• The 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: Marxist Criticism, and 
  • section B corresponding to Module III: Phenomenological Criticism in the course, respectively.
• Module I: Psychoanalytical / Archetypal Criticism will not be tested again since it was examined by the term paper.
• There are 6 questions in all to choose from, 3 in  section A and 3 in section B.  In each section, each of the three questions is devoted to a particular area addressed in the module in question:
  • one question devoted to the critical theory of the school in question which is covered in the second week of each module (e.g. a question on Freud's view of authorship);
  • one question devoted to Feminist negotiations with the school in question which is covered in the third week of each module (e.g. a question on how Gilbert and Gubar conceptualise women's literary history);
  • one question devoted to Post-colonial negotiations with the school in question which is covered in the fourth week of each module (e.g. a question on Harris's view of Caribbean literature in "The Limbo Gateway").
• Questions may be of two kinds:
  • Analytical: in this kind of question, you are asked to discuss (sometimes comparatively) a particular theoretical concept or model of literature (e.g. "Discuss Freud's conception of authorship");
  • 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 an Archetypal critic").
• 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 will not be tested on the views of particular philosophers like Hegel or Husserl whom we discussed in the first week of each module.  This is not a course in philosophy per se.  However, a knowledge of their views is important to an understanding of critical theory 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, to understand a phenomenological approach to criticism, it is necessary to acquire even a basic understanding of phenomenology.)  Hence, a general awareness of the philosophical context informing a particular critical approach would certainly not go amiss.
• In order to prepare for the exam:
  • You do not need to prepare every area which we covered in each of Modules II and III but
  • Do not prepare merely two areas: prepare at least three or, better yet, four areas to give your self an alternative(s) if your first choices do not appear on the exam;
  • You should select the areas which interest you the most (e.g. you may choose to focus on feminist theory in each module if that is your wont);
  • Consult exams from previous years for a sense of the kind of questions which may come.
  • Consult the list of topics covered in each area in Module II and Module III;
  • Regularly attend lectures and tutorials in Modules II and III to listen for hints;
  • Prepare each area as thoroughly as possible: to this end, 
    • do not arbitrarily focus on one theorist to the exclusion of other(s) whom we studied because you assume that only s/he will appear on the exam--if you are going to prepare a particular area, do it thoroughly;
    • carefully read and reread the relevant essays (primary sources) by the theorists in question;
    • consult secondary sources on particular theorists and schools as you see fit;
    • consult the relevant lecture notes for definitions of specific concepts and summaries of the arguments advanced by particular theorists;
    • to commit the material to memory, make 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, try to conceptually locate the theorist in question in the appropriate slot (e.g. Richards is very much a reader-oriented theorist; Eliot attempts to 'kill' the author, etc.);
    • practice applying the theoretical approaches in question, if possible (there is no better way to grasp a theorist's argument than to apply it).

Please note that I have used examples above drawn from Module 1 merely for illustrative purposes and that Module 1 will not be tested again.