I need help with a English question. All explanations and answers will be used to help me learn.

Exam #1 Instructions

EXAM #1

Topic

Only readings listed on the syllabus by these authors are eligible for this first exam: Behn, Swift, Voltaire, Bash?, Equiano, Wordsworth, and Keats. At least ONE example has to come from the Week #3 readings (Equiano, Wordsworth, or Keats).

In most of the readings in the first three weeks, we see characters or writers in situations where they either regret or could potentially regret their actions or what happens to them. In your exam, use three examples from assigned texts to discuss how regret might play a role in the assigned texts (and your three examples cannot use the same author twice—for example, you cannot use both poems by Keats and count them as two of the three examples). Is there actual regret present in the text? Is it a situation where one might express regret for something that has happened and yet the character or writer does not? What does the acknowledgement or lack of acknowledgement of regret suggest about the writer, character, or situation? What does the text suggest about how we might face regretful situations or moments in our own lives?

Keep in mind that all of your examples do not have to be demonstrating the same type of regret. You could easily have one example where there is active regret in the story or poem and then two other examples where regret is lacking. It will entirely depend on what you see happening in the texts.

Length and Content Requirements

Your essay response must be a minimum of 750 words (there is no maximum, but try to avoid writing a book).

This exam should be entirely your own argument, and you are not allowed to use any secondary material in this exam (there should be no citing of course notes, an author’s biography, etc.—if I see any material like that, particularly without citations, you will lose points for not following the exam instructions). Your only source for the exam should be the assigned reading themselves.

As long as you stick to using the assigned versions of the texts (as linked or attached in Canvas), there is no need for citations. If I see any other versions of the texts (although I have no idea why you would use something other than what was provided), you will need to have citations to identify those versions, as there can be differences in translation, etc., that I will need to know about.

As much as these are your own arguments, you should minimize your use of “I” unless absolutely necessary.

I would also argue against cutting and pasting information from your discussion posts and using that as the core content for your essays. If you choose to do so and heavily revise that content, it can work, but some students have used it as a shortcut method for completing the exam in the past, and it tends not to work well without carefully tailoring that information to the specific question or topic presented in this exam.

Formatting

Your exam must be in conventional essay format (contain an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion).

Any paraphrases or direct quotations of material from the texts you are using must be properly punctuated (clear use of quotation marks for direct quotations, for example).

There is no need for a works cited page if you’re using the assigned texts that are linked or attached in the course, but if you’re using any other version of the assigned texts, you must provide a works cited page, noting full bibliographical information for your source material, with the submitted exam.

Submission and Due Date

I prefer that your exams are attached as files to the “Exam #1” location in “Assignments” in the Canvas menu (also located in the Week #3 module). Uploading a file is a better idea all around, as I will be looking at your paragraphing and other formatting, and a file upload preserves that better so that I can see exactly what you intended. Canvas easily accepts Word Docs or PDFs—Apple Pages files do not upload well and should be avoided (although you can easily save a Pages file as a PDF to upload it).

While not the preferred option, I have left a cut and paste option in Canvas in case anyone has file compatibility issues.

The papers will go through a Turnitin.com review once uploaded—I’d like to work under the premise that students always do their own work, but I often average a 5-10% plagiarism rate in these online courses that tells me that is, unfortunately, not always the case. Turnitin just helps me streamline the plagiarism checking.

Your exam is worth 25 points and is due no later than midnight (Central Time) on Sunday, November 1st.

Grading Criteria

Your submission will be graded based on the proper use of essay format (clear paragraphs, a clear introduction, a thesis statement, etc.), the clarity of your writing (including proper use of spelling, punctuation, and grammar), proper punctuation of any source material, the strength of your argument, and your ability to use examples from the assigned texts to strongly support your argument.

Rough Draft Review

You may take advantage of writing assistance via NetTutor (there is a link via our course menu) to help you with composing, organizing, and polishing your work (although keep in mind that they do not provide instant feedback, so you need to submit a draft at least two to three days before the due date).

I am also happy to review rough drafts as long as they are emailed to me no later than 72 hours before the due date and time (no later than midnight on Thursday, October 29th—and they need to be a .doc, .pdf, .rtf, or other file type I can open). I will not proofread for you, but I will review the draft to tell you what kind of errors you are making (and how to fix those errors) and also highlight places in the text that might be confusing or that need more development. Also, my review of any exam draft is no guarantee of an “A” grade—I can provide guidance and feedback, but I do not know what that will look like after you’ve made the changes and cannot guarantee you’ll have everything perfectly corrected in your final submission.