Please answer each of the two questions below in as much detail as you deem appropriate. Be sure to provide, wherever possible and/or necessary, examples from the literary texts we have read, research you have conducted individually or together with your group, research your peers presented in class, and/or class lectures and discussions to support your argument. Your answer should take the form of a well-developed essay, complete with introduction, body, and conclusion. Please, use the texts we have read—i.e. quote them—to back up your claims. Aim for about two pages, double-spaced. You have 2 hours, so please plan accordingly and leave yourself 15 minutes at the end for proofreading. Indicate a starting and an ending time on your answer sheet.

Good luck and thank you very much for having been such fantastic students this semester. You all have been amazing, and it has been a pleasure and a privilege to meet and work with you. I thank you all for a great semester!

1. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the literature we read, our priority this semester has been 1) to read and experience a variety of different literatures, from different cultures and of various genres, 2) to place literature in its cultural and historical background, 3) to learn about the author and the time period and social circumstances within which they wrote, 4) to identify stylistic devices by which our reading of a text is guided and influenced, 5) to familiarize ourselves with the structure of literary texts and the terminology employed by literary critics, 6) to interpret texts by drawing upon either stylistic devices, biographical information, or historical context—or a combination of all three, 7) to encounter old texts anew and from a different, heretofore unexplored perspective.

In our journey, we tested a number of interpretative techniques: We read novels/novellas, poems, essays, short stories, and plays and talked about the ways in which these literary texts can be experienced and have been experienced. In class, we worked in groups and practiced literary analysis, and we discussed and compared our results. Outside of class, you researched criticism and presented your findings to your peers, both as a group and individually, and you were given an opportunity to experiment with literary interpretation in a few short reflective papers that you wrote throughout the course of the semester. The exams asked you to bring out-of-class and in-class research, discussion, and experimentations together and to demonstrate your understanding of literary terminology and to write short essays that critically engaged with a literary text we studied.

For your final exam, I would like to tap into your knowledge pools one last time and ask you to explore your learning achievement in this course. Please choose a literary text as well as a technique we used to engage with that text and examine how this technique impacts your reading of the literature. In your discussion, I would like you to illustrate the ways in which the use of this technique subtly guides your reading of the text (In other words, I need you to quote from the texts under examination to support your points.). Your task, then, is to write an essay that explores and demonstrates your learning achievement.

In a nutshell, these are the questions that I would like you to respond to: WHAT WORKED BEST FOR YOU AND WHY? SHOW ME HOW AND WHY THAT WORKED! Structurally, I need you to write no less than 1 and no more than 2 pages, double-spaced, font 12p, Times New Roman—one inch margin all around. Please be specific in your response. Use textual support wherever possible and cite your sources according to MLA guidelines. A Works Cited page is a must and not part of the page count.

2. Finally, I would like you to take a few minutes to reflect on the course and your contribution to it. What did you bring to the table that helped us gain a deeper understanding of a literary text this semester? Please discuss your contribution to the course in the context of one of the primary texts we read and discussed this semester, and explain in 10 sentences what grade you believe you should be awarded for your participation in and contribution to the class. I will accept your recommendation, if you argue it convincingly and support it sufficiently.

NOTE: You’re on the honors system, please act accordingly and refrain from using Internet resources or any of the various forms of Notes. I will be rather upset if I have to waste my time double-checking the authenticity of your work. Also, nothing anybody else has to say is more valuable than what you yourself could come up with. And it is you that I would like to hear from! Who the h… writes for Sparks anyhow? And who edits Cliffs? You don’t need them! Burn them! Seriously!