Go back over your essay, PROOFREADING for spelling, punctuation, grammatical errors, and effective argumentation (clearly stated thesis; logical development of argument; adequate and relevant textual support for each step in the argument; clear conclusion).  This is particularly advisable if you are seeking GWR certification.  If you find that you STILL have extra time, add more detail (or more examples) to the textual support in your essay.     ESSAY COMPONENT:  The essay will be worth 50% of the exam points.  While you may pace yourself as you see fit, the essay is supposed to take half of the two-hour exam period. There will be a number of essay questions to choose from, all of which deal with issues brought up in the study guides for A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It and Henry V.  REVIEWING THESE QUESTIONS WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO START YOUR PREPARATION FOR THE ESSAY PORTION OF THE EXAM!  Because I evaluate exam essays according to the same standards that I apply to out-of-class writing (except that there's no direct quotation or documentation on a closed-book exam), you should be THOROUGHLY FAMILIAR with the GUIDELINES and the CHECKLIST provided for your out-of-class writing and endeavor to apply them to your exam essay.  Pay particular attention to the instructions concerning the introductory paragraph and argumentation.  Unless I can tell from your opening paragraph which prompt you selected, what work(s) you are writing on, and precisely what you will argue about it/them, your exam essay will NOT earn GWR CERTIFICATION -- and is unlikely to earn more than a C, regardless of the quality of your observations. PLEASE NOTE: You MUST write on a DIFFERENT PLAY and on a DIFFERENT TOPIC than you chose for your out-of-class essay.  (For example, if your out-of-class essay was on the structure of HV, your midterm essay cannot be on HV, regardless of topic, nor can it be on the structure of MND or AYLI.) AUTOMATIC 50% PENALTY for writing on the same play or topic!  Don't forget to purchase a LARGE FORMAT EXAM BOOK and bring it with you to class!     OBJECTIVE COMPONENT:  A substantial amount of objective material will be thoroughly covered on the exam.. This 50% of the exam will test your knowledge of:  Basic biographical and background information on Shakespeare and his era as covered in class lecture and "Shakespeare: An Overview."  (Note: you will NOT be tested on the interpretations offered in the individual introductions to each play -- but they provide insights that may help you formulate your ideas.) The factual information provided on study guides and other online readings and/or handouts. Each play's printing history (from the Textual Note at the end of the text -- know dates!) and primary sources (from the Note on the Source also found at the end of each text). The three required videos (questions based on the video assignments). You will have the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the most significant issues in individual works and your ability to make meaningful connections among these works . This part of exam will have multiple-choice, matching, T/F and fill-in-the-blank questions covering background information, as well as a passage ID section (similar to reading quizzes). There will be choice on SOME sections only. Expect: Passage IDs: passages chosen will be similar to those on reading quizzes (in fact: some quiz passages may reappear on exam!!) There will be three passages from each play; you will have to select two from each play. Factual questions concerning genres, poetic forms, literary influences, literary terms, biographical information and historical events, including significant dates and the year(s) of composition for each of the plays (see list in "Shakespeare: An Overview").  There will NOT be choice in this section; you will be expected to answer ALL questions. Video Questions based on the video assignments. To prepare for these sections, review  material covered in study guides and other online readings, handouts and LECTURES (review class notes!)  HINT 1: be sure you know the significance of any words (names, languages or terms) that appear in bold in the online study guides and other online readings.  HINT 2: review names of characters in the plays!!     Recommended Exam Strategies: Go through factual and video sections quickly; come back to problem questions at end of exam.  Remember: it's better to miss a few 1-point factual questions than to write a weak essay when the essay is worth 100 pts.  Do NOT answer more questions than required in a section where there is choice; there is NO EXTRA CREDIT for additional answers, and all wrong answers count against you.  For questions you ARE required to answer, it's better to guess than leave a blank!  