8/3/2019 349 Final Exam F11 - Review

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ENGL 349 Final Examination - Questions

Blue books will be provided. Please bring a couple pens. Also bring a 3x5 index card cribsheet for the essay portion (see below).

The examination breaks into three sections.

I. Identification and Discussion (30 pts.)Instructions: for each of the following passages (18) below, identify

a. the author (full name)b. the text (full title)

For passages w, x, y, & z (4 selected passages), discuss in three or four sentences thesignificance of the passage. Connect your discussion to our class discussion of the

novel.

II. Definition and Application (30 pts. - 3 questions)

List the central characteristics of [the sentimental novel, the romance, the realistnovel].

Among the novels we have read this semester, which seems the strongest example ofthis genre? Among the novels we have read this semester, which seems the farthest

from this genre? In five to six sentences, defend your answers.

III. Essay (40 pts.)

Answer one of the following cumulative essay questions. Articulate your essay as anargumentative response to the question and develop your argument through explicitcomparisons between the novels. Be as concrete and specific as possible in providingevidence to back up your claims--paraphrases, quotations, reference to particularincidents, etc.

You are required to bring a 3" x 5 index card to the examination with you with noteson the front and back for the essay. It can contain whatever you want: an outline,quotations you want to use, notes, etc. Use one side for notes on one possible essay,the other side for another. I will ask you to turn in the index card with the exam.

Note - only two of the following three prompts will appear on the examination.

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Possible Essay Questions

A. The architectural premise form follows function (coined by Louis Sullivan in1896: form ever follows function) suggests that the style of a building grows outof the function it serves. This idea can be applied to novels as well to help us to

understand the relationship between how the novel is put together (its style,narrative structure, modes of characterization, etc.) and the cultural work itappears to be doing.

Discussing at least four novels we have read in the class and, taking into accounttheir respective genres and their cultural and historical contexts, in comparison,how would you characterize the form of these novels? What is the function of eachnovel? How does form advance that function?

B. The appearance/reality dichotomy is clearly a perennial concern in literature

(consider Hamlets ruminations on seeming, for example). The novels we havestudied revolve in some sense around tensions between appearance and reality,and through these tensions they speak with particular force to the issues of theirday. They often (seem to) peel back the veneer of life in America in order todemystify its inner workings. But at the same time that a novel lifts the veil on oneor more features of modern life, it may also leave other veils unlifted. A novel may,perhaps, even serve to shore up some of societys key mystifications, either bydirectly endorsing them or perhaps by leaving them unexamined altogether and,thus, give them tacit assent.

Discussing at least four novels we have read over the semester, answer the

following questions: How do these novels mobilize the dichotomy of appearanceand reality in order to comment on (and perhaps intervene in) pressing issues oftheir time? In lifting some veils, do these novels also leave others unlifted? Finally,how does genre interact with how these novels engage the appearance/reality split?

C. Nearly all the novels we have read invest in some way in the idea of the home --people move into and out of houses, houses are appointed in particular ways,homes are violated, homes are not "homes", and so on. Perhaps the pervasivenessof the idea of the home in these texts is due to home's status as nodal point within aweb of important identity concerns: gender, race, class, nationality, sexuality, and

so on. Thus to speak of or represent homes is also to speak of or represent identityconcerns and probably more than one at a time.

Discussing at least four novels we have read over the semester, answer thefollowing questions: How do these novels represent the home? What is at stake(think about the identity categories above) in these representations of the home?Finally, how does genre interact with how these novels represent the home?

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ENGL 349: Final Examination Essay Scoring Guide

Grade Defining Characteristics

A

37-40 pts.

articulates a clear and sophisticated thesis addressing the prompt

patiently develops an argument that carefully articulates its claims

puts the literary texts it discusses into conversation with one another offers very carefully selected literary evidence (quotations, paraphrases, incidents,

etc.) develops nuanced and compelling interpretations of and elaborations on the evidence features rhetorically-sophisticated sentences; logical and artful transitions; precise

syntax; and apt, precise, and vivid word choice.

B

33-36 pts.

articulates a clear thesis addressing the prompt presents a logical argument that features clearly-marked claims makes connections between the literary texts it discusses offers reasonable, though perhaps not always especially compelling, literary evidence

(quotations, paraphrases, incidents, etc.)

develops valid interpretations and measured elaborations on the evidence, with only arare lapse in this department

features some rhetorically-sophisticated sentences and fairly effectively transitionsbetween sentences and paragraphs, but may have a few awkward or unclearconstructions and may make ineffective choices in diction.

C

29-32 pts.

offers an overly general or unclear thesis or controlling idea and may not address theprompt fully

may present a rudimentary or pro forma argument may separate and compartmentalize discussions of the literary texts may make overly general and/or vague claims may offer thin evidence

may lack clear and logical connections between claims and evidence may feature awkward or confusing sentences, may very weakly transition between

ideas, and /or may use terms and words imprecisely

D / F0-28 pts.

does not address the prompt as directed may wander through or stack ideas rather than articulating an argument offers very loosely defined and developed ideas