ENGL 5444: Childhood in Literature, History and Culture
Midterm Exam Guide
Spring, 2010

 

Date of Exam: Thursday,  25 February 2010; Time: 12:00-1:50 am.
The core material of this course includes the assigned literary and critical readings, lectures, presentations, and class discussions up to and including the date of 2/23/10, and students will be responsible for all of these on the midterm.

The Midterm Exam accounts for 15% of your total grade in this course, and is open book. This means that you can have with you the texts that we have read up to February 23rd, including texts that are in the form of handouts or printouts from the class Website. You may write in the margins of these texts, and use small post-its (less than 2 inches) to mark important passages. You may not write on the backs of the hndouts or printouts (you'll need to print out clean copies if you have already done so), nor may you use any other notes, texts, electronic devices, etc.

Please write your exam in blue or black ink only, write clearly and legibly (I can't give credit for anything I'm not able read!), and save at least five minutes to proofread your work.  All titles of works, character names and author's names must be spelled correctly to receive full credit.

The exam format will consist of three sections:

Part I.  Definition:  This section accounts for 20% of the Midterm Exam grade.  This section will ask you to write a brief definition (four to five sentences) of TWO critical terms or phrases out of a choice of five or six, and to integrate one brief specific example (with correct author and page citation) as part of each definition (use ellipses to keep quotes short!).

Part II: Identification: This section accounts for 30% of the Midterm Exam grade.  This section will consist of approximately ten short passages (one to two sentences) and will ask you to identify any FIVE of these by naming the author, title and a brief (one-two sentence) description of the quote's context (this could be a description of the larger argument being made in the passage or section from which quote is taken, or a brief description of scene in which the quote appears). 

Part III.  Analysis: This section accounts for 50% of the Midterm Exam grade, and will ask you to write a detailed short essay (approximately 500 words) on any ONE of a choice of 2-3 topics, all of which will ask you to discuss at least three works from the class syllabus. To write a really good essay, you should extend beyond what we did in class, and demonstrate your ability to think on your own and make connections between texts.  Your essay must use specific details and quotes to illustrate and support your answers—but be sure to document carefully and correctly. Your essays will be graded on 1) the depth and breadth of their analysis of class texts and concepts; 2) their use of concrete, specific detail from the texts we have read and/or viewed; and 3) the quality of their composition.

BE SURE TO:

• Begin with a clear main idea/thesis.
• Keep your organization clear and logical; develop your ideas fully.
• This is an open book exam, so you need to be very specific in your answers and use plenty of examples and specific details, including short direct quotes.  (Remember: the main object of an exam is for you to display the range and depth of your knowledge of the material.)  Be sure to cite correct page numbers for all quotes.

Total points possible for the entire exam: 100 points.