Final Examination Preview 333 F11

FINAL EXAMINATION PREVIEW

Your final examination will be a closed-book examination consisting of two parts. First, you will need to complete an objective portion worth 30 points. This section will consist of 30 scrambled writers and titles for you to match. For the list of eligible entries from the calendar, click here.

For the second part of the exam you will compose a full essay-length answer to a question that will ask you to write on one of our four main topical focus points this semester: Religion and Science, Victorian Ladies and Gentlemen, Travel and Empire, and Aestheticism. I will select the topical focus point for you, but you will not find out until the exam begins, so you should prepare for all four potential topics (if you prepare for exams). You will need to construct an argument in support of a thesis relevant to the topical focus point in question, and this argument must analyze three different texts. You will get to select the particular texts you wish to discuss, with the stipulation you choose one text from each of the three units (Hard Times, Middlemarch, Madding Crowd) corresponding to the three chronological phases of the Victorian period. This essay will be worth 70 points.

For this essay, I expect you to present your ideas in standard essay format (which means I will be evaluating you on qualities such as a clear thesis statement, strong organization, logical paragraphing, coherent and thoroughly developed argument, successful integration of quoted material if applicable, grammatically correct writing, and a mature sense of style). Obviously spontaneous writing is held to a different standard than take-home exams or formal papers, but you still need to be able to offer a coherent and convincing argument without inordinate sloppiness. You will have plenty of time to prewrite, as well as edit/proofread, so take your time.

Also, you should know that, particularly since I am allowing you to self-select your writers/texts, I put a premium on accuracy in your answers where factual information (names, titles, summary details) is concerned. For example, you should always provide the full name of a writer and full title of a work on first mention; failure to do so suggests the possibility that you do not know this information.

Please be sure to bring your own paper and writing utensil(s).