History 151 (Jolly) Fall 2008
Midterm Study Guide
Format and Grading expectations:
The Midterm is worth 100 points and is divided into two parts: essay (80 points) and identifications (20 points). For the essay, you will have a choice of two questions, drawn from the list of topics below. For the identifications, you will choose two from a choice of five drawn from the list below.
The essay should combine general statements (defining terms, discussing issues, making comparisons) with specific statements (supplying data, citing examples, and giving evidence).
The T.A.s will grade your essay looking for the following three things:
- A strong thesis and arguments (take control in the introduction).
- Content knowledge and good use of evidence (cite documents, names, dates).
- Clear organization of ideas and information (each paragraph should start with an argument and be followed by supporting evidence).
The identifications should start with a clear definition of the item, identifying who or what, when, and where, and then explain WHY it is significant (what does it tell us about that society?). This last is the most important--the T.A.s can make allowances for "circa" (around) dates, but the lack of discussion on why something is significant means that answer will receive no better than a C- grade (7 points).
Study Guidelines and Test-taking Hints:
Essay strategies and hints:
- Premise: learning (understanding and memory retention) takes place through manipulating information and reconfiguring it in new ways.
- Controlling the data: Use a Matrix to compare societies on the themes in the questions.
- Developing a thesis: make sure you can define the terms in the questions; try doing a mind map.
- Practice essay writing: try Outlining each essay answer. What themes would you use to organize your essay? What evidence would you cite as examples?
- I do not recommend writing out essays and trying to memorize them--it wastes time trying to remember non-essentials. Rather, concentrate on developing good control of the data and a thoughtful understanding of the issues through the exercises above. Remember big ideas and specific examples associated with those ideas.
- Keep in mind that you must use examples from the regions specified in the questions to support your arguments, but that you are not writing separate essays on each region. A superior essay will be organized by comparative topics or themes, not by region. One subargument in your essay may use examples from two or three of the specified regions, while another paragraph uses one or two others, as long as by the end of the essay you have used examples from all of the regions specified in the question. In questions where no regions are specified, you should include at least three examples from different regions.
- The regional designations in the questions are generic; make sure you pick as examples from those regions specific societies (e.g., Egypt in North Africa, or Mayans in the Americas). Review the textbook maps and lectures for each of the regional designations to make sure you know what cultures developed there.
Identification strategies and hints:
- Study the item in its cultural context by checking where it is in the textbook and the lecture material to which it relates. Some of the items are very specific people and documents that you should be able to locate very closely in time and space. Others are broader phenomena, such as religions or concepts that you can locate in a specific culture and then give the general dates and place for that culture.
- Jot down information and ideas starting with the most specific (who, what, when, where), moving to more general ideas (what it is evidence of), and its significance (larger course themes). Think of these layers as concentric circles radiating out from the item.
- For historic people and primary documents ("Confucius, Analects"), give their main significance as linked to their culture, its values, and possible influence on others.
- For generic items ("Paleolithic"), define the idea and its world historical context (dates and places) and significance (impact).
- Spend the first 5 minutes outlining your thoughts, including developing a thesis, a list of topics, and the examples you will cite. THEN, begin writing.
- Make sure your thesis and definitions are in the first paragraph of your essay. Each subsequent paragraph should start with a thematic statement, followed by your argument and evidence. DO NOT write on each society one-by-one; rather, compare them side-by-side on a specific issue or theme.
- Cite specific examples to illustrate your points--events, people, ideas, and especially documents from the lecture or the "readings" boxes in the textbook. Avoid "name-dropping" by explaining how the item relates to your point; on the other hand, do not go into a long description of an event or story.
- THINK about what you are saying--try to say something truly meaningful about the topic. By the time you get to the conclusion, you may be able to make some kind of general statement about the issue universally.
- When you write your identifications, move outward from the most specific to the most general statements you can make about the item. For documents, avoid describing everything it says. Rather, focus on the key ideas that are representative of something in that culture. Ask yourself, what does this document tell me about...(Oceania, Buddhism, classical Greek philosophy, or whatever)?
- DO NOT SKIP ITEMS: keep in mind that an "F" answer (wrong or very incomplete) may receive up to half of the possible points. If you write nothing, we have no choice but to give you 0 points, almost a "double F." Always write something (except nonsense). And don't forget those dates--even if they are "circa" (around).
- when and where: Thursday, Oct. 16, 10:30-11:20 in lecture Physical Sciences 217
- what: essay and identifications on
- lectures 8/26-10/14
- T&E chapters 1-12
- Encounters chapters 1-6, Kumulipo
Two questions will appear on the test, you choose one to write on. The questions will be based on the following themes or issues discussed in lecture and lab. The question will ask you to discuss the issue comparatively, specifying regions or cultures that you should include.
A typical question will ask you to discuss the issue and use examples from at least three cultures or societies from a list of regions. For a sample question (not on the test) and guidelines on how to construct an essay, go to the Outlining strategy.
- migration and human lifestyles in different environments
- origins: how we know about the past
- complex urban societies and empires
- worldviews: religions and philosophies
- cross-cultural interactions and spread of ideas
- gender and social classes
Five of the following items will appear on the test. You will choose two from the five to identify and give their significance (15 points each). This list is drawn primarily from the Encounters readings book and T&E boxed readings (some are in both).
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
- Purusha Hymn
- The Book of Genesis
- Popol Vuh
- The Great Hymn to Aten
- (Zhou) Book of Songs
- Code of Hammurabi
- 1 Samuel
- The Ramayana
- The Instructions of Yi
- Confucius, The Analects
- Han Fei Tzu, The Five Vermin
- Pericles' Funeral Oration
- Sophocles, Antigone
- Socrates' View of Death
- The Bhagavad-Gita
- The Teachings of the Buddha
- Zarathustra, Yasnas
- The Book of Isaiah
- Sun Tzu, The Art of Warfare
- Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian
- Tyrtaeus, Praise of the Virtuosity of the Citizen Soldier
- Archilochus, Elegy
- Arrian on the Character of Alexander of Macedon
- The Achievements of the Divine Augustus
- Josephus, The Jewish Wars
- Asoka, Rock and Pillar Edicts, Asokavandana
- Homer, The Odyssey
- Livy, History of Rome
- Tacitus on Corruption in the Early Roman Empire
- Ban Zhao, Lessons for Women
- Jesus' Moral and Ethical Teachings (Sermon on the Mount)
- The Martyrdom of Perpetua
- Code of Manu