ENGL 380: Love and Death: The Tristan Tradition Dr. Debora B. Schwartz English Department, California Polytechnic State University Midterm Exam Information The closed-book midterm Exam will be worth 200 points, equally divided between the objective sections and the essay (possibility of GWR certification). Exam will cover assigned readings and films as well as material covered in lectures.   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.  Even if you prepare thoroughly and breeze through the exam, you are strongly advised to use the full time to PROOFREAD EXAM CAREFULLY. Verify that you have followed instructions; make sure you have answered all required questions (it's better to guess than to leave blanks), but don't do more questions than are required on a section where there is choice. (There is NO E.C. for doing more than the specified number of questions; you will simply lose time and points, since all wrong answers have to be counted.) Go back over your essay, PROOFREADING for spelling, punctuation, grammatical errors and effective argumentation, and adding additional supporting evidence if you have time.  Preparation hint 1:  Quizzes are helpful study guides; use them as you prepare for the objective portion of exams. Preparation hint 2: For the essay section, review the materials distributed at the Exam Essay workshop and the paper guidelines you will be asked to follow on your final paper, in particular the the prompt and the section on the Opening Statement (i.e. the first paragraph of the essay). You might also find it helpful to review your own MEs and to peruse other ME postings and Classmate Responses in the class Discussion Forums. OBJECTIVE COMPONENT:  50% of exam points will be for the 100-pt. objective exam, some portions of which may be answered on a scantron, and some portions of which you may be asked to answer on the exam itself.  Be sure to bring a scantron with you to the exam.   This 50% of the exam will test your knowledge of:  Background readings (both online readings provided on Dr. Schwartz's webpages and required critical essays which are on e-reserve for this class) and background material covered in lectures. The individual texts and films assigned up to the midterm exam, including both the content of these works and the Text Info/ Film Info included on the course calendar. Indentification of characters, episodes, motifs and key passages found in the primary works.  Common threads which link these works and significant differences between them. This part of exam will be a combination of multiple-choice, matching, T/F and (possibly) fill-in-the-blank questions to be written on the exam itself. Questions which everyone is required to answer may be written in scantron format.  There may be a choice of questions / IDs in any sections that you answer on the exam itself.  Expect: Passage IDs: significant passages will be chosen from assigned readings; you will be asked to identify work/author (or director) and answer some questions about the passage (e.g. who is speaking? to whom? when does this scene/dialogue take place? etc.). There is likely to be at least one passage from EACH reading/film this quarter -- so don't neglect the shorter selections assigned for class!  There may be choice in this section. HINT: class notes, and any passages you marked in your texts based on class discussion, are good beginning points for review.   Factual questions concerning e.g. authors/directors (and/or actors and singers), titles, dates, languages, genres, forms, historical development of the legend, material presented on online background readings, assigned critical essays, and in lectures. There will NOT be choice in this section; you will be expected to answer ALL questions.  HINT: Reading quiz questions, the online background readings, and the text/film info on the course calendar are good beginning points for review.   Chronology: dates given under text/author/film info on the course calendar for each work/author/film read/screened thus far. There will NOT be choice in this section; you will be expected to answer ALL questions.   Motifs/Characters/Episodes:  there will be questions that ask you which works covered to date contain specific characters (review names!), episodes and motifs, as well as questions which ask you to differentiate between the treatment of these characters, episodes and motifs in the various works.  This sort of question will appear on both scanton and non-scantron versions of the exam. HINT: Reading quiz questions about specific characters and/or episodes and class notes are good beginning points for review.   Item IDs: IF there is a non-scantron Item ID section, it will ask you to identify characters, objects, themes or motifs in or associated with a specified number of different works read in class AND to list the work(s) in which the particular item is found. These Item IDs are worth TWO POINTS each.  You will receive one point for identifying the work OR WORKS in which the item appears (e.g. Thessala is a character in Chrétien de Troyes's romance, Cligés).  You will receive one additional point for identifying the item and explaining the role it plays in the work in question (e.g. Thessala = Fenice's nurse who brews a false love and a false death potion for her, potions which are reminiscent of but different from the love potion in the Tristan story).  If you ONLY identify the work(s) in which the item appears but omit to identify the items themselves and explain the role which they play in the work(s) in which they appear, you will miss half the points in the section.  Likewise, if you identify the items correctly but do not say in what work OR WORKS they appear, you will miss half the points in the section.  