Overview: The final will be much like the midterm in structure, although you should be aware that section two will ask you to analyze rather than paraphrase, and the test will be longer (but you will have much longer to complete it). The test will emphasize the second half of the course rather heavily, but some knowledge from the first part of the course will be required. Be sure to pace yourself so that you have enough time to answer all of the questions. In general, if you are unsure how to answer a question, treat it as an opportunity to demonstrate what you do know about the topic. (This is also a good general test-taking strategy.)
Note that all of this advice is based on a draft of the final exam, and that that draft is subject to change.
In general, you should review your lecture notes and look for major themes that have been discussed, and be able to find examples of these themes in the texts we're reading. Be aware that we have read some texts out of order; it will help to be aware of which texts these are and where they would have appeared if we had been reading chronologically. You should also be able to discuss how the specific texts we've read connect to and deal with course themes. You should scan or re-read these texts until you (a) feel that you understand the language clearly, and (b) feel comfortable discussing their major points. You should certainly feel comfortable with being able to understand and interpret a particular text if it is sitting directly in front of you. It is not necessary to be able to quote verbatim from the texts, although doing so is certainly one strategy that you can use to move toward an excellent score on certain types of questions.
Format of the exam: The exam is divided into three sections that are worth 100 points in total.
The first section will consist of nine short-answer questions, each worth two points. You should answer each with two to three complete sentences. Don't spend too much time on these: The section as a whole is worth less than 1/5 of your total grade on the exam. Partially correct answers will be worth partial credit, so it is wise to write down something relevant even if you are not sure what the best answer is.
In the second section, you will be asked to discuss the relevance of a series of direct quotes from a course texts. There will be four of these, and each will be worth eight points. You should answer each with a paragraph on these topics. Unlike on the midterm, it is not necessary to paraphrase these quotations: You should simply explain their relevance to the text of which they are a part and/or to the broader issues of the course. As with the first section of the exam, partially correct answers will earn partial credit.
The third section of the exam will be an essay question. This question will be worth fifty points, or half of the total points on the exam. You will have a choice of approximately three questions, and will be explicitly required to select texts from both the first and second parts of the course. It will be explicitly necessary to discuss poetry on the essay question in order to do well on it. You are not expected to quote directly from the texts (although you are welcome to do so, if you are able, and this is potentially one way to get an excellent grade on the question). You are not expected to follow MLA format or use parenthetical citations or a Works Cited page. Just write a solid essay answering the question by discussing individual texts as well as possible.
Things that, in general, it will be helpful to know are similar to those on the midterm:
actually says— in terms of the major concerns with which its author is engaged — and the manner in which it says it — in terms of the strategies that the author uses to engage the reader, and the rhetorical techniques the author uses to achieve his/her effects.
imaginationis different from Shelley's. This is particularly true for terms that are related to major themes that we've talked about repeatedly during the quarter.