ENG 331/Schwartz

							ENG 331/Schwartz                                 Information Sheet: Midterm Exam                                           Spring, 2002

The two-part midterm Exam will take place day 1 of week 6 (Monday, May 6). It will be worth 150 to 200 points, of which 50% will
be for the in-class essay (possibility of GWR certification). While you may pace yourself as you see fit, it is anticipated that the GWR
essay should take fifty minutes of the two-hour period, and that you would spend one hour on the rest. There will be number of essay
questions to choose from.

                     PLEASE PURCHASE EXAM BOOK AND REMEMBER TO BRING IT TO CLASS!

In addition to the 50-minute essay, a substantial amount of objective material will be thoroughly covered on the exam.. This 50% of
the exam will test your knowledge of:

         1) Humanism, the Reformation, and the relationship between religion and politics during the Tudor dynasty (from Henry
            VII through the end of Elizabeth's reign), as well as the readings which illustrate these contexts for English Renaissance
            literature.

         2) The development of three principal Renaissance genres: the lyric (esp. sonnets and pastoral poetry), the epic (Spenser's
            The Faerie Queene), and the theater (Marlowe's Dr. Faustus).

You will have the opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the most significant issues in individual works and your ability to
make meaningful connections among these works .

This part of exam will have multiple-choice, matching, T/F and fill-in-the-blank questions covering background information, as well as
a passage ID section (similar to part 2 on reading quizzes). There will be choice on SOME sections only. Expect:

         1) Passage IDs: passages chosen will be similar to those in quiz section two (in fact: some quiz passages may reappear on
            exam!!) You will be asked to identify work/author and to answer a number of questions about the passages.

         2) Questions concerning genre, form, influences or literary terms. You will be expected to answer ALL questions.

         3) Identifications of various elements--characters, objects, themes or motifs--in or associated with works read in class.
            There will be some element of choice in this section.

         4) Chronology: dates given in Norton or on study guides for key historical figures and events, and for the major
            authors/works read thus far. Concentrate on dates/events indicated as particularly important on study guides or on time
            line p. 395 (also e.g. appearance of first Bible translations; death of Henry VIII; reigns of Edward VI and "Bloody" Mary
            Tudor; executions of Tyndale and Lady Jane Grey).

             Note 1: you will NOT be required to come up with these dates "out of thin air"; you will be asked to match dates
             provided with a list of events/works/authors.

             Note 2: the dates section will NOT represent a major part of the points on exam, and should be prepared for wisely (i.e.
             do not spend all your time worrying about the dates and forget to think about why they are of interest). You will be
             expected to answer ALL questions in section.

         To prepare for these sections, review general and individual author/work introductions in The Norton Anthology as well as
         general questions/information on study guides. You are also responsible for material covered in HANDOUTS and
         LECTURES (review class notes!) Review background questions on quizzes; quiz questions MAY reappear on exam!

         A hopefully obvious remark: you should know (and be able to spell correctly) the titles and authors of works read so far this
         term, the genres of these works, and be able to describe their form. Also, review names of principal characters in these works.
          Note: you need not know titles of individual lyric poems, but you should know titles (if given) of collections of poems--e.g.
         sonnet cycles, the Shepherde's Calendar.


                                                          Additional Notes:

1) You will have choice on many sections of the exam. However, you are advised to have read ALL material covered in class--it will
not be possible to camouflage large gaps.
2) I'm proud that my exams are reputed to be hard but fair (I don't believe in playing "Gotcha!" with my students). If you are well
prepared, there should be no surprises on the exam--unless you are surprised by the fact that the exam really DOES cover everything I
say it will! Expect to use the full two hours for the exam--and please take note: you will need to be well prepared in order to complete
all sections of the exam in the allotted time!

3) Get enough sleep Wednesday night and don't skip breakfast!

4) HINT: IT IS FREQUENTLY HELPFUL TO STUDY WITH A FRIEND!!