ABOUT THE FINAL EXAMINATION
English 255, Fall 2003. Professor Baym
The Final is scheduled for Thursday December 18, from 1:30-4:30 P.M., in our lecture room, 100 Gregory Hall. NO BOOKS OR NOTES at the exam. Those with a valid conflict situation (three exams in a row) who want a conflict exam—it’s not required to take a conflict exam!—should talk to their TAs by the last section meeting at the latest. The TAs and I are not permitted to excuse any student from taking the final; only a Dean can do that.
The final will have three parts and is timed for three hours. It will be cumulative but weighted toward the latter part of the course.
Part 1: A section covering the syllabus from the beginning through Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories. The instruction will read: "Choose one work from each of the five pairs below and explain what, to you, are the most interesting and memorable aspects of the work that you’ve chosen. Suggested maximum time, fifty minutes."
Works for this question will include: 1) William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation; 2) Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography; 3) Olaudah Equiano, Narrative of the Life; 4) Phillis Wheatley, "To S.M., a Young African Painter, on Seeing His Works”; 5) Susanna Rowson, Charlotte Temple; 6) Anne Bradstreet, three poems on the death of her grandchildren; 7) Caroline Kirkland, A New Home—Who’ll Follow?; 8) Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle”; 9) Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”; 10) Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Minister’s Black Veil”
****These ten will be divided into five pairs--you write on one work from each pair. Don't write on both works in any pair. Although you'll have to write on just half of these, you should prepare for all of them since you won't know beforehand how the works will be paired. Plan on up to 10 minutes for each answer.
Part 2: A combination identification/short answer section covering the syllabus from Ralph Waldo Emerson through Herman Melville. The instruction will read, “For ten of the following fifteen quotations identify the work and the author, and use it as the basis for a focused commentary about the work from which it comes. You may write about more than one quotation from the same work or author, but write a separate answer for each quotation. Suggested maximum time, one hour and forty minutes.”
****This part of the exam asks you to use the specific quotation as the lead-in to your answer, and to focus on specific connections between the quotation and the larger work from which it is taken. Begin by naming the work and author (first and last name). You will not get credit if you merely re-state (paraphrase) the content of the quotation. Plan on up to 10 minutes for each answer. Be sure to match the right numbers to the quotations.
Part 3: Will give two poems or poem segments not discussed in lecture or sections, one by Walt Whitman, one by Emily Dickinson. The instruction will read: "For BOTH poems below, explain in as much detail as you can how you can recognize the author of the poem. Suggested maximum time, 30 minutes."
The poems’ lines will be numbered so you can connect your commentary to specific lines of the poetry. Your answer may be in an essay or an annotated list form.
The exam will have a total of 200 points, 10 points for each answer in parts 1 and 2 and 25 points each for the two answers in part 3. Note that the last part of the exam is weighted more heavily than the first two parts—so be sure to allow enough time for it!
Number grades will be translated into letters as follows:
A = 181-200 (181-190 = A-, 191-200 = A)
B = 180-160 (174-180 = B+, 167-173 = B, 160-166 = B-)
C = 159-139 (153-159 = C+, 146-152 = C, 139-145 = C-)
D = 138-118 (132-138 = D+, 125-131 = D, 118-124 = D-)
117 and below fails. Plus and minus will be factored in. The final is weighted at 25% of the course grade. (See the “about 255” handout for the grade structure of the whole course.)
ABOUT STUDYING. You are not required to restate ideas from the lecture, but you may do so if you want to, and I hope you'll find your lecture notes helpful for studying. It is impossible to re-read all the assigned works thoroughly; I suggest skimming each work while reviewing the lecture notes for that work at the same time. Flash cards may be useful for recalling authors and works. Small-group studying may make for more variety, more interest, and wider comprehension.
ABOUT TAKING THE EXAM. In the exam situation, don't just start in writing. Look over the choices and pick what you know the best and have the most to say about. Don't waste time padding or repeating yourself; if you change your mind about what you're writing, cross it out and move on—we promise not to read anything that's been crossed out. In each section, all your answers should be roughly the same length. I am suggesting maximum times for each answer, because it is important to write something on a question to get any credit for answering it. If you don’t know how much you can write in a given amount of time, you can do a “trial run” before the exam by writing for a specific number of minutes and seeing how much you’ve been able to do. Try to allow a few minutes at the end of the exam to look over your answers before handing in the exam, and especially to check your numbered responses against the exam sheet numbers.