Dear Students,

First of all, I wanted to thank you for all of the work that you put into your essays.  They were, for the most part, incredibly creative and insightful.  I learned a lot from them, and for that I am most grateful to you.  I hope that as a class we may have a chance to discuss these essays since they are, as far as I am concerned, the best way to review what we have done and questions that have been raised and considered over the course of this semester.

We will spend the next two classes preparing for the final exam, which you will take in class next Monday, May 21.  For this exam, you will write an in-class essay on one of three topics.  To prepare for this exam, it would be a good idea to look over your class notes and assignments, as well as the stories that we’ve read and discussed this semester.

The exam will be graded on the following:

• The thoughtfulness and sophistication of your analysis based on the guidelines of the exam question
• The accuracy of your use and application of terminology and concepts used in discussing the story/stories
• The use and discussion of textual evidence to support the points you make