BRITISH LITERATURE SEMESTER 1: FINAL EXAM REVIEW

Your final exam for Semester 1 will be all multiple choice or true/false questions. It will cover a variety of information from each of the units this semester: Brave New World, Academic Writing and Narrative Writing (college essay); Heroes Unit (Beowulf and Grendel*); Macbeth; and resumes and cover letters. Use the information below to prepare for the exam. You should review any packets and notes as part of your preparation. In addition, all past unit pages will be accessible on my website for you to use to review and prepare. You will be permitted ONE 3x5 index card of notes during the exam, should you wish to use one.

Part 1: Academic & Narrative Writing (Brave New World) Selecting an appropriate topic for your college essay (i.e., if you are applying to an arts school, should you write about your experience as an artist?) The average maximum length permitted for a personal statement/college app essay The purpose of a college application essay Characteristics of narrative writing (vivid imagery, showing vs. telling the story, etc.) The two components of a thesis statement (subject + opinion) and be able to identify the subject and opinion in a sample thesis statement Differences between academic/analytical writing and narrative writing The definition and function of a topic sentence and be able to identify in examples The definition and function of Says/Does/because analysis and be able to identify in examples The definition and purpose of literary analysis The definition and purpose of persuasive writing The definition and purpose of narrative writing The components/structure of an essay (thesis placement, contents of an introduction and conclusion, body paragraph structure/format, ratio of Says (textual support) to Does/because (explanation and analysis), etc.) Rules for writing about literature (write in present tense, use MLA formatting, etc. Referring to the minimum requirements for your essays would be a good place to study this information). Correct MLA formatting and citations (both Works Cited citations and in-text citations as parenthetical documentation (PDs)) How to integrate quotations using lead-in and signal phrases

Part 2: Beowulf & Grendel Beowulfs role as part of an oral tradition, who wrote it down and when, and the influence of that writer on the story The form of English that Beowulf was originally written in Definitions for the following words: wyrd, thane, mead hall, comitatus, the Shaper/scop Identify important Anglo-Saxon traditions, values and ideals in reading passages (i.e. boasting, loyalty, avenging kin, generosity, heroism, etc.) Know the definition of and be able identify characteristics of an epic hero and an epic poem Know the definition of and be able to identify the following literary devices in reading passages: kenning, alliteration, caesura, tone and mood, universal theme
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Section 4: Shakespeares Macbeth The name of the theatre where most of Shakespeares plays were performed and where the reproduction of the theater is now located The correct way to cite lines from a Shakespearean play (using Roman and Arabic numerals!) The major themes we discussed from the play The definition of a tragedy, tragic hero, and tragic flaw and how they are identified in the play The definition of the following literary devices: soliloquy, aside, climax, comic relief, blank verse, iambic pentameter, prose Know the speaker, context (what was going on in the play), and significance of the following quotations:

MACBETH The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step On which I must fall down, or else oerleap, For in my way it lies. WITCHES Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. BANQUO Thou hast it now King, Cawdor, Glamis, all As the Weird Women promised, and I fear Thou playedst most foully for t. MACBETH Bring me no more reports. Let them fly all! Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane, I cannot taint with fear. MACDUFF Hail, King! For so thou art. Behold where stand The usurpers cursed head. The time is free. MACBETH Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return To plague th' inventor: this even-handed justice Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice To our own lips. Hes here in double trust: First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been So clear in his great office, that his virtues Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against The deep damnation of his taking-off;
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And pity, like a naked newborn babe, Striding the blast, or heavens cherubim, horsed Upon the sightless couriers of the air, Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, That tears shall drown the wind. HECATE Have I not reason, beldams as you are? Saucy and overbold, how did you dare To trade and traffic with Macbeth In riddles and affairs of death, And I, the mistress of your charms, The close contriver of all harms, Was never called to bear my part, Or show the glory of our art? MACBETH Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressd brain? (II.i.33-40) MACBETH Avaunt, and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee. Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold. Thou hast no speculation in those eyes Which thou dost glare with! (III.iv.97-101) LADY MACBETH Out, damned spot! Out, I say!One, two. Why, then, tis time to do t. Hell is murky!Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him. (V.i.25-30) Part 4: Career Prep The function and purpose of a cover letter The function and purpose of a resume Cover letter and resume formatting The contents of a cover letter and resume (categories, etc.) Identify relevant information to include in a cover letter or resume How to provide and format references, when asked Important interview skills, behavior and expectations
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