Sample Final Examination

The purpose of this final exam is to show me the depth and breadth of what you know.

Each answer should consist of a thesis statement (theme), followed by three paragraphs, each with a key idea. No conclusion is necessary. [If pre-writing and taking home: Write the outline and draft today. You may then take it with you and type it, making changes as you wish so long as the test retains the essential characteristics of the outline/draft. The test is due no later than Wednesday, Dec 16, at 10:30 am. Your outline/draft must be attached to a typed final version of your test. When you take this exam out of this room, you are agreeing to work alone on this test, using only the information you've been given for this class (textbook, workbook, homework, quizzes). Do not work together or add outside research.]

Things that raise your grade include: explanation of details, evidence of analytical thinking, use of specific details from various sources to support assertions.

Things that lower your grade include: details without explanation, not utilizing the sources available, generalizations without support.

You will write on two questions:

Sample question:

Prove or disprove the following thesis by discussing three groups of examples from the factual information (lectures, documents, reading) provided for this class. Each example should be from a different era between the earliest civilizations and 1648, and should be presented in chronological order.

War is often more motivated by economics than by principles.

Sample question:

What theme can you create for these pieces of evidence: Joan of Arc, Savonarola, St Teresa of Avila ? Create a theme that you can prove with each of these, and discuss each as evidence of that thesis.