The summative exam in my Spring 2014 section of ENGL 2543, which will be given during the university-assigned final exam period, will consist of two sections. In the first, students will be offered a series of items such as dates, names of manuscripts, and names; responses need to be given for two-thirds to three-quarters of those offered (the exact number and proportion to be determined when the exam is written late in the term). Each response will need to be some two to five sentences long, noting the significance of the item within the work in which it appears or within the broader context of the English-language canon. In the second section, students will be offered three prompts, of which they will select one; students will need to compose a short essay which appropriately responds to the prompt.
The exam will be a closed-book, closed-note, non-collaborative exercise. Answers will be assessed based on accuracy, thoroughness, and adherence to standards of usage reasonably expected of collegiate writing under MLA guidelines. The total 200-point grade for the exercise will be divided evenly between the two sections; each will earn the student a maximum of 100 points.
More information is forthcoming.