ANCIENT GREEK MYTH

Nike Removing her Sandal - slab from the Nike temple parapet, Athens Acropolis

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CLASSICS 28: EXAMS

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The exams are designed to be inclusive, not exclusive. Their purpose is not to see how many things we can catch you out on, but to give you the opportunity to show: what, and how widely, you have been reading; how thoughtfully you have been reading; how carefully you have been reading; how well you have thought about the underlying significance of the material and about how the 'language' of Greek Myth actually works.

This means that if you develop and pursue interests outside of, or away from, the main curriculum and reading schedule, you will not be at a disadvantage for having read outside the 'assigned' texts! The exams are intended to give you the opportunity to show off your knowledge, reading and thinking, and the work you have been doing, as well as how well you know the basic source material, how well you understand the essential concepts and mode of working of Greek Myth, and how well you can conduct a discussion of it exercising independent and balanced judgement.

There are two exams:

Mid-term: Monday 11 March - in class
Final: Wednesday 15 May 7.00 - 10.00 pm

Mid-term: counted in towards the Final Grade if positive, ignored if negative. I.e. we do not do an automatic averaging out of mid-term and final for the exam component of your grade, but if your grade for either or both the questions on the mid-term is superior to your grade for either or both the first two questions of the Final, we will factor in the relevant grade(s) from the mid-term and we will at least average in the mid-term grade(s). If you do better on the Final than on the mid-term (and approximately 80% of the class do), the mid-term will be ignored and not factored in at all.

Note 1: the mid-term has two questions, the final three. The mid-term overlaps the final on the first two questions of the final, but not the third, so mid-term credit applies only to the first two questions of the final.

Note 2: factoring in the mid-term means just that: we will not substitute the mid-term grade for the final exam grade, but will try to take an average for the two grades.

Note 3: everyone is required to take the final, and there is no option for substituting the mid-term for the final.

Both exams are to be done without books or notes.

 

NOTES

1. The Mid-Term will consist in two questions:

(a) 'IDs': c.24 terms, names, concepts etc. from which to choose 3 (three) for comment;

(b) two or three text-passages from primary sources: choose 1 (one) for comment.

[The passages will mostly be drawn from texts on the assigned list but may also come from 'off-list' texts; in each case, though, the material will be mainstream and familiar. The object of the 'passages' question is not so much to quizz you on assigned reading as to give you an opportunity to discuss material that is central and important to a study of Greek Myth and to demonstrate your grasp of the subject through a combination of familiarity with detail and comprehension of the broader underlying issues.]

Here are the rubrics (instructions) for the two mid-term questions. (Remember - and this is true for any exam - before you plunge in and start writing, spend a few minutes reading the question carefully: consider what it is you are being asked to do.)

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1.   Write concise accounts of three of the following, selecting at least one item from List A and at least one item from List B.  Discuss the background, larger context, meaning, role and significance of your chosen items for our understanding of Greek myth: .....

2.   Write on one of the following passages, commenting on any specific points that you consider in need of explication for a modern reader, and also discussing the passage as a whole. Comment on any points of theme or content which you consider to be of interest and/or significance to a student of myth and mythology and to our understanding of the way Greek myth works.

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2. The Final will consist in three questions:

(a) and (b) as on the Mid-Term, except that you will be asked to choose 4 (four) IDs to comment on - and

(c) c. 8 essay topics from which to choose one.

Here are the rubrics for the three final exam questions:

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1.         Write concise but full and informative accounts of four of the following, discussing the background, larger context, meaning, role and relative significance of your chosen items for our understanding of Greek myth:

2.         Write on one of the following passages, discussing both the passage as a whole and any points, whether of detail or of a larger thematic kind, which you consider to be of interest and/or significance to a student of myth and mythology and to our understanding of the way Greek myth works.

3.  Write an essay on one of the following topics - do not repeat any substantive material or discussion from either your answers in Questions 1 and 2 or the paper you wrote:

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3. There will be choice on each of the exams. If you develop and pursue interests outside of, or away from, the main curriculum and reading schedule you will have plenty of opportunity to show off your knowledge, reading and thinking, and the work you have been doing. You will not be at a disadvantage for having read outside the 'assigned' texts!

4. The Final will cover course material from the whole fifteen weeks (not just the material since the Mid-Term).

5. In both the Mid-Term and the Final each question will be graded separately - i.e. after the Mid-Term everyone will get their exams back with two grades on it, one for each question, and the Final will be recorded with three grades. It's important, therefore, to try to do justice to each of the questions, and we recommend that you try to allocate an equal amount of time and effort to each question.

6. Both exams will be done without reference to notes or books. Please use blue-books if at all possible, and do not forget to write your NAME, STUDENT ID and TA/DISCUSSION SECTION on the outside of each blue-book used. (If you have to use individual sheets of paper instead of a blue-book, be sure to put your name on the top of each sheet.)

Please help us by writing as clearly as possible!

7. Both exams are to be done without reference to books or notes. No use of electronic devices of any kind will be permitted during the exams., except in the case of a verified disability and only when pre-arranged. This includes laptops, cell-phones, PDAs, CD players, iPods, mp3s, portable radios, blueberries, blackberries etc. etc. Any electronic devices in evidence during the exams will be subject to immediate confiscation until after the exam.

[Final Grades: Paper: c.35%, Exams: c.40%, Section/participation c. 25%]