• The Final Exam is, like all other exams in Literatures in English, TWO hours in length. You are required to do TWO questions in all, each from a different section.
• The paper is divided into TWO sections:
  • section A corresponding to Module II: the Early Modern Period: the Eighteenth Century, and 
  • section B corresponding to Module III: the Nineteenth Century (and After);
  • Module I: the Pre-Modern Period will not be tested again since it was examined by the term paper.  However, some of the ideas and issues discussed then may be relevant to and inform the views of theorists found in the subsequent modules.
• There are 6 questions in all to choose from, 3 in  section A and 3 in section B:
  • All the questions concern critical theory (i.e. what many philosophers term 'aesthetics').  You will not be tested on the views on other areas of philosophy (e.g. epistemology or the nature of identity) expressed by particular philosophers like Descartes or Locke whom we discussed in the first week of each module because this is not a course in those areas of philosophy per se.  However, a basic knowledge of these other areas of philosophy is important to an understanding of critical theory.  This is because every model of literature and of criticism is informed by a particular philosophical world view, model of identity, theory of signification, etc.  (For example, the Romantic view of literature is informed by a particular transcendental conception of identity indebted to philosopher's like Kant and Hegel.)  Hence, a general awareness of the philosophical context informing a particular critical approach would certainly not go amiss.
  • In each section of the exam, you will find three questions each devoted to one of the four following concepts (the so-called four poles of criticism): the author (the expressive approach), representation (the mimetic), literary form (the objective), and the reader (the pragmatic).  For example, one of the questions may resemble this: "Discuss Plato's view of the negative impact which poetry has."  This is obviously a question concerning the reader (the pragmatic approach).  Two out of the remaining three concepts will be addressed by the other questions in that section.
  • The questions are not comparative in nature in that they focus on individual theorists (e.g. "Discuss Aristotle's conception of plot").  However, a knowledge of a theorist's relationship to other theorists or even a particular school of thought may be implied or useful to an understanding of the views of a particular theorist (e.g. it might be useful to know that Aristotle is something of an empiricist in order to discuss his views on literature).
  • Do not overlook either the Feminist theorists or the Post-colonial theorists studied.
  • Nothing will appear on the exam which we have not discussed in some detail both in the lectures and in the tutorials. When you see the paper, you will not be surprised and you will acknowledge that we actually focused on these topics.  You may even remember the loud hints I dropped.  However, it is up to you how well you do your preparation.
• Theoretical questions are normally of two kinds:
  • Analytical: in this kind of question, you are asked to discuss a particular theoretical concept or model of literature (e.g. "Discuss Longinus' conception of the 'sublime' in literature");
  • Practical: in this kind of question, you are asked to discuss a reading methodology with reference to a supplied text (e.g. "Illustrating your answer with reference to the story attached, discuss the main objectives of and characteristic steps taken by a realist critic.")  There will be no questions of this sort in the exam.
• In order to prepare for the exam:
  • Carefully consult the list of Topics Covered in Module II (Section A of the exam) and Module III (Section B) by noting the specific concerns of particular theorists (e.g. Plato has much to say both about what the text represents [mimesis] and the impact which literature has on the reader [the pragmatic approach]);
  • Given that in each section of the exam, the questions will address three out of the four concepts or poles of criticism, 
    • you would be well advised to choose at least two of these (e.g. the reader and the author) and carefully study what the particular theorists listed under these rubrics have to say about these two issues.  Even if one of your chosen concepts (e.g. the reader) does not appear in the exam, the other (the author) logically must;
    • you should select those concepts which interest you the most (if something interests you, you will tend to understand and write on it better);
    • in preparing a particular concept (e.g. the reader), prepare it as thoroughly as possible by focusing on all the relevant theorists.  Do not arbitrarily focus on one theorist to the exclusion of others whom we studied merely because you assume that a question on his / her views is bound to appear on the exam.
  • The other, perhaps more burdensome, approach to revising for this exam would be to do so by focusing on the views of particular theorists rather than topics.  To prepare properly, you would need to revise the work of several theorists (this is far more work than if you choose to revise topics rather than theorists).  If you take this route, you do not need to revise every theorist which we covered in each of Modules II and III but
    • do not prepare merely one theorist in each section: prepare at least two or, better yet, three to give your self alternatives if your first choice does not appear on the exam;
    • you should select those theorists whose arguments interest you the most (if something interests you, you will tend to understand and write on it better).
  • Whether you choose the 'concepts' route or the 'theorists' route, carefully consult exams from previous years for a sense of the kind of questions which may come.  
    • it is very unlikely that a question on a particular topic will be repeated from year to year even though a question may come on a different topic addressed by the same theorist (because the same theorist may address more than one topic);
    • remember, too, that what at first glance might appear to be a difficult question on a past paper probably will not appear so after you have completed your revision on that topic / theorist.  Things often appear difficult before you undertake your preparations. 
  • Regularly attend lectures and tutorials in Modules II and III to listen for hints: remember that the lecture notes offer at best only synopses of particular arguments and that in the lectures threads are being drawn, overviews offered, etc. which are not found in the synopses.
  • Prepare the essay(s) of each theorist as thoroughly as possible with a view to being able to reproduce his / her argument in answer to the question asked: to this end, 
    • carefully read and reread the primary sources by the theorists in question;
    • consult my notes for definitions of specific concepts and summaries of the arguments advanced by particular theorists but do not rely exclusively on them;
    • consult secondary sources on particular theorists and schools as you see fit;
    • to commit the material to memory, make your own notes on what you have read (for some reason, it sticks in the memory better this way).  Try to reduce these to a single page of notes by the time the exam comes along;
    • in order to be sure that you have assimilated the material in question, answer the relevant tutorial questions for each theorist;
    • try to anticipate the type of question which may come on a particular theorist by conceptually locating the theorist in question in the appropriate slot (e.g. Johnson is, like most Neo-Classical theorists, partly mimetic and partly pragmatic in orientation; Shelley, by contrast, is more interested in the author);
    • practice applying the theoretical approaches in question, if possible (there is no better way to grasp a theorist's argument than to apply it).
  • Finally, in the exam, bring your knowledge (accumulated in the ways suggested above) to bear by, above all, answering the question asked.

To illustrate points above, I have used examples drawn from Module I which, however, will not be tested again in the exam.