Ode on a Grecian URL

Saturday, December 17, 2005

The Final Exam FAQ (updated 12/18, 6 pm)

Each TA grades his or her students' exams, so you will be writing specifically to me. I'm not sure whether this makes much of a difference for you, but a lost of folks have been asking.
Remember that these essays aren't asking you to write simple comparative analyses of texts; it is not enough to have a thesis that argues "Text A does one thing; Text B does something that is somewhat similar and somewhat different." You need to use both texts to defend a larger argument. You should, of course, address differences between these texts as a way of nuancing your analysis.
(Update 12/18, 6 pm.) While you should not repeat readings that you use in either of your two papers, there's nothing the slightest bit untoward about using the ideas you put together in your hebdomadals.
A quick hint: there is nothing unseemly in using the passages made available to you for Part I to answer questions that come up in Part II; indeed, it looks really good if you can take details from those passages to illuminate your argument.
You can write on Middlemarch for both essay questions, if you like; however, you cannot write on the same storyline or section. For example, if you write on Dorothea's engagement to Will (which happens in Book 8) in your answer to question one, in question two you should address what happens to Rosamond, or the Garths, or Bulstrode in an earlier book.
Question 7 seems to be implicitly relating permanence and impermanence to the relationship between artwork and artist. I've had some difficulty with this question, and it certainly is not the easiest on the exam. It is also one of the most interesting.
In question 7, think of political in the broadest possible sense, something like of or relating to the governance of the public. If you want to connect this general evaluation to the specific politics in England - such as the controversy surrounding Reform - you should feel free to do so.
As regards question 9: remember that irony doesn't only mean interruption. Even though you are not invited to analyze "Rime" in answering that question, it might be worth reminding yourself how Prof. Ortiz-Robles defined irony in that lecture.