One of the tasks of ENGL 2340 is to introduce students to the shape of literary study. As such, it is just and fitting that students be asked to demonstrate knowledge of key pieces of literature and terms associated with the interpretation and analysis of literature. Accordingly, students in Dr. Elliott’s section of the course are asked to respond to a series of identification items in the form of an exam—the FinEx.
Completing the FinEx will require students to
Information about both follows, along with information about assessment and notes.
Review Quizzes Administered
Students in the class will have taken a number of quizzes, typically 20-minute exercises administered at the end of each class week that ask students to accurately identify or explain three of five terms derived from lecture and assigned readings. Typically, the beginning of the next class week sees announcement of correct quiz answers—those answered by students and those not answered. The questions asked on the FinEx will be taken directly from those asked on the quizzes throughout the term, emphasizing those presented after the earlier MTEx but including some items from before that assignment and at least one that appeared on the MTEx. Not all the questions posed on the quizzes will appear again on the exam, and which questions will be posed will not be announced until the exam is administered, so students need to be familiar with all of the terms asked to date.
Sit for the FinEx
Before 1030 on 13 December 2016, students will need to arrive in the regular classroom with something with which to write; no other materials are required for class that day, as the entire period will be devoted to completing the FinEx. An exam form will be provided, and all answers are expected to be recorded on it.
The form will present twenty items, taken directly from quizzes previously administered. Students will be asked to respond to any fifteen of them, identifying or explaining each in two or three full sentences that should conform to usage standards promulgated by the Modern Language Association of America.
Once an individual student has completed the FinEx, that student should submit the exam form to the instructor. As the FinEx is the only activity planned for the day, students are free to go after completing it. Consultation with the instructor will be discouraged so as not to impede the progress of students still sitting for their exams.
Assessment
As with the quizzes from which the FinEx derives, the exam will be assessed in terms of the accuracy of answers, the thoroughness of answers, and the adherence of usage in the answers to Modern Language Association standards, with a holistic score assigned to each and the average of those scores recorded as the exam grade—a major assignment grade worth 15% of the total course grade. In effect, then, each of the fifteen items expected to be answered accounts for one percent of the total course.
Students who wish to answer more than fifteen items are invited to do so; the fifteen items displaying the most accuracy, thoroughness, and adherence to usage standards will be scored, the others dropped. Students who address fewer than fifteen items will suffer substantial penalties to their overall scores, regardless of their performance on any individual items.
Notes
The FinEx is a closed-book, closed-note, closed-source individual assignment. Students thought to be collaborating during the exam period will be subject to academic integrity proceedings, with substantially adverse effects.
Students with documented learning differences or other approved grounds for accommodation need to coordinate with the instructor and the relevant University offices to arrange for appropriate handling of the FinEx. Working on such things early is better than working on them late, as more time to prepare allows for a better experience.
Geoffrey B. Elliott
1 December 2016
Updated to include assignment information.
Elliott RWI 