The first of two midterm exams will take place at the first class meeting of week 6 (M 5/7 in S07).  This exam will likely total 150-200 pts.  Sample instructions for typical exam sections are reproduced below; you would do well to familiarize yourself with them in advance. The first Midterm exam will test: 

• your general knowledge of Chaucer's life and works.
• your familiarity with assigned background readings, e.g. online readings "Translatio studii et imperii"; Courtly Love; The Medieval Estates; Kittredge's essay on the "Marriage Group"; background information on linked study guides for the lyric poems "Trouthe" and "Gentilesse"; backgrounds to the Canterbury Tales; the General Prologue; the Knight's Tale; the Miller's Tale; the Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale; the Franklin's Tale; any handouts distributed in class or via the website; readings on e-reserve; and assigned pages in the Riverside Chaucer.
• your specific knowledge of  the primary readings covered to date (the lyrics, GP, KT, MIL, RV, CK, WB, FRNKLN, CL and MER, plus the "tags" between them).
• your ability to make meaningful connections between these works.
• your ability to translate short passages from Middle English into reasonably accurate modern English.
• your ability to describe the present state of your final research project, including being able to list some critical works (secondary sources) you have found useful as your research your topic and anticipate using in the final research paper.

The exam will be made up of some combination of the sorts of sections described below (point distribution will vary; not all listed sections may be included):

PASSAGE IDS (15-25 pts.).  Choose from a selection covering all primary readings.  Identify reading and answer questions about it.  When you identify the reading, you will be asked to specify GP or to distinguish between a given pilgrim's prologue, tale or epilogue, as appropriate; lyric poems should be identified by title.  NO EXTRA CREDIT; do only the required number.  (Note: if we have had any reading quizzes, some passages from the quizzes MAY reappear on the exam!)

CHARACTER IDS (15-25 pts).  Choose from a number of passages drawn from all primary readings; identify person being described and reading in which passage appears.  When you identify the reading, you will be asked to specify GP or to distinguish between a given pilgrim's prologue, tale or epilogue, as appropriate, and to identify lyric poems by title.  NO EXTRA CREDIT; do only the required number.  Some passages from quizzes MAY reappear on exam.

ITEM IDS (20-30 pts.).  Choose from a number of names, objects, phrases or scenarios drawn from all primary readings.  Identify the specific work OR WORKS in which the item appears (for 1 pt. total) AND clearly identify the item itself, explaining the role(s) it plays in EACH work in which it appears. When you identify the reading, you will be asked to specify GP or to distinguish between a given pilgrim's prologue, tale or epilogue, as appropriate; identify lyric poems by title.  Please note that if you identify ONLY the work BUT FAIL TO EXPLAIN THE ROLE THE ITEM PLAYS IN THAT WORK, you will miss HALF THE POINTS in this section.  Likewise, if you identify ONLY the item BUT DON'T SPECIFY THE WORK(S) IN WHICH IT APPEARS, you will miss HALF THE POINTS in this section! There will also be a certain number of distribution points for selecting items in or associated with a number of different readings.  NO EXTRA CREDIT; do only the required number.

TRANSLATION (15-25 pts).  You will have a choice of lines to translate from passages in the passage ID and/or character ID sections (1 point per line).  Follow original text closely, but modernize syntax, vocabulary, spelling and word order as necessary to put sentence into clear, grammatically correct modern English.  Note: if we have had any reading quizzes, some passages from quizzes MAY reappear on the exam!

PASSAGE INTERPRETATION (10-20 pts).  In one paragraph, BRIEFLY discuss the significance of ONE passage on the passage ID section within the reading from which it is taken.  Refer to specific words/images/themes in the passage; explain thematic relevance to reading as whole.  (What makes passage worthy of inclusion on the exam?)  Note: if there is a Passage Interpretation on the midterm, you must select a passage from a reading which you did not present in class and which is not the focus of your midterm essay.

FACTUAL (20-40 pts). Questions involving Chaucer's life and works; dates (for Chaucer himself and for his works, e.g. the Canterbury Tales collection as a whole as well as any works that predate and were "recycled" in the Canterbury Tales collection); genres; fragment numbers; primary sources (if known); noteworthy formal characteristics (e.g. Rhyme Royal stanzas, rhyming couplets or prose); noteworthy structural characteristics; significant critical perspectives discussed in class; manuscript traditions; editorial decisions, etc. (Review assigned background readings, as well as factual sections on any quizzes we may have had!)

PAPER PREVIEW (10-15 pts.):  Identify the topic you are exploring in your research paper, the reading(s) you will focus on, your working thesis -- i.e. not just your general topic, but what you intend to argue about this topic -- and list (by author and title only, not the full bibliographic citations!) some secondary criticism on your topic you have found useful so far and which you have included on the Working Bibliography submitted prior to the exam as part of your Paper Prospectus).

ESSAY  (50-80 pts.)  IN EXAM BOOK, write a well-developed essay (an introductory paragraph which clearly and explicitly explains the interpretation of the text[s] you will argue in the essay -- not just identifies the topic you will explore; adequate references to specific textual passages which support your argument; clear summative conclusion) in response to ONE of the following prompts.  Be as specific and as detailed as possible; refer to specific passages or speeches from the primary text(s) in your response.
 

Contents of this and linked pages Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1999-2007

Return to ENGL 430 Home Page

Return to Dr. Schwartz's Teaching Page

Return to Dr. Schwartz's Home Page

Return to Dr. Schwartz's Schedule

Send me Mail