Exam Q&A EN302: European Theatre

O What’s the rubric for the exam? O Can I write about the same texts in the exam as I did in my coursework essays? O Can I write about texts we haven’t studied on the module? O Can I bring the texts into the exam? O How should I organise my time during the exam? O How will the exam be marked? O What sorts of questions will the exam contain? O Where can I find past papers?

What’s the rubric for the exam? O The rubric will read as follows: O Time allowed: 2 hours O Answer TWO of the following questions. O Read carefully the instructions on the answer book and make sure that the particulars are entered on each book. O Do not substantially repeat material from assessed essays, or between sections on the exam

What’s the rubric for the exam? O Please note: You may be penalised up to 20 marks from your overall exam mark if it is evident that you are in violation of the rubric of the exam paper. O Pay attention! Some questions will ask for discussion of “two or more plays”, while others will ask you to consider “two or more dramatists”. Others will be more specific, asking you to consider, for example, only Greek plays, or only Naturalist dramas. O Answer the question that is asked, not the question you wanted to answer!

Can I write about the same texts in the exam as I did in my coursework essays? O Technically, yes – but we strongly advise against it. What you cannot do is “substantially repeat material from assessed essays”. Under the pressure of exam conditions, you might not remember exactly what you wrote in your essays. O Bear in mind that if your overall degree mark falls on a borderline between degree classifications, your entire body of assessed work will be sent to the external examiner. An examiner might look less favourably on a student who keeps writing about the same texts!

Can I write about texts we haven’t studied on the module? O As long as the question allows it. Some questions specify that you should write about “plays by writers on this module” – others do not. Do bear in mind that the module is about European theatre, though!

Can I bring the texts into the exam? O No, you are not permitted to bring the texts into the exam. Memorising some key quotations will therefore be helpful, but committing huge chunks of the texts to memory may not be the best use of your revision time! The same goes for secondary sources. O Students whose first language is not English are permitted to use a bilingual dictionary. For further details, see office/quality/categories/examinations/policies /a_materials/ office/quality/categories/examinations/policies /a_materials/

How should I organise my time during the exam? O You have two hours: that’s one hour for each question. Both questions carry an equal number of marks, so you would be ill-advised to spend longer on the first question than you do on the second! O Planning is everything. Spend an appropriate amount of time brainstorming ideas and working out a rough structure for your argument before you start writing the essay. You can cross through any work you do not wish to be marked.

How will the exam be marked? O The exam will be marked anonymously, according to the same criteria as your essays. O Third class: O Some relevant knowledge, some accurate repetition of lecture/class notes/work. Partial or pedestrian description. O 2.2: O Conscientious work, attentive to subject matter and title/task set; a focused response to the task demonstrating good knowledge, balanced more towards the descriptive than the analytical. Good knowledge, reasonable understanding of material and task. Descriptive rather than analytical.

How will the exam be marked? O 2.1: O Highly competent in organisation and presentation, evidence of individual research; appropriate and intelligent use of primary and secondary material, good understanding of subject matter allied with perceptive analysis. O First class: O Very high quality work, with full understanding of the subject matter. Work that demonstrates intellectual maturity, and is perceptive with highly developed organisation. An ambitious project carried out successfully, with sophisticated handling of primary and secondary material, reasoned, analytical argument. Some degree of originality, independent research and thought.

What sorts of questions will the exam contain? O You will be asked to write on at least two plays in each answer. You must therefore revise a minimum to four plays; a few more would be very sensible. O You can easily identify the kinds of questions which are likely to come up by reading a few past papers. There are, for example, always questions on the following…

What sorts of questions will the exam contain? 1. Social and/or religious ethics 2. The relationship between theatricality and life 3. Dramatic genre, especially tragedy and/or comedy 4. Naturalism and post-Naturalism 5. Political theatre and/or the politics of theatre 6. Adapting the drama of the past 7. Representations of gender 8. The relationship between language and the visual 9. Specific productions 10. ‘Topics’

Where can I find past papers? O Here! apers/ apers/