B Exam
Important: To qualify to write the B exam, you must complete the C exam satisfactorily
and score a cumulative 45 points on the six Reading Quizzes.
Welcome to the B exam. This exam emphasizes the analysis and evaluation of an assigned short story.
- In writing your analytical and evaluative essay (minimum 1000 words), use at least four elements of analysis,
including the primary element mentioned in the question.
- Do not count your statement of central idea as one of these four elements.
- Each element you use should be explicitly linked to your thesis.
- You do not have to discuss the elements in the order given in the question.
- Include in your essay a clear, direct, underlined thesis statement that addresses the question you have chosen.
- Use relevant support material and a limited number of direct quotes (no more than 10% of the total word count of the essay). Use proper quotation conventions.
- All analysis should be pertinent to the thesis you have developed. Use a clear, direct style of writing. Be specific. Use valid evidence. Do not speculate.
- Do not use first-person or second-person pronouns to write this essay.
NOTE: To be acceptable, an exam essay at this level must contain these basic components:
- a clear and direct statement of central idea in CAPITAL LETTERS
- an underlined thesis statement that directly mentions the assignment's primary element
- a specific and direct indication in the body of your essay of central character and beginning key trait
- a specific and direct indication in the body of your essay of central conflict and climax
- a specific and direct indication in the body of your essay of the central character's ending key trait
- a specific indication and a substantial explanation in the body of your essay, with evidence, of the static or dynamic nature of the central character
- a clear link between the primary element and secondary elements
- an evaluation of the author's use of the chosen elements and accomplishment of central idea
When you evaluate your story, discuss how and how well the elements function to yield the central idea. Evaluate also the validity of the central idea. Is it a reasonable suggestion?
Note: The B exam is a "take home" exam. It is not written in the Testing Center, and it should not follow the same format as the C exam. It will be more similar to the analyses you wrote in Assignments 5-7.
If your exam on your first-choice story is unacceptable, you will not have the opportunity to revise. You must choose another story and rewrite the exam. Time permitting, you have two opportunities to write an acceptable exam.
Last date to turn in work for credit: 5 pm Saturday, December 13. Good luck and good writing!
Submit this exam using the Submissions button in Blackboard.
Choose one question and answer it substantially. The primary element for the question is in boldface.
1. Discuss setting in relation to character, conflict, and tone in Jack London's "To Build a Fire."
2. Discuss tone in relation to character, conflict, and setting in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates.
3. Discuss point of view in relation to character, conflict, and tone in Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried."
4. Discuss character in relation to conflict, symbolism, and tone in Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find."