Do Passage IDs before essay (to remind you of key passages); refer back to passages when considering choice of essay topics. Do ESSAY before Passage Interpretation; it's worth more, so you want to be able to choose from as many topics as possible (if you've already done Passage Interpretation, you will be required to write on whichever play you did not choose for the Passage Interpretation and the out-of-class essay). If you want GWR certification (and even if you don't):  In the first paragraph, reformulate the prompt and lead up to a fully articulated thesis (not just a statement of your topic). Outline before starting to write. Reserve at least 50 minutes for the essay (don't agonize endlessly over 1-pt. objective questions).  Indicate clearly that you want your essay evaluated for GWR certification, or it won't be.     Point Breakdown: The Midterm Exam is likely to consist of 150-200 points, of which 50% will be for the essay.  A POSSIBLE point break-down, with suggested time to spend on each section:     TYPE OF QUESTION POINTS TIME (approx.) I.  Passage IDs.  Choose 6 of 9 (there will be 3 per play).  Identify play and answer short questions about passages (as on reading quizzes).  You must choose two from each play (no credit for third passage from same play).  NO E.C. -- do only six. 30 pts. (6 x 5 pts.) 10 min. II.  Passage Interpretation.  Choose ONE passage from part I and explain its thematic significance in the play as a whole.  Refer to specific words and images in the passage; explain significance of passage and how theme comes up elsewhere in play. Passage must be from DIFFERENT PLAY than you write on for out-of-class and midterm exam essays.  (NO CREDIT if passage chosen is from same play as one of your essays.) 15 pts. 15 min. To prepare for parts I and II: Review reading quizzes and study questions for each play. Thoughtfully reread plays if you are not sufficiently familiar with them. III. Video questions.  Short answers concerning specific non-textual details from the Joseph Papp production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Laurence Olivier production of Henry V, as well as textual support for these non-textual details. 25 pts. 15 min. To prepare:  Review video write-ups.  Make sure you have answers to each of the questions, including both specific non-textual details from the productions and textual passages upon which those details could be based. IV. Factual questions concerning historical background and biographical details (including key dates!); characteristics of, sources of, and influences on genres (comedy, pastoral and history; see also "Humanist Grammar School"); specific sources for the three plays; problems with Shakespeare's texts:  e.g. printing practices, quartos and First Folio, base texts used for our editions, dates of composition; literary terms (Shakespearean Verse and Prose; Dramatic plot structure; figurative speech; etc.)  Format: True/false, matching and fill-in-the-blank. 30 pts. 20 mins. To prepare: Review "Shakespeare: An Overview" in texts, esp. biographical material (including dates) and information on Shakespeare's theater, as well as class notes and other assigned background readings.  Material in bold on online readings and study guides is particularly important. V. Essay.  Choice of several topics and choice of several plays within each topic. You may NOT write on the same play OR on the same topic you chose for out-of-class essay.  (*25 pt. penalty for EACH of these no-nos!*)  You also may NOT write on same play as for Passage Interpretation on pt. II of exam (no credit on pt. II if you do!) 100 pts. 50 mins. To prepare: Review the PAPER WRITING GUIDELINES and the CHECKLIST, particularly the sections concerning the introductory paragraph and argumentation. Review study questions and class discussion notes for each play.  Remember which play and topic you wrote your essay on and be sure you know the other two plays well and feel comfortable with other themes/topics  than the ones you discussed in out-of-class paper.   Thoughtfully reread plays if you feel you are not sufficiently familiar with them. TOTAL:  200 pts.  TOTAL:  110 min. Words of Wisdom: Yes, you will have choice on many sections of the exam, but you are strongly advised to have read ALL material covered in class -- it will not be possible to camouflage large gaps.  Again:  you will need to be well prepared in order to complete all sections of the exam in the allotted time; expect to use the full two hours. While I am known as a demanding tester, I am proud that students consider my exams to be fair. (I don't believe in playing "Gotcha!" with my students.) If you are well prepared, there should be no surprises on the exam -- unless you are surprised by the fact that the exam really DOES cover what I say it will! Don't forget to buy an exam book (large format, please) and bring it with you to class. Get enough sleep the night before and don't skip breakfast and/or lunch! IT IS FREQUENTLY HELPFUL TO STUDY WITH A FRIEND!! Contents of this and linked pages Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1997-2002 Return to ENGL 339 homepage Return to Dr. Schwartz's Teaching Page Return to Dr. Schwartz's homepage Send me mail!