Exam Q&A
EN302: European Theatre
O What’s the rubric for the exam?
O Can I write about the same texts in the exam
O
O
O
O
O
O
as I did in my coursework essays?
Can I write about texts we haven’t studied
on the module?
Can I bring the texts into the exam?
How should I organise my time during the
exam?
How will the exam be marked?
What sorts of questions will the exam
contain?
Where can I find past papers?
What’s the rubric for the
exam?
O The rubric will read as follows:
O Time allowed: 2 hours
O Answer TWO of the following questions.
O Read carefully the instructions on the answer
book and make sure that the particulars are
entered on each book.
O Do not substantially repeat material from
assessed essays, or between sections on the
exam
What’s the rubric for the
exam?
O Please note: You may be penalised up to 20
marks from your overall exam mark if it is
evident that you are in violation of the rubric of
the exam paper.
O Pay attention! Some questions will ask for
discussion of “two or more plays”, while others
will ask you to consider “two or more
dramatists”. Others will be more specific, asking
you to consider, for example, only Greek plays, or
only Naturalist dramas.
O Answer the question that is asked, not the
question you wanted to answer!
Can I write about the same texts in the exam
as I did in my coursework essays?
O Technically, yes – but we strongly advise against
it. What you cannot do is “substantially repeat
material from assessed essays”. Under the
pressure of exam conditions, you might not
remember exactly what you wrote in your essays.
O Bear in mind that if your overall degree mark
falls on a borderline between degree
classifications, your entire body of assessed
work will be sent to the external examiner. An
examiner might look less favourably on a
student who keeps writing about the same texts!
Can I write about texts we haven’t
studied on the module?
O As long as the question allows it. Some
questions specify that you should write
about “plays by writers on this module” –
others do not. Do bear in mind that the
module is about European theatre, though!
Can I bring the texts into the
exam?
O No, you are not permitted to bring the texts into
the exam. Memorising some key quotations will
therefore be helpful, but committing huge
chunks of the texts to memory may not be the
best use of your revision time! The same goes
for secondary sources.
O Students whose first language is not English are
permitted to use a bilingual dictionary. For
further details, see
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/academic
office/quality/categories/examinations/policies
/a_materials/
How should I organise my
time during the exam?
O You have two hours: that’s one hour for each
question. Both questions carry an equal number
of marks, so you would be ill-advised to spend
longer on the first question than you do on the
second!
O Planning is everything. Spend an appropriate
amount of time brainstorming ideas and working
out a rough structure for your argument before
you start writing the essay. You can cross
through any work you do not wish to be marked.
How will the exam be marked?
O The exam will be marked anonymously, according to the
same criteria as your essays.
O Third class:
O Some relevant knowledge, some accurate repetition of
lecture/class notes/work. Partial or pedestrian description.
O 2.2:
O Conscientious work, attentive to subject matter and
title/task set; a focused response to the task
demonstrating good knowledge, balanced more towards
the descriptive than the analytical. Good knowledge,
reasonable understanding of material and task.
Descriptive rather than analytical.
How will the exam be marked?
O 2.1:
O Highly competent in organisation and presentation,
evidence of individual research; appropriate and intelligent
use of primary and secondary material, good
understanding of subject matter allied with perceptive
analysis.
O First class:
O Very high quality work, with full understanding of the
subject matter. Work that demonstrates intellectual
maturity, and is perceptive with highly developed
organisation. An ambitious project carried out successfully,
with sophisticated handling of primary and secondary
material, reasoned, analytical argument. Some degree of
originality, independent research and thought.
What sorts of questions will
the exam contain?
O You will be asked to write on at least two
plays in each answer. You must therefore
revise a minimum to four plays; a few more
would be very sensible.
O You can easily identify the kinds of
questions which are likely to come up by
reading a few past papers. There are, for
example, always questions on the
following…
What sorts of questions will
the exam contain?
Social and/or religious ethics
2. The relationship between theatricality and life
3. Dramatic genre, especially tragedy and/or comedy
4. Naturalism and post-Naturalism
5. Political theatre and/or the politics of theatre
6. Adapting the drama of the past
7. Representations of gender
8. The relationship between language and the visual
9. Specific productions
10. ‘Topics’
1.
Where can I find past papers?
O Here!
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/examp
apers/