• 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: Lacanian Psychoanalysis / Deconstruction, and 
  • section B corresponding to Module III: Feminist and Post-colonial Theory: Lacanian / Deconstructive Emphases.
  • Module I: Semiotics / Structuralism will not be tested again since it is examined by the term paper.
• There are SIX questions in all to choose from, three in  section A and three in section B.  
  • In section A, each question is devoted to a particular area addressed in the module:
    • one question to the philosophy of the school in question (e.g. "Discuss Saussure's model of the sign");
    • two questions devoted to the critical theory of the school in question (e.g. Discuss Barthes' critique of mimesis");
  • In section B, each question is devoted to a particular area addressed in the module:
    • one question devoted either Feminist or Post-colonial philosophy (e.g. a question on a Post-colonial views on cultural identity);
    • one question devoted to Feminist critical theory (e.g. a question on Feminist narratology);
    • one question devoted to Post-colonial critical theory (e.g. a question on Post-colonial narratology).
• Questions can 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 Barthes's critique of the concept of 'mimesis'");
  • 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 narratologist").
• In order to prepare for the exam:
  • 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 as the exam draws near;
  • 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);
  • 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).

• Last but not least, you can be assured that nothing will appear on the exam which we have not discussed in some detail.  When you see the paper, you will not be surprised and you will acknowledge that we actually focused on these topics.

NB: examples above are chosen from Module One which will not be tested again in the Final Exam