English 10 Midterm Review: January 2012
There will be four sections on the exam; the information that follows should help you to
organize your thoughts as you review. ROUGH DRAFT—SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
Texts and topics: War in America; American Identity
Bluebeard
The Things They Carried
You Know When the Men Are Gone
Hemingway stories The Fall of Rome
The Things They Carried
Public speaking
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Assorted poems from packets
You may ask questions for the first 30 minutes, after which there will be silence. After
90 minutes, you may leave. Watch the clock and allow time to check your work at the
end.
Section I—Multiple Choice, Including Passage Identifications: about 10 minutes, 15
questions.
I will ask multiple-choice questions about the texts, writing skills, and literary terms,
including a few passages. In preparing for this section, consider the characters and
significant passages in each text, and go over your notes from class and active reading.
Review literary terms. Review public speaking notes. Review thesis structure. Review
introduction and quotation handouts. During review, I will ask you to share passages
that you think are significant, which may be included in this section.
Section II—Vocabulary, about 15 words/15 points/20 minutes
Study old lists and quizzes from Bluebeard and The Fall of Rome. Be ready to give
definition, part of speech, and an original sentence for each word. Study the lists, not the
quizzes.
Section III—Short Answer about a Short Story: about 40 minutes, 30 points, 4
questions accompanying a short story.
This section will demonstrate your ability to read and analyze literature. You will read a
short story and answer questions about it, using quotations from the text. This will be a
story we have not read or discussed in class.
Section IV—Essay: about 40 minutes, 40 points.
You will be given a choice of at least two short essay questions, analyzing two texts of
your choice. Be prepared to write several paragraphs in response to your chosen
question, stating a clear thesis, using several examples from the text to support your
thesis, and concluding with a meaning statement of the text. In order to prepare for this
section, I encourage you to go over your class notes and the notes you prepared for your
discussion leading. You will NOT be allowed to have your texts with you.
Example: I may ask you to compare the authors’ use of nature in two texts (not
individual short stories; it would be OK to write about The Things They Carried, You Know
When the Men Are Gone, and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven as a whole,
though). You would then choose the texts and write your essay, starting with a clear
thesis stating the authors, texts, what they’re doing with nature in their works, and the
effect of their choices.
Literary (and other) Terms
Tone
Diction
Syntax
PEARL
Theme
Qualify
terms
Symbol
Imagery
Motif
Setting
Meaning statement
Foreshadowing
Metacognition
Critical thinking
question stems
Hook
Metaphor, simile
Transition Quotation
punctuation
Character (incl. foil)
Point of view (three)
Metafiction
Levels of thought
Context in plot
Personification
Pathetic fallacy
Epigraph
Framing
sentences
Offset quote