ENGL 339: Shakespeare Dr. Debora B. Schwartz English Department, California Polytechnic State University     Information on the Midterm Exam The midterm Exam will be worth 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 may have difficulty finishing the exam in the allotted time. You will need a 100-question scantron form and a large-format exam book for the essay.  Some answers will be written directly on the exam. HINT:  Even if you prepare thoroughly and breeze through the exam, it is wise to use the full time allotted to you. Rather than leaving early, take any remaining time to PROOFREAD. Check that you answered all required questions (as well as the EC questions), but no more than required number on a section where there is choice. (Unlike reading quizzes, there is NO E.C. for doing more than the specified number of IDs; if you do them all, you will lose time, and any wrong or incomplete answer will count off.) Most importantly, go back over your essay, PROOFREADING for basic grammar (subject/verb agreement, sentence fragments, punctuation, spelling) and effective argumentation: an opening statement that echos the prompt, identifies play, and clearly and explicitly states your central claim; logical development, with a new paragraph for each step in the argument; adequate and relevant supporting evidence in each paragraph; clear conclusion.  If you have extra time, add more detail (or more examples) to the supporting evidence in your body paragraphs.   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 and Henry V.  REVIEW THESE STUDY QUESTIONS, discussion board postings you found most insightful, your notes from class meetings, and the GWR Essay Writing Pointers to prepare for the essay portion of the exam. The most important elements when I evaluate an exam essay are the quality and organization of your argument, the relevance of the supporting detail from the plays, and the clarity of expression.  That said, I do also notice mechanical and stylistic issues, so it is wise to be familiar with the guidelines and the checklist provided for 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; also review the GWR Essay Writing Pointers.  Unless I can tell from your opening paragraph which prompt you selected, what work(s) you are writing on, and precisely what claims you are making, it is likely that your exam essay will NOT earn GWR CERTIFICATION -- and it is unlikely to earn more than a C, regardless of the quality of your observations. 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 covered on the exam.  You will answer PASSAGE IDs  and short answer questions directly on the exam.  You will need a 100-QUESTION SCANTRON FORM for remaining questions. This 50% of the exam will test your knowledge of:  Basic biographical and background information on Shakespeare and his era as covered in the assigned Signet Classics introduction, online readings and lectures. Other factual information provided on study guides and other online readings and/or e-reserve readings, particularly (but not exclusively) information in bold on online readings and study guides. Each play's printing history (covered in the assigned Textual Note at the end of the text, and summarized in the "Problems with Shakespeare's Texts" online reading; know these dates!)  Each play's primary sources if known (as mentioned in background portions of online readings and study guides and covered on the assigned Note on the Source found at the end of each text). The two required videos (review questions on your video analysis worksheets; also review your notes from the video discussion).  You are also responsible for the individual FILM CLIPS from other video versions screened in class (know director, date and type of production -- commercial release or name of producer or theatre company, as applicable -- for each film, and know which clips came from which versions). You will have the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the significant issues in individual works and your ability to make meaningful connections among these works. Most of the Objective exam will be answered on your 100-question scantron (multiple-choice, matching, and T/F questions), but there may also be some short answers written directly on the exam.  The passage ID section is also written directly on the exam. 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 four passages from one play and five from the other; you will have to select three from each play. Factual questions concerning genres, literary influences, literary terms, biographical information and historical events, including significant dates and the year(s) of composition for each of the plays.  There will NOT be choice in this section; you will be expected to answer ALL questions. Video Questions based on the video assignments and specific scenes from other video versions which were screened in class. There will NOT be choice in this section; you will be expected to answer ALL questions. To prepare for these sections, review material covered in study guides and other online readings, your notes from LECTURES, Video Analysis Worksheets, and your notes on clips screened in class. 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. If you're unsure, guess!  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. If you want GWR certification (and even if you don't):  In the first paragraph, echo the prompt and lead up to a fully articulated statement of your claims (not just a statement of your topic). Outline before starting to write. Once you figure out where your essay is going, skip a page and write your body paragraphs.  Come back to write your Intro, which should clearly and explicitly lay out your claims, once you have figured out precisely what you are arguing. Reserve at least 50 minutes for the essay (don't agonize endlessly over 1-pt. objective questions).  Indicate clearly in space provided on the exam whether you want your essay evaluated for GWR certification. Point Breakdown: The Midterm Exam will consist of 200 points, of which 50% (100 pts.) will be for the essay.  To give you an idea of what to expect, here is a sample section and point break-down, with suggested time to spend on each section.     TYPE OF QUESTION POINTS TIME (approx.) Passage IDs.  Choose three from each play (there will be 4-5 from each play to choose from).  Identify play and answer short questions about passages (as on reading quizzes).  You must choose ONLY three from each play (no credit for fourth or fifth ID from same play).  NO E.C. -- do only six. 30 pts. (6 x 5 pts.) 15 min. To prepare: Review reading quizzes and study questions for each play; review notes from class discussion, especially passages that were discussed in class; review Discussion Board postings that you found particularly insightful. Thoughtfully reread plays if you are not sufficiently familiar with them. Video questions. Combination of scantron (multiple choice, matching and/or T/F questions) and short answers. Some questions concern specific textual and non-textual details from the Joseph Papp production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Laurence Olivier production of Henry V; there will also be questions about specific scenes from other video versions which were screened in class (be able to identify by director, type of production/film, and year). ~35 pts. 20 min. To prepare:  Review video analysis worksheets (yours and classmates' answers posted in Discussion Groups) and notes from video discussions.  Make sure you can answer all of the questions on the Video Analysis worksheets with both specific non-textual details from the productions and textual passages upon which those details could be based. Be able to match up film versions with director(s), date, and type of production/film, and review notes on film clips (i.e. you will need to be clear on which film version handled specific elements in what ways). Factual questions concerning historical background and biographical details (including key dates!); characteristics of, sources of, and influences on genres (comedy and history; see also "Humanist Grammar School"); specific sources for the 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; etc.)  Format: Scantron (True/false, matching, and multiple choice). ~35 pts. 20 mins. To prepare: Review "Shakespeare: An Overview" in Signet Classics textbook, esp. biographical material (including dates) and information on Shakespeare's theater, as well as notes from lectures and other assigned background readings.  Material in bold on online readings and study guides is particularly important. Essay.  Choice of several topics, some of which may give you a choice of play to write on. 100 pts. 55 mins. To prepare: Review the GWR Essay Writing Pointers, PAPER WRITING GUIDELINES and CHECKLIST, particularly the sections concerning the introductory paragraph and argumentation. Review study questions and class discussion notes for each play.  Thoughtfully reread plays if you feel you are not sufficiently familiar with them. TOTAL:  200 pts.  TOTAL:  110 min. Words of Wisdom: You are strongly advised to have read ALL material covered in class -- it will not be possible to camouflage large gaps.  You will need to be well prepared to complete objective exam while leaving adequate time for your essay; expect to use the full two hours. While I am 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 a 100-question Scantron and bring them 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, 1997-2016 Return to ENGL 339 homepage Return to Dr. Schwartz's Teaching Page Return to Dr. Schwartz's homepage Send me mail!