Fall Final Exam Review
English I Pre-AP
1) Major Readings: A Long Way Gone, The Odyssey, Of Mice and Men
2) Short Stories: “The Flowers,” “The Man I Killed,” “The Scarlet Ibis,” “The Lady or the Tiger,” “The Lottery”
3) Poetry: Look over your poetry notes and the assorted poems we read (listed on back)
4) Vocabulary: Literary terms, poetry terms, vocabulary workshop words
5) Writing: MLA and research documentation basics as well as an essay portion which will come from one of the stories
The test is comprised of 70 questions and a 30 point essay. Be prepared to possibly see a new reading selection that you might have to analyze and answer questions over.
A Long Way Gone:
1.) Look over your background notes to the War of Sierra Leone / Ishmael’s life
2.) Basic plot points (his first kill, significant losses, how Shakespeare saves his life, his transition into rehabilitation, his relationship with Esther, his trip to New York, etc)
3.) Ishmael’s emotional, mental and physical transformation throughout the memoir
4.) The role of folk tales and music in the story
5.) Themes of the book (survival, loss, isolation, forgiveness, redemption, etc)
The Odyssey:
You should know basic information about the following parts of The Odyssey and what order they happen in. Make sure you also know the gods and goddesses that are a part of the story.
1.) Cyclops’ Island
2.) Circe’s Island
3.) Lotus Eaters
4.) Calypso’s Island
In addition, review all your notes over the Hero’s Journey (What is the definition of an epic hero, what are the characteristics of an epic hero, the stages of a hero’s journey, archetypes)
Of Mice and Men:
You should know the plot of this story and the significance of Curley, Curley’s wife, Candy, Carlson, Slim, Crooks, George and Lennie. Be prepared to identify quotes on the exam as well.
You should be able to analyze the following themes: Disillusionment of the American Dream, Loneliness and Friendship, the roles and expectations of women and the treatment of outcasts in the novella. Look over your Great Depression, Dust Bowl, and Steinbeck notes as well.
Poetry:
Look over poetry vocabulary terms from your packet (alliteration, rhyme scheme, sonnet, allusion, etc) and the following poems. Make sure you can identify the poets for each one.
1.) “Sonnet 116”
2.) “Sonnet 130”
3.) “The Road not Taken”
4.) “Coca Cola and Coco Frio”
5.) “My Papa’s Waltz”
6.) “Death Be Not Proud”
7.) “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night”
Short Stories:
“The Flowers”
1.) Who is Myop?
2.) Why is her name so significant? What does it mean?
3.) What did her parents do?
4.) What is she doing?
5.) What does she find?
6.) Why are the flowers important? What do they represent?
“The Man I Killed”
1.) What war is this set during?
2.) How does the soldier imagine this man?
3.) Why does he do this?
4.) Explain the difference in reactions of his two comrades
5.) How does this relate to the themes of A Long Way Gone?
“Scarlet Ibis”
1.) Where did Doodle get his nickname?
2.) Explain the relationship between Doodle and Brother.
3.) How does Brother mistreat Doodle?
4.) Explain the significance of the Scarlet Ibis scene.
5.) Explain how Doodle dies
6.) Explain what evidence we have that Brother really did love Doodle.
7.) What point of view is this story told in?
“The Lady or the Tiger”:
1.) What word is used to describe the king and his daughter?
2.) How are people found guilty or innocent in this kingdom?
3.) Why is this young man on trial?
4.) What evidence do we have that the lady came out of the door?
5.) What about evidence for the tiger?
“The Lottery”:
1.) Summarize the basic plot
2.) What is the theme of the story?
3.) What is the significance of Ol’ Man Warner?
4.) What is this story telling us about tradition and following the crowd?
Literary Terms:
Plot Exposition Protagonist
Setting Rising Action Antagonist
Theme Climax Man Verses Man
Mood Falling Action Man Verses Nature
Conflict Dénouement Man Verses Himself
Other words you might want to look over from the list you received the first week of school:
alliteration, allusion, diction, flashback, foreshadowing, the different types of irony, hyperbole, imagery, oxymoron, pun, paradox, personification, point of view, style, syntax, tone, theme
*You should be able to label a plot progression chart with the
5 different parts of the plot. You also might have to use this chart
to plot one of the short stories that you read.
MLA Format/Documentation:
Know the pieces of a bibliography. You should be able to label the different parts (author, publisher, date you accessed the database, date of publication, etc). You should also know how to internally document a quote and how to blend quotes with your own analysis.
Example: Harmon, Robert B. Elements of bibliography: a simplified approach. Rev. ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1989.
You should also know a correct MLA heading and format for an essay. You should know what does and doesn’t count as plagiarism as well as being able to identify essay components like thesis, topic sentence, commentary, concrete detail, concluding sentence, etc.
Vocabulary Workshop:
Units 1-5 of Vocabulary Workshop are up for grabs on this final. Be sure to look over these words again from these particular units.
Cold Read:
There will be a poem on the test that you have never seen before. Using what you know about poetry, you should be able to read and interpret this poem for poetic devices, themes, rhyme scheme, tone, etc.
Essay Question:
The essay for this test could be over any of the poems or major readings we studied this year. You might want to think about some similarities between the major pieces that we have read this year. What themes do these books have in common?
Check Schoology for further study aids, notes and resources for reviewing. Good Luck!