STUDY GUIDE: First Semester Exam (MWF)
English IV AP / Mrs. Ramos
The exam will consist of two parts which will be completed in the 90-minute exam period. The two portions of the exam will count equally for your semester exam grade.
- Objective portion:multiple choice, T/F, matching, etc. on terms, characters, concepts and historical aspects of time periods.
The purpose for the questions in the objective portion of the test is to check that you have learned and retained the basic factual information from the first half of the course.
How to study for it: Review tests, quizzes and all notes. Connect ideas. Categorize and recategorize.
- Essay portion: You will have one open-response question to answer. The topic will present a concept or quotation and you will use your ideas about literature we have studied this semester to respond in a complete, effective essay. The topic will apply to any of the works we have read this semester.
The purpose for the essay section is to verify that you can write coherently about the literature we have studied this semester, reflecting insightfully on the thematic and literary elements.
How to study for it: Review your notes on thesis development and essay construction. Review basic elements of the works we have studied. Refresh your memory about plotlines, characters and themes.
MATERIAL COVERED:
- Anglo-Saxon background (9/3/07)
- Anglo-Saxon language (9/5/07)
- Beowulf
-key terms: heroic code, kenning, alliteration, caesura, scop, digression (+ essential vocab.)
-main characters: Shield Sheafson, Beowulf, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, Hrothgar, Hygelac, Unferth, Wealtheow,dragon, Wiglaf
-basic plot elements (timeline of events)
-Beowulf manuscript (9/7/07)
- Grendel(not Anglo-Saxon lit., but based on it)
-key terms: existentialism, nihilism, solipsism, mechanism, cynicism, Plato’s Cave (+ essential vocab.)
-elements of comparison / contrast with Beowulf (plot, character development, theme, conflict)
-author’s purpose
- Middle Ages background & Chaucer’s biography (11/14/07)
- Estates & Humours (11/16/07)
- The Canterbury Tales
-key terms: frame narrative, prologue, Biblical allusion, mythological allusion (+ essential vocab.)
-General Prologue (11/16 – 11/30/07)
-Descriptions of pilgrims as examples of medieval society (notes in text)
- Tales:
-“The Knight’s Tale”
-“The Miller’s Tale”
-“The Reeve’s Tale”
-“The Nun’s Priest’s Tale”
-“The Wife of Bath’s Tale”
-“The Pardoner’s Tale”
- The Code of Chivalry
-handout on chivalry in war & courtly love (12/5/07)
-notes- examples from the Knight’s Tale (12/5/07)
- Characteristics of Middle English Language (12/10/07)
TESTS / QUIZZES / STUDY GUIDES TO REVIEW:
- QUIZ: Beowulf characters (9/3/07)
- TEST: Philosophical elements in Grendel (9/28/07)
- EXAM: 1st Six Weeks (wk of 10/1/07)
- QUIZ: Background for Canterbury Tales (Middle Ages and Chaucer) (11/19/07)
- TEST: Canterbury Tales General Prologue (12/5/07)