Spring 2009 10th Grade Final Study Guide

Your final exam will cover these works: Meeting at Night, The Oak, A Lonely Pine is Standing, I Like to See It Lap the Miles, The Deserted House, The Story-Teller, The Road Not Taken, Excelsior, and Oedipus the King.

Your final exam will have two sections, a passage identification section and a short essay section.

The passage identification section requires an intimate and thorough knowledge of all the literary terms we have studied this semester. Here is a list of the terms that may be present in your passages. I WILL BE VERY STRICT ABOUT THE WAY YOU DEFINE YOUR LITERARY TERMS, SO MEMORIZE THE DEFINITIONS I GAVE YOU.

tone
setting
mood
point of view
stanza
dialogue
theme
repetition
conflict
connotation
denotation
imagery
ambiguity
hyperbole
catharsis
tragic irony
plot
hamartia
simile
metaphor
personification
symbol/symbolism
refrain
dialogue
rhyme
rhythm
alliteration


Section I: Passage Identifications- 20 points each
10A, you will have 3 of these. 10B, you will have 2 of these.
In this section, you will be given an excerpt from the material that we read. You must identify the name of the work, the author, and then you must talk about the meaning and importance of the excerpt.

You must know how to spell the name of the work and author correctly.
When you write your analysis, you must include these things:
The name of the poem, the name of the author, SPELLED CORRECTLY
You must relate the passage to the rest of the story or poem—You must talk about any significant parts of the passage—is it a key moment in the story? Does it have any literary elements that you learned about?
You must reveal the purpose of the passage—what does it teach you? What kind of response does it create in you? Why does it create this response?

Tips for Answering Passage Identification:

1) Don’t forget to study the names of the poems/stories and the poets/authors! These are two easy points, nobody should lose points for this!
2) Thoroughly study your notes!
3) When you study the poems, keep in mind which literary terms are present within each poem. Also make sure that you truly understand the meaning of each poem and that you can summarize the poem easily.

Here is further explanation of what you must write about in your paragraph:

1. You must relate the passage to the rest of the story or poem—You must talk about any significant parts of the passage—is it a key moment in the story?

In this section, you would provide a brief but complete summary of the poem or story and say how this part of the poem/story relates to the plot of the poem or story.

2. Does it have any literary elements or poetic terms that you learned about?
(HINT: Your passage will have at least three literary elements/poetic terms. Your analysis should point out 3 or more of these literary elements/poetic terms, and within these three terms, you need to discuss the terms that are dominant within the passage..)

In this section, you would point out the literary elements, define them, and explain how they are used in the story or poem.


3. What is the purpose of this passage?

In this section, you must write about what this passage or poem teaches you. You must write about what response it is creating within you. This is the section that would discuss the mood, the tone, and the theme.

Passage Identification Rubric:
Name______/1
Author ______/1
Plot: _________/6
Element: _________/6
Purpose: ________/6

Total: ________/20

Section II: Short Essay (30 points total)

You must prepare a thoughtful, thorough, and convincing essay that answers this question “How does Sophocles create catharsis within the readers/audience as they read/watch Oedipus the King?”

As you prepare your answer, consider these questions:

1. Why is this story so depressing?

2. What literary elements and elements within the story make it so sad and tragic?

You need to answer this question in relation to 3 out of these 6 things-- you can choose any three of them.
1. The themes of the play
2. The pace of the plot
3. The characterization of Oedipus
4. The conflict within the play.

5. The irony within the play.
6.The worldview of the author (Are the gods just? Does Oedipus deserve the things that happened to him? )

Your answer should fully discuss THREE of these areas and provide convincing and thorough proof.

Because you have this topic in advance, I am expecting you to prepare your response in advance.

For every argument that you make, you must provide sufficient proof from the play— this means that you must be able to summarize the significant parts of the play or provide specific quotations AND you must provide a page reference that reveals where that moment/passage is located.

YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE A SHEET TO HELP YOU WITH THESE PAGE REFERENCES. YOU MUST HAVE THEM MEMORIZED.

FINAL SHORT ESSAY RUBRIC- 30 points total

Essay Form: 5 points total

The essay contains a clear introduction, thesis statement, body, and conclusion

Content: 10 points total

The essay fully discusses three significant elements within Oedipus the King that lead to catharsis.

Proof: 10 points total

a. Each argument is supported with at least one clear and concise reference taken from Oedipus the King- this reference may be a direct quotation or a summary containing the specific, significant details. (7 points)

b. Each reference is appropriate for the argument. (3 points)

Citation: 5 points total

The student cites the proper page number and uses proper citation format.