Post by Christopher Martin on Nov 3, 2016 18:11:36 GMT
Consider this your warning: I want you to organize your exam questions as instructed below, and deviation from it risks severe harm to the points you could potentially earn for answering the questions. As always, READ THIS CAREFULLY, BEGINNING TO END! I cannot save you from your own ignorance or laziness.
In order, this is how you should address an exam question:
1) ANSWER THE QUESTION.
Do NOT re-state the question, talk about the question, or ask rhetorical questions about the question. Just answer it. For example, if the question is:
"What is admirable about Aeneas' character?"
your answer should begin with: "Aeneas' character is admirable because of . . . ", or something similar to that.
Whatever you do, MAKE SURE YOU CLEARLY ANSWER THE QUESTION, FIRST AND FOREMOST!
2) EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER
Nine times out of ten, our answers to questions are NOT self-explanatory. For example: "Would you like to own a dinosaur?" . . . "No!" (obviously, we would need an explanation . . . "WHY NOT!!??"
Therefore, be sure to explain the answers you give. Make sure I understand WHY you answered the question the way you did.
3) SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER
The exam is meant to test your grasp of the texts. Therefore, you MUST SHOW THAT YOU HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE TEXT. Do this by giving examples, and especially quotations from the text (and when you do this, give me a note so that I know from what part of the text you took the quotation and/or example.
I can't emphasize this enough: your answers should rely on your understanding of the text ONLY. I don't want to read about how Aeneas has the same weakness as all mankind because of human nature, and I don't want to read about how pride, or anything else can be naturally attributed to the characters or authors. The only acceptable information to use on the exam is that which we take away from the texts, so make sure you have read the texts carefully, and maybe read them again.
You WILL be allowed to have a copy of each of the texts with you in the exam, but that's it . . . in order to use quotations, you need to have a copy of the text, but NO NOTES from my lecture or directly from class discussions. Be advised that you will have to have a mastery of the text before the exam: you will not have enough time to waste on reading, or lengthy searches for the exact right quotation. If you know where to find a quotation to copy out, then good for you. If not, then you might not have enough time to locate and use one.
As always, feel free to ask questions.
In order, this is how you should address an exam question:
1) ANSWER THE QUESTION.
Do NOT re-state the question, talk about the question, or ask rhetorical questions about the question. Just answer it. For example, if the question is:
"What is admirable about Aeneas' character?"
your answer should begin with: "Aeneas' character is admirable because of . . . ", or something similar to that.
Whatever you do, MAKE SURE YOU CLEARLY ANSWER THE QUESTION, FIRST AND FOREMOST!
2) EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER
Nine times out of ten, our answers to questions are NOT self-explanatory. For example: "Would you like to own a dinosaur?" . . . "No!" (obviously, we would need an explanation . . . "WHY NOT!!??"
Therefore, be sure to explain the answers you give. Make sure I understand WHY you answered the question the way you did.
3) SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER
The exam is meant to test your grasp of the texts. Therefore, you MUST SHOW THAT YOU HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE TEXT. Do this by giving examples, and especially quotations from the text (and when you do this, give me a note so that I know from what part of the text you took the quotation and/or example.
I can't emphasize this enough: your answers should rely on your understanding of the text ONLY. I don't want to read about how Aeneas has the same weakness as all mankind because of human nature, and I don't want to read about how pride, or anything else can be naturally attributed to the characters or authors. The only acceptable information to use on the exam is that which we take away from the texts, so make sure you have read the texts carefully, and maybe read them again.
You WILL be allowed to have a copy of each of the texts with you in the exam, but that's it . . . in order to use quotations, you need to have a copy of the text, but NO NOTES from my lecture or directly from class discussions. Be advised that you will have to have a mastery of the text before the exam: you will not have enough time to waste on reading, or lengthy searches for the exact right quotation. If you know where to find a quotation to copy out, then good for you. If not, then you might not have enough time to locate and use one.
As always, feel free to ask questions.