A certain number of DISTRIBUTION POINTS are awarded for correctly identifying items in or associated with a specified number of DIFFERENT primary works, so as you choose which items to identify, take care to cover a broad spectrum of assigned works (readings and film). There will be choice in this section if it is included on your exam.  To prepare for these sections, review class notes, background information on course calendar, assigned online background readings, and the texts themselves.  Be sure to review quizzes since variations on quiz questions MAY appear on exam! HINT: you should know (and be able to spell correctly) the titles and authors/composers/directors of works we have covered, the dates, genres and original language of these works/authors, the form in which works were written. Review which episodes/characters appear in which works, and know by what names parallel characters are designated in each work.  I don't expect you to keep track of the diffferent spellings and variations on the names "Tristan" and "Isolde" in each work, but you should make note of any variant names (e.g. "Bronwen" for "Brangaine" in Lovespell; Melot vs. Frocin; etc.). On passage IDs, names will be spelled as they appear in the text, so specific spellings may be a clue to the work from which a passage is taken. Don't forget to bring a 100-question scantron with you to the exam.    ESSAY COMPONENT:  The 100-pt. essay will be worth 50% of the exam points.  While you may pace yourself as you see fit, the essay is designed to take half of the two-hour exam period. There will be a number of prompts to choose from, at least some of which will be structured in the same manner as the Final Paper prompt.  Some midterm essay prompts will ask you to focus on only one work; others may invite a narrow comparison between two works.  Final exam essay prompts are likely to ask you to consider variations across several different works read over the course of the quarter.  Keeping these stipulations in mind, familiarizing yourself with the Final Paper Prompt is an excellent way to begin preparing for the essay component of the exam, as is thoughtfully perusing ME postings and Classmate Responses in class Discussion Forums. After selecting your prompt, I recommend that you spend some time brainstorming and working out the outline of your essay prior to beginning to write.  Jot down an opening sentence which echoes the prompt, but don't write up your introductory paragraph until after you have written the body paragraphs of your essay.  Once you have worked out your paragraph outline, skip a page and write up your argument.  When you have completed the body paragraphs (and know exactly what you have argued in your essay), go back and write your introductory paragraph, making sure that it fully and explicitly articulates your claims.  There should be a final paragraph with a conclusion of some kind, but it can be short and sweet.  This is the only place in the essay where your personal reactions to the material you are discussing might be included, but it is usually better to avoid personal reactions.  Instead, draw out the implications of what you have argued with a final insight or reference to other works/ideas that are clearly connected to what you have argued but beyond the scope of your essay. A successful essay will include: an introduction which echoes the prompt and FULLY ARTICULATES WHAT YOU WILL ARGUE IN THE ESSAY -- not just a statement of the topic you will explore.  Make your claims clearly and explicitly, i.e. lead with your conclusion; tell me what you will argue ABOUT the work and topic you focus on. body paragraphs which constitue a logically constructed argument to illustrate your ideas and demonstrate the validity of your claims. adequate and relevant textual and/or filmic evidence in each paragraph to back up your contentions and illustrate your ideas.  Rather than general statements, refer to SPECIFIC examples of passages, scenes or details from the works discussed. If there are passages on the exam which support your points, by all means cite them; if not, your summary should be detailed enough that I know what passages you are thinking of. a clear conclusion which sums up your argument and offers a final insight. NOTE:  You are unlikely to receive GWR certification unless your opening paragraph FULLY ARTICULATES what you will argue in your essay.  This means that your introduction should read like the conclusion of the sort of 5-paragraph essay you were taught to write in high school.  If you find that you still have extra time after proofreading carefully, add more detail (i.e. more examples) to the supporting evidence in your essay. A good in-class exam essay should resemble an out-of-class essay, except that there's no direct citation (and thus no need for documentation) on a closed-book exam.  Familiarize yourself with the Final Paper Guidelines and the Essay Writing Checklist provided for your out-of-class writing.  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, it is unlikely that your exam essay will earn GWR CERTIFICATION (or a grade higher 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! Words of Wisdom: 1) While there may be choice on some sections of the exam, you are strongly advised to have read/screened ALL material covered in class -- it will not be possible to camouflage large gaps.  2) 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 everything I say it will! 3) Get enough sleep the night before and don't skip breakfast! 4) IT IS FREQUENTLY HELPFUL TO STUDY WITH A FRIEND!! Contents of this and linked pages Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 2004-2014 Return to ENGL 380 homepage Return to Dr. Schwartz's Teaching Page Return to Dr. Schwartz's homepage Send me mail!