Name: ___________________
Mr. Nurre
AC English 2
9 December 2015
Semester Exam Study Guide
Reminder: The Semester Exam will be 20 percent of your overall grade for this course. The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will account for more exam material than any other text or topic
covered in this course. However, anything and everything we have covered this semester may
(and likely will) appear on the exam.
Advice: Have a working understanding of each text and each major term/concept listed. Also,
this study guide is a rough sketch of what we have covered so far; not everything we covered is
reflected here. The best way to study will be to rewrite, reorganize, and add to your notes, likely
organized by each text. This technique may sound like the extensive process that it is, but it will
be the most effective way to prepare and to master the material. Start with the process sooner
rather than later. Go through your notes thoroughly so that you are prepared beyond just the
study guide. If you choose to use someone else’s notes/study guide you will likely be unprepared.
Shortcuts often get you lost…
Exam Structure (Pending):
A. Reading Comprehension (20 points) Multiple Choice
B. Grammar (10 points) Sentence Combining by Term
C. Quote ID & Analysis (20 points) Approximately a Paragraph Response
D. Short Answer (20 points) Approximately a Paragraph Response
E. Essay (30 points) A Thesis and Three Body Paragraphs (TAoHF + 2 other texts)
I. Texts: You are responsible for having read and understood the following works; be prepared to
analyze, synthesize, and interpret the following narratives.
 Novels:
o Ernest Hemingway’s The Nick Adams Stories
o Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
 Native American Narratives:
o Read Iroquois Creation Story (20-23)
o Seneca Legend: “The Story Telling Stone” (PDF)
o “Broken Spears: The Aztec and The Spanish Accounts of the Arrival of Cortez”
(PDF)
o John Smith: “Powhatan’s Letter to John Smith” (PDF)
o Pontiac: "Speech at Detroit" (221-224)
o Red Jacket: "Reply to Missionary Jacob Cram" (229-230)
 Spanish Conquest/Colonization Narratives:
o Christopher Columbus:
 Letter of the First Voyage; Letter of the Fourth Voyage (24-28)
 “First Voyage”; “Second Voyage” (PDF)
o Hernan Cortes: "Second Letter to the Spanish Crown" (38-43)
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English Conquest/Colonization Narratives:
o Thomas Harriot: “A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia”
(PDF)
o John Smith:
 "The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles"
(57-68)
 "Description of New England" (69-72)
o William Bradford: “Of Plymouth Plantation” (72-73, 81-86, 89-90)
o John Winthrop: “A Model of Christian Charity” (99-102)
o Roger Williams:
 "The Bloody Tenet of Persecution"
 "Letter to Providence" (102-103, 107-109)
o Anne Bradstreet:
 “The Prologue” (95-98)
 “Burning of Our House” (101-102)
o Jonathan Edwards: "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" (209-220)
Revolutionary Era Narratives:
o Phyllis Wheatley:
 "On Being Brought from Africa to America" (401-2, 403)
 "On the Death of the Rev. George Whitefield" (405-6)
o Benjamin Franklin:
 “Part Two: Continuation of the Account of My Life” from Autobiography
(297- 308)
 “Information to Those Who Would Remove to America” (PDF)
 "Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America" (244-7)
o Thomas Paine: Common Sense (323-331)
o Thomas Jefferson: “The Declaration of Independence” (339-344)
o Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crevecoeur's "Letter IX" (319-323)
o Gustavas Vassa: “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oloudah Eqiuano (354355, 357-366)
Post-Independence Narratives:
o Washington Irving:
 “Rip Van Winkle” (470-481)
 “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (PDF)
o Edgar Allan Poe:
 “The Cask of Amontillado” (PDF)
 “The Raven” (688-690)
o Nathaniel Hawthorne:
 “Young Goodman Brown” (619-628)
 “Wakefield” (PDF)
Historical/Introduction Sections: (Recommended)
o Beginnings to 1700 (3-18)
o American Literature 1700-1820 (157-168)
o American Literature 1820-1865 (445-464)
o Slavery, Race, and the Making of American Literature (761-778)
o American Literature 1865-1914 (1265-1279)
II. Major Concepts: Consider how each of these factor into the various texts we have read. Be
prepared to discuss these ideas in short answer and essay questions; be prepared to compare
multiple stories based on the ways they deal with one or more of these concepts.
 Gender: The Role of Women at Various Stages of American Literature
 Race: Native-White Relations over Time; Black-White Relations over Time
 Politics: Early Government to Civil War Era
 Cultural Conflict/Development: New World-Old World Relationships
 Religion: Catholic/Anglican Missionaries, Puritans, Revivalists, Shaping Literature and
Cultural Life, Race Relations/Abolitionist Movement; Temperance Movement
 Power: Government, Religion, Economy and Social Status
 Language and Narrative: American Literature and Literary Style
 Economics: Capitalism, Labor, and American “Growth”; tension between seeking profit
and protecting humanity; “self-preservation”
 Ideology/Ideological Formation: nature and function of ideology; ideological formations
in terms of origins and developments; cultural influences, cultural values and ideals,
cultural realities
 Pastoral Ideal: how each text engages with this idea and uses it to suit their objectives
III. Major Terms and Ideas: Consider these major terms and ideas and the way they appear in the
stories we have read and discussed. Consider how these terms connect to the Major Concepts or
other major terms. CONSIDER: This list is only a brief overview; you are responsible for any
other underlined/boxed terms that appeared on the board (and in your notes) at some point this
semester. Do not limit your preparation solely to this list.
 Southern Ideology (Benefits and Drawbacks)
 Northern Ideology (Benefits and Drawbacks)
 Racist and Racialized Rhetoric
 Noble/Brutal Savage
 Depictions of African-Americans/slaves
 Pastoral Ideal
 Humanity (Full Spectrum)
 Democracy and Democratic Ideals
 Freedom
 Polemics
 Pathos
 Ethos
 Logos
 Argumentative Efficacy
 Brutality/Violence
 Independence
 Work/Labor
 Education/Intellectualism
 The Other
 Zeitgeist
 Mood/Tone
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Role of Nature
Progress: Social and/or Individual
Maturation
Hero’s Journey
Travel Narrative
Function of Power
Truth
Revenge
Revelry
Sorrow
Cultural Trauma
The Role of Place: Home v. Migration
Interpersonal Social Relationships  Social Relationships
Spirit of Independence v. Social Necessity/Obligation
IV. Writing and Grammar: You should know the definitions and function of the following terms.
You should be able to identify problems like previous assignments and tests.
Sentence Composing for High School:
o Skill 1: The Appositive Phrase
o Skill 2: The Participial Phrase
o Skill 3: The Absolute Phrase
o Skill 4: The Prepositional Phrase
Writing Basics:
 Thesis Statement
 Introductory Paragraph Structure
 Body Paragraph Structure
 Using Evidence
 Argument and Analysis
 Conclusion Structure
 MLA Formatting