This is your Midterm 1 exam. Your exam is due by 11:59 pm on Tue Feb 17. Late submissions are allowed but will be assessed a penalty as described in Late Work on syllabus.

The exam is based on what we have covered thus far this semester. The same guidelines as we have been using for Personal Essays apply to this exam which means please do not use AI or automated writing tools in any way. The essay portion of each question has a minimum word length of 500 words. You are welcome and in fact encouraged to consult with the UMD Writer's Workshop about any aspect of this exam. 

Please compose all of your answers entirely in a single Google Doc. Make sure that you have the Doc set so that anyone with the link is an editor. Your version history must show the complete evolution of your answers from start to finish (Notes first, Outline second, Essay third), so please do not start your answers somewhere else and then cut and paste them. Do not use tabs to separate different questions or different parts of a question. You will submit a single URL for your doc to Canvas.

If you have questions about the exam, please post those to this thread on the discussion list on Canvas so that  everyone gets the same information about the exam. Please allow up to 12 hours for a response.

There are two questions on this exam. Each question is worth 10 points and will be graded as follows - 3 points for your Notes, 2 points for your Outline, and 5 points for your ESSAY. Grading of the ESSAY portion  will follow the Personal Essay grading rubric. NOTES and OUTLINE grading will be based on clarity, completeness, and adherence to the specifications given. 

You will see that both questions are based on podcasts - please simply simply take notes as you listen and do not attempt to automate that process (unless the use of such tools is a documented accommodation you have for note taking from Disability Resources). You can take notes directly into your Google Doc or you can take them by hand on paper and then type them into your Google Doc. In the latter case please also include photos of your notes after your essay for that question.

START OF MIDTERM 1 QUESTIONS : 

1. [10 points] Listen to the podcast American Police by Throughline. It is about 66 minutes long. You should be able to stream this from the link given or I have put an mp3 of it in our Canvas Files in a folder called Midterm 1 that you could download and listen to. For the purposes of this question policing refers to any form of federal, state, or local law enforcement in the United States. 

NOTES (3 points) : Take notes as you are listening to the podcast. Your notes should be relatively detailed and cover the entire podcast. Your goal is not to create a transcript or a summary, simply record points of information as they arise in the podcast.  Please format these one point per line. Insert timestamps every 10 to 12 minutes (formatted like 12:00 to represent minute 12). 

OUTLINE (2 points) : Once your notes are finished, make an outline by describing each element from the prompt below that you will need to address in your essay. Each item in your outline should be followed by the specific points you will make to address them. You should complete both your notes and outline before writing your essay. Please start  your essay after your notes and outline so that all are immediately visible in your submission. 

ESSAY (5 points) : In this essay please discuss the following : 

• Three events from the history of policing presented in this podcast that really stood out to you. Describe each event and why it stood out. What was the significance of this event at the time, and how does this relate to policing today? 

• Three ideas about policing presented in this podcast that really stood out to you. These ideas can be from the past, present, or future. Describe each idea and why it stood out. How do these ideas relate to policing today?

• Conclude your essay by explaining how (or if) the history you heard in this podcast has changed your understanding of the past and present of policing. If so, how? If not, why not? What do you think the future of policing should look like in the USA? 

Do not simply list these items but rather create an essay where related ideas are discussed together. Identify any themes that link together the interesting points you have identified. Be specific as you discuss these different points, use content from the podcast to support your discussions and do not be overly vague or general as you want  your essay to be personal, specific, and clear (three of the rubrics for our Personal Essays). Note that the content you discuss in this essay must specifically come from this podcast.

INSERT PHOTOS OF NOTES (if taken on paper first and then entered above)

2. [10 points]  Listen to the podcast Can We Talk About Whiteness? by Code Switch. It is about 37 minutes long. You should be able to stream this from the link given or I have put an mp3 of it in our Canvas Files in a folder called Midterm 1 that you could download and listen to. 

NOTES (3 points) : Take notes as you are listening to the podcast. Your notes should be relatively detailed and cover the entire podcast. Your goal is not to create a transcript or a summary, simply record points of information as they arise in the podcast.  Please format these one point per line. Insert timestamps every 10 to 12 minutes (formatted like 12:00 to represent minute 12). 

OUTLINE (2 points) : Once your notes are finished, make an outline by describing each element from the prompt below that you will need to address in your essay. Each item in your outline should be followed by the specific points you will make to address them. You should complete both your notes and outline before writing your essay. Please start  your essay after your notes and outline so that all are immediately visible in your submission. 

ESSAY (5 points) : In this essay please discuss the following : 

• Three ideas from this podcast that really stood out to you. Describe each idea and why it stood out. 

• Three personal experiences described by someone on the podcast that stood out to you. Describe each experience and why it stood out. Make sure to name the person describing the experience.

• Three personal experiences that you have had that connect to an idea or experience discussed in the podcast. Be specific in describing your experience and how it relates to the podcast content.

Do not simply list these items but rather create an essay where related ideas are discussed together. Identify any themes that link together the interesting points you have identified. Be specific as you discuss these different points, use content from the podcast to support your discussions and do not be overly vague or general as you want  your essay to be personal, specific, and clear (three of the rubrics for our Personal Essays). Note that the content you discuss in this essay must specifically come from this podcast. 

INSERT PHOTOS OF NOTES (if taken on paper first and then entered above)

END OF MIDTERM 1 QUESTIONS

No Use of Automated Writing / AI Tools (from our Syllabus)

You may not use automated writing / AI tools like Gemini, CoPilot, ChatGPT, Grammarly, Claude, Jasper, DeepSeek, etc. at any point in developing any work for this class. 

I follow this same policy. I do not use AI in any aspect of this class. I do not use it to prepare for class. I do not use it to create lectures, discussion questions, or exams. I do not use it for any part of grading. 

What Automated Tools Can I use? (from Personal Essay guidelines)

If you would like to use a spelling or grammar checker, please do not use AI for this (it's overkill and incredibly wasteful). You should instead use the spelling and grammar checker available in Google Docs. Please do not use any other automated tools in preparing your notes, outline, or essay.