Final Examination

HMXP 102H

Dr. Fike

Fall 2017

Note that the final examination is not a group project (do not talk to your classmates about it) and that you may not discuss it with a tutor (e.g., in the Writing Center). Nor will I coach you. Do the best you can on your own, remembering that I could have given this exam paper to you at the exam rather than letting you have it a week plus early.

Directions:  Bring a copy of this document to the examination.  In class on the exam date, you will write your answer with a blue or black ballpoint pen in a large blue book (size: 8.5 x 11"; available at the WU bookstore:  you must bring a blue book; do not show up without one).  Write only on one side of each page and leave space between your answers.  Leave 1" margins on the left and right side of each page. Do not write below the bottom line on the page.  You may use books and notes (but not electronic devices of any sort, especially computers). You are aiming for the equivalent of 5 typed, double-spaced pages, minimum.  More is okay; less may not be sufficiently developed.  Lower-order correctness counts.  Please do not write in second person (you, your) or use contractions. You are NOT required to write a classical argument.  This examination is worth 10% of your final course grade. It is not a take home examination! You will write your answers in your blue book in class during the exam period! Finally, be mindful of the following items: focused topic, not focus topic; argument, not arguement; C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, not C. S. Lewis' "From Mere Christianity." And "story" means fiction (e.g., LeGuin's "Omelas"). Essays, articles, chapters, and excerpts from books are not "stories."

Number your answers!

In previous semesters, I have had students turn in a "portfolio," consisting of a cover letter and a final paper.  This examination gives you an opportunity to write the cover letter portion but to do so at greater length than the portfolio format required.  Since it is perfectly fine to think of your blue book as a series of numbered short answers or short essays, I encourage you to let the following questions be your guide. Please skip a line between answers.

Again, write your exam with a blue or black ballpoint pen.

1.  WRITING PROCESS (2 full pages single spaced):  Reflect on your writing process this semester.  What have you learned about yourself as a writer—your strengths, weaknesses, etc.?  What do you think you still need to work on?

2.  PAPERS (2 full pages single spaced):  As you look back on your three papers, what additional insights into your human experience have you had?  Push further than you did in your papers' thesis statements and concluding paragraphs.  Some reference to the substance of your papers is required here, but you should also refer to aspects of your personal experience that you have not previously written about.  Do not  just write abstracts of your papers.

3.  TEXTS (2 full pages single spaced):  Other than those you wrote about (in papers 1-3 and in your response papers), which three texts meant the most to you and why?  In what ways did they help you understand your human experience more clearly and deeply?  You need to discuss at least three texts about which you have not previously written. You may write about the common book as one of your texts. You may also write about any of the films/videos that we watched.

4.  GOALS (2 full pages single spaced):  Finally, remember that we set as our goal to consider two ideas in addition to the university's stated goals for HMXP.  One is that knowledge is a social construct.  The other is that thoughts are things.  Select one of these, relate it to at least one text that we have studied, and argue for or against its relevance to one of your personal experiences.