Exam preparation, notes and tips English 102/102G, sem 2 2017 Exam preparation, notes and tips

Date and time! Monday November 13, 5.45 - 8.00 pm Please write this down somewhere prominent now. Exam location is posted the evening before on the University website under “Exam Room Allocations: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/for/current-students/cs-academic-information/cs-examination-information/cs-exam-room-allocations.html Please note that 102 and 102G room allocations may be different. Make sure you have the right room!

Form of the exam: Two hours Two questions, weighted equally, 25 marks each. Worth 50% of your grade. Two sections: Section A: Essay: Choose ONE topic and write on ONE work. N.B. the “seduction poems” count as one ”work”, you can write on one poem or more than one. Section B: Close Reading: Choose ONE passage.

Choice of works in exam In the whole exam: In Section A: Essay You may NOT write twice on the same work (incl the seduction poems) You may NOT write again on the work you discussed in your long coursework essay. In Section A: Essay You MAY write again on the work you wrote on in your close reading coursework assignment. In Section B: Close Reading You may NOT write again on the work you wrote on in your close reading coursework assignment.

How many works do you need to prepare? Great Expectations Seduction Poems Richard III Pride and Prejudice Don Juan The Miller’s Tale Lord Jim At least TWO. Either could be for section A or section B. If you need an extra back-up, make it a back up for section B close-reading.

What are we looking for? “Marking of your answers will be based on your knowledge of the works you treat, on the perceptiveness of your comments on the topic and the works, on your ability to structure your essay, and on the expression of your argument in clear and accurate writing.”

So: a good answer: Exists: so write SOMETHING; don’t write NOTHING; Has an argument and states clearly what it is; Is clearly and logically organised; Uses specific evidence to support the argument; Considers counter-arguments or contrasting evidence when appropriate; Has a clear conclusion. Is legible. Remember: we are reading LOTS of these: we like answers that are easy to read and understand: help us!

SECTION B: Close Reading    Closely read and discuss ONE of the following passages from works on the course. (They are part of the exam paper). Your answer should begin by contextualising the passage within its larger work or discussing its general situation. You should then write several paragraphs in which you identify and discuss points of interest in the language of the passage (including such things as word choice, rhythm, imagery, tone of voice and other narrative and rhetorical techniques), aiming to give an overall account of how it works. Successful answers will draw inferences based on direct examples. In your concluding paragraph(s), you should also look beyond the passage to consider any issues and implications for the work as a whole.

Close reading How to pick the best passage. Finding the questions that open up the text. Detail = evidence plus inference How to use the passage to help you structure your essay.

Revision as review Make sure you know the plot! Revision tips: List of characters First, random and last scenes/chapters/pages Use your notes. Use Canvas posted materials: Reading lists Lecture slides and recordings Practice timed essays using dummy or old topics. Get together in discussion groups and talk about the works.

Revision as synthesis Think actively as you review. Build comparisons and connections in your head. Note themes or common topics across lectures: varying narrative styles and structures; use of character to shape story; categories of character (old, young, male, female, hero, villain, etc.) holding/managing/releasing the reader’s/viewer’s attention; use of looking forward/looking back; emotions as elements of reading; reading that recruits/repels/rewards… (your ideas here)

Revision as practice Choose some previous topics or notable passages and plan how you would answer them several different ways. Write an exam-timed practice essay and get a peer to read it and comment on clarity, legibility, argument, use of materials. Note some key moments or passages in each work that seem to you important for what happens in the plot or design or style, for use in essays: you do not have to memorise passages; you do not have to refer to secondary sources (unless you want to); you DO have to show that you recall and are familiar with works; you do NOT have to refer to lectures (unless you want to);

In the exam Get there on time! (Take an early bus, etc.) Use the official reading time to plan in your head Read the entire examination; Read it again; Match works you know well to questions that appeal to you. Plan during the exam! Take time (10 mins or so) to plan each essay before writing, in your head or in notes; Spend 60 mins per essay; go on to the other one. Write legibly, double-spaced. Reread and:

Once more: What are we looking for? “Marking of your answers will be based on your knowledge of the works you treat, on the perceptiveness of your comments on the topic and the works, on your ability to structure your essay, and on the expression of your argument in clear and accurate writing.”

Section A tips: How to understand a question. (Note: terms like fiction don’t just mean novels, they also mean made-up worlds). How to get unstuck. How to find more steam if you’ve run out of it.

Date and time! Monday November 13, 5.45 - 8.00 pm Please make sure you wrote this down somewhere prominent.

Good Luck! From: Tom Makyla Bryonny Alex Claudia Brian

Your questions?