For next week (EXIT EXAM info! important!)

Yesterday, in class, we talked about the exit exams that are a college-mandated requirement for this course.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

1. Passing the exit exam is a necessary (but not sufficient) requirement for passing this course. In other words, if you fail the exam, you can't pass the course. But passing the exam will not guarantee a passing grade in the course.
2. I'll be administering two in-class exam sessions: one on Wednesday, 4/27, and the other on Monday, 5/2. (The "last chance" exam is on 5/30; location TBA.)
3. Passing the exit exam will be easy. DON'T PANIC. (See below for further details.)

HOW IT WORKS:

1. You get the reading ahead of time. Typically, these will be short essays, 2-3 pages long.
2. You're allowed (strongly encouraged) to annotate your copies of the reading and bring them into the exam.
3. You will receive writing prompts at the beginning of the exam session.
4. Over the course of the 75 minute long exam session, you'll write an essay, at least 350 words long--so, basically the equivalent of one of our weekly response papers--on the prompt of your choice.
5. If English is your second language, you can have a bit more time, although I have to be present, and we'll have to move to a different location. 

THE PROMPTS

Obviously, I'm not allowed to give you the specific prompts ahead of time, but they come in three flavors:

1. Relate the reading to your own experience. For example: "What part of this essay seem to be the most valid, when compared to your own experience? Make specific references to the reading."
2. Do you agree or disagree with the claims made in the reading? If you agree, argue in support of the reading. If you disagree, argue against the reading.
3. Combined 1) and 2): Argue for/against the reading, drawing on specific examples from your life.

STRATEGIES FOR EFFICIENT READING/ANNOTATION/PRE-WRITING

The readings are easy. They're nowhere near as complex as the material I've been giving you all semester. (Also, nowhere near as long.) So--these very basic strategies should work well:

1. On your first read-through, skim the reading. Read--and underline!--the first and last sentences of each paragraph--generally, the first sentence will tell you what the paragraph is about, and the last sentence will lead into the next paragraph. 
2. Now read through the essay again, this time slowly. As you read, give each paragraph a number. (P1, P2, ... Pn) On a piece of paper, write the number, and then paraphrase the paragraph. (The underlined sentences from #1 should help you do this.) By the time you're done going through the essay, you should have a nice little outline of the entire thing.
3. Try grouping paragraphs together, so that you have a better sense of the flow of the reading. For example, in "Back to Basics," the essay by Diane Ravitch (see below for a link to the file), paragraphs 1-2 introduce the problem Ravitch is examining (peer pressure against academic achievement in American schools); paragraphs 3 and 4 provide evidence that goes beyond Ravitch's anecdotal memories; paragraphs 5 and 6 describe the further consequences/implications of the problem (lowered academic achievement levels are harming the economy of the US); paragraph 7 proposes a solution to the problem (a strong core curriculum); and so on and so on.
4. Now try summarizing the main claim of the essay, in 1-2 sentences. Think about whether you agree or disagree with the claim.
5. With #4 in mind, read through the essay one more time, underlining specific things you agree/disagree with. For each thing you underline, write down a short note in the margins about why you agree or disagree.
6. Read through one more time, this time underlining/annotating things that speak your personal experience. Pay special attention to the things you've underlined that overlap with the things you underlined in #5.
7. Using the material you've generated, try writing a short essay that addresses one of the three prompt "flavors."

LINKS TO PRACTICE READINGS/EXAMS

grading rubric: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B19N9rbwQdXZMFp4ZWgyS1g0R28

sample exam responses/grades: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B19N9rbwQdXZTHFGVlhPY0l2dHM
The prompts the students were writing to: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B19N9rbwQdXZOFBnS3Fmb3FpTEk


Practice Exam 1

Sample reading #1 (Ravitch): https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B19N9rbwQdXZU0xkUHc3aUlYUnM
Sample prompts for Ravitch essay: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B19N9rbwQdXZZjhfMVZjbFBVUnc


Practice Exam 2

Sample reading #2 (Harris): https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B19N9rbwQdXZRmJNcUo3clZmN2c
Sample prompts for Harris essay: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B19N9rbwQdXZdmxxSzVabHo0cVE


READING FOR EXAM SESSION #1

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B19N9rbwQdXZeERNVTNBTGR4RDg

(hard copies available in our next class)