ENG1DB final exam review #2
The Details:
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Your final exam is on Thursday, June 18th at 8:30AM in room
First Section (2A): ENG1DB-10—A310
Second Section (2B): ENG1DB-07—A308 (our classroom)
You have 1.5 hours to write the exam. If you are done early, you may leave after
an hour. You may not, however, leave during the last 10 minutes of the exam.
Exam format:
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Part A: You will analyze a SIGHT PASSAGE by answering several textual analysis
questions and will write a short paragraph connecting the passage to ONE of the
texts studied this year
Part B: You will write a PERSUASIVE PARAGRAPH based on ONE of the topics
provided in the exam and with reference to ONE of the core texts studied this
year
Steps for completion:
1. Read over the exam instructions completely before you begin
2. On the exam, you will be given a short story, poem, essay or article that you
have never read in class (a “sight passage”) that you will be asked to read and
analyze.
3. Read the included sight passage thoroughly. Look up any words that you do not
understand in a dictionary (bring your own)!
4. Answer each question fully (pay attention to the mark allotment for each)
5. Choose ONE of the paragraph topics provided
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6. The paragraphs will discuss the relevance of your selected topic in connection to
ONE of our course texts studied this semester (Twelfth Night, To Kill a Mockingbird
or your Book Club Novel)
7. Choose which course text you will analyze in your paragraph
8. Plan your thesis statement, supporting arguments, and points/proofs/ analyses; in
your paragraph, you must make reference to two specific examples from the
core texts in the form of accurate paraphrasing or direct quotations as proof for
your points.
9. Write your paragraph! Maintain a formal tone and use persuasive language.
Part A - Practice sight passage #1:
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Read the following poem carefully. Respond to the corresponding short answer
questions in complete sentences on a separate sheet of lined paper. Please pay
attention to the mark allotments for each question.
“The Rose That Grew From Concrete” by Tupac Shakur
Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk without having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.
Please respond to the following thinking questions: 20 marks in total
1. Analyze the tone of the poem. Support your answer and explain how the author has
created the tone. (3 marks)
2. Find two different types of figurative language/literary devices used in the poem.
Explain the effectiveness of each example. (6 marks)
3. What is the theme of the poem? Support your answer. Write a short response that
explains the poem’s theme. Think about the title, symbolism and any other figurative
language/literary devices used that hint at the poem’s central message. (6 marks)
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4. Write a short paragraph response about what text-to-text connection(s) you can
make between this poem and other text(s) studied this year? Think about the character
development, themes, symbols, etc. Please do not use the same course text that you
use in Part B of the final exam (the persuasive paragraph section). (5 marks)
Part A - Practice sight passage #2:
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Read the following poem carefully. Respond to the corresponding short answer
questions in complete sentences on a separate sheet of lined paper. Please pay
attention to the mark allotments for each question.
“Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now—
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
Please respond to the following thinking questions: 20 marks in total
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1. Analyze the tone of the poem. Support your answer and explain how the author has
created the tone. (3 marks)
2. Find two different types of figurative language/literary devices used in the poem.
Explain the effectiveness of each example. (6 marks)
3. What is the theme of the poem? Support your answer. Write a short response that
explains the poem’s theme. Think about the title, symbolism and any other figurative
language/literary devices used that hint at the poem’s central message. (6 marks)
4. Write a short paragraph response about what text-to-text connection(s) you can
make between this poem and other text(s) studied this year? Think about the character
development, themes, symbols, etc. Please do not use the same course text that you
use in Part B of the final exam (the persuasive paragraph section). (5 marks)
Part A - Practice sight passage #3:
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Read the following poem carefully. Respond to the corresponding short answer
questions in complete sentences on a separate sheet of lined paper. Please pay
attention to the mark allotments for each question.
“A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow —
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
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Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand —
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep — while I weep!
O God! Can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
Please respond to the following thinking questions: 20 marks in total
1. Analyze the tone of the poem. Support your answer and explain how the author has
created the tone. (3 marks)
2. Find two different types of figurative language/literary devices used in the poem.
Explain the effectiveness of each example. (6 marks)
3. What is the theme of the poem? Support your answer. Write a short response that
explains the poem’s theme. Think about the title, symbolism and any other figurative
language/literary devices used that hint at the poem’s central message. (6 marks)
4. Write a short paragraph response about what text-to-text connection(s) you can
make between this poem and other text(s) studied this year? Think about the character
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development, themes, symbols, etc. Please do not use the same course text that you
use in Part B of the final exam (the persuasive paragraph section). (5 marks)
Part B – Persuasive Paragraph:
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For the second part of this exam, you are expected to write a PERSUASIVE
PARAGRAPH based on ONE of the topics provided. In your paragraph you must
refer to ONE of the course texts studied this year (To Kill A Mockingbird, Twelfth
Night, or your Book Club novel). The attached rubric will be used to mark your
work for Part B.
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Choose ONE topic on the exam (you will have a choice of three topics).
Decide what position you would like to defend (your thesis statement).
You must be able to identify two specific reasons (your points) to justify/prove
your point. Armed with this, you will now write a concise paragraph.
Spend the most time on your analysis sentences
Double spaced your work.
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Format: Your paragraph should be 8-12 sentences and must include the following
sentences:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
A topic ‘hook’
A context sentence
Your position (a clear thesis statement)
Argument ‘menu’
Point, proof (a paraphrased example), and analysis structure (X2)
A closing sentence that recaps your thesis
Practice Topics:
1. The conflict between one’s duties and self-interest leads to tragedy. Discuss the
truth of this statement with reference to ONE of the core text studied this year (To
Kill a Mockingbird, any one of the Book Club options, and Twelfth Night).
2. A wise character learns to see his/her faults and to act accordingly. Discuss the
truth of this statement with reference to ONE of the core text studied this year (To
Kill a Mockingbird, any one of the Book Club options, and Twelfth Night).
3. A character’s real personality appears when this person faces a crisis. Discuss
the truth of this statement with reference to ONE of the core text studied this year
(To Kill a Mockingbird, any one of the Book Club options, and Twelfth Night).
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