Final Exam Notes-2

Final Exam

The final exam will be available Nov. 28 - Dec. 2. Remember that this is a proctored exam, so you must register if you have not already done that at the SmarterProctoring tab to the left..

 

 Study for the final exam.

  1. Review all the stories and poems read all semester; know details of the plot and  the titles and writers well enough to refer to them in the discussion or answer.
  2. Be sure to know all the major characters of the stories and the major ideas of the poems.
  3. Reread all the assigned links. 
  4. Pick a post-modern poet, and be able to summarize one or two of his/her poems.

Your long discussion question is given below. Make sure you plan out what you will say for this question well in advance of your exam appointment time. There will be little or no credit for general statements that are not supported. Support means providing details and examples FROM THE WORKS STUDIED. So make sure you do exactly as instructed below.

The big discussion question is this:

Your study of American literature this semester is really a study of who we are in this country.  We are like no other country for many reasons, and the writers, in the stories and poems they write, tell us who we are and what we worry about and what we love. 

So who are we? What do we love or what are we committed to as a people or what do we worry about or admire? Write a well-developed essay explaining who were are by telling what we value or hate or admire, whatever.

First write a short introduction including the thesis sentence (at the end of the intro). Then in each of the three body paragraphs, discuss one value or quality, etc., of Americans--a different value or quality in each body paragraph. To develop or prove your point within each of the paragraphs, refer to three different writers, mentioning a specific work for each with details.  Use stories and poems from the whole semester.  Use at least three different works to discuss each of the three characteristics of Americans (that's a total of nine references to works read).  This counts 100 of the 220 points, so take your time and make it good.

Remember you will need in your essay a short introductory paragraph and three body paragraphs discussing and supporting each of the three characteristics. If you have time, write a short conclusion. Remember that the more specific information you provide in each paragraph, the better your score will be on this question.