A) The exam will include five short essay prompts; you must write in
response to your choice of two of the five. The two you choose cannot
both discuss the same text.
B) All five prompts on the exam will be chosen from the ten prompts
listed below.
C) The exam is open book and open notes. Bring all your course
texts and any notes that you like.
Essay Prompts
1. What is an essay? Discuss the history of the form. Give
examples from our course reading.
2. Compare and contrast Brief
Candle, by H. and "Winner Take Nothing" by Cooper in Gould p.24.
3. Larson's "Devil in the White City" has been called a "novel with
notes." Describe the fictional techniques used in the book.
What prevents the book from being fiction?
4. Compare and contrast Douglass and DuBois.
5. Describe the turning point in Douglass' narrative? Find the
passage and discuss it. Make a case for why it is the turning point.
6. Explain Dubois concept of "double consciousness." In what
ways is Dubois' idea embodied in the work we've read this semester by
Zitkala-sa, and/or by Douglass.
Discuss one of the following passages. In your discussion, a. describe the context for the passage; b. comment on how the passage reflects broader themes of the work from which it was taken; c. comment on how the story reflects the time period in which it was written.7. Twain, p. 359, beginning with "Now when I had mastered the language of this water..."
Grading Criteria
I will grade the essays according to the following criteria:
1) Information: How thoroughly do you cover the basic ideas
and issues raised in class?
2) Connections: How well do you connect your discussion
to broader issues, and to other texts?
3) Intelligence and originality: Do you go beyond
the basics and make additional observations?
4) Use of quotes and citations: Do you select good
-- i.e. specific and appropriate -- quotes from the relevant texts?
(Also,
do you cite the author and page number?)
5) Writing quality: How good is your general fluency,
grammar, punctuation?