PROF. GENDZEL S HIST 170 STUDY GUIDE FOR SUMMER 2015

Transcription

1 1 PROF. GENDZEL S HIST 170 STUDY GUIDE FOR SUMMER 2015 Do you feel overwhelmed by names, dates, facts, and details when you listen to Prof. Gendzel s lectures or do the reading for this class? What s going to be on the tests??? What are you supposed to know??? Relax follow this study guide and you ll be ready for Prof. Gendzel s exams. WHAT S ON THE EXAMS? The Midterm Exam (2 1/2 hours on June 16) covers all readings and lectures for Days 1-5. Most of the Final Exam (4 hours on July 2) covers readings and lectures for Days 6-9. In addition, the Final Exam will include two comprehensive essay questions that cover all readings and lectures for the entire semester. Both exams will combine multiple-choice and essay questions, but the Final Exam will have no multiple-choice questions on any readings or lectures that were assigned before the Midterm Exam. (See the course syllabus for daily lecture topics and reading assignments.) MIDTERM EXAM FORMAT The Midterm Exam will consist of two parts. Part 1 will be 75 multiple-choice questions: 45 from readings assigned in Days 1-5, 30 from lectures in Days 1-5. Part 2 will be an essay question that covers all readings and lectures assigned in Days 1-5. You will have TWO essay questions in Part 2 from which to choose ONE that you must answer. You will write ONE essay that answers all parts of the question that you choose. Your essay will be graded equally on your use of readings and lectures; don t write an essay based solely on lectures. Part 1 of the Midterm Exam is worth 150 points (75 questions X 2 points each = 150 points) and Part 2 of the Midterm Exam is worth 50 points. Hence the maximum number of points that you can earn on the Midterm Exam is 200 points. FINAL EXAM FORMAT The Final Exam will consist of four parts. Part 1 will be 75 multiple-choice questions (45 from readings assigned in Days 6-9, 30 from lectures in Days 6-9). Part 2 will be an essay question that covers all readings and lectures assigned in Days 6-9. You will have TWO essay questions in Part 2 from which to choose ONE that you must answer. You will write ONE essay that answers all parts of the question that you choose. Your essay will be graded equally on your use of readings and lectures; don t write an essay based solely on lectures. Together, Part 1 and Part 2 of the Final Exam will be equivalent in format to the Midterm Exam and will be worth 200 points. Part 3 and Part 4 of the Final Exam will be comprehensive essay questions covering the ENTIRE course, drawn equally from readings and lectures. You will choose ONE of two essay questions in Part 3 and ONE of two essay questions in Part 4. You will write a total of TWO comprehensive essays on the Final Exam. Again, your essays will be graded equally on your use of readings and lectures; don t write essays based solely on lectures. Part 3 and Part 4 are worth 50 points EACH, so the maximum number of points that you can earn on the Final Exam is 300 points. (See the course syllabus for point totals needed to earn course grades, and for information about the optional Extra Credit Paper.)

2 2 MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS ON READINGS These questions will ONLY test items from Prof. Gendzel s list of Textbook Terms for the required textbook for this class: Howard Zinn s A People s History of the United States (2003 edition). You can download the Textbook Terms from the course website. You won t be asked about any historians or anyone else quoted in the textbook, except for those whose names appear in the Textbook Terms. Answer these questions solely on the basis of the assigned chapters of A People s History, not based on anything that you think you may have read, seen, or heard elsewhere. Every chapter of the textbook contains material that will appear in several multiple-choice questions on exams. Here is a sample multiple-choice question on the textbook: DAY 1: In A People s History, Chap. 1, the aim of Columbus s second expedition to America was to find a. good harbors and farmland b. potatoes and tomatoes c. slaves and gold d. the capital city of the Aztecs Correct answer: (c) See A People s History, p. 4. Notice that slaves and gold is on the list of Textbook Terms for Chap. 1. Every exam question about A People s History will deal with items from the list of Textbook Terms that you can download from the course website. This question does not ask about minor details in Chap. 1, such as how many ships Columbus took on his second expedition, or the name of the fort Columbus built, or anything like that. Instead, the question relates directly to the term slaves and gold that you had in advance on the list of Textbook Terms. MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS ON LECTURES These questions will test ONLY the most important points from each lecture. Important points appear in the PowerPoint text and/or the list of terms for each lecture. Answer solely on the basis of lectures for this class, not based on anything that you think you may have read, seen, or heard elsewhere. Every lecture contains material that will appear in several multiple-choice questions on exams. Here is a sample multiple-choice question on the lectures: DAY 1: Native American civilizations before the arrival of Europeans were lacking in a. diversity b. agriculture c. warfare d. none of the above Correct answer: (d) See your lecture notes for the Meeting of Worlds lecture, specifically the slide entitled Native American Civilization. Notice that this question does not ask about minor lecture details such as Native American population estimates, or the number of tribes in North America, or any other information not covered in the PowerPoint slides or the list of lecture terms.

3 3 ESSAY QUESTIONS Essay questions will ask you to weave together material from multiple lectures and multiple chapters of the textbook. Each question will cover broad themes that occur in more than a single lecture or a single chapter of the textbook. You might be asked about contrasts or conflicts between different groups of people, or the causes and effects of broad economic, social, or political changes, or the successes and failures of reform movements, or the causes and results of U.S. military interventions abroad. No essay question will ask anything narrow or nit-picky about any particular lecture or textbook chapter. The historian s task is to organize vast amounts of information into a coherent story that proves a point by making an argument supported by evidence; this is what you must do in your essays. Your essays will be graded EQUALLY on your use of textbook readings (50%) and in-class lectures (50%). Discuss lectures in sufficient detail to prove that you were paying close attention in class. Discuss textbook chapters in sufficient detail to prove that you read them. ESSAYS BASED SOLELY ON LECTURE MATERIAL WILL NOT RECEIVE A PASSING GRADE. Keep this in mind as you write your essays: do you provide clear evidence that you attended class AND read the textbook? HOW TO ANSWER ESSAY QUESTIONS Read the questions carefully: don t answer some question that you were hoping to see, answer one that actually appears on the exam. Make sure that you answer all parts of the question. Pack in lots of specific examples to prove that you did the work for this class. Use lots of relevant information and specific, detailed examples from the textbook. Most students can reproduce lecture material in their essays, but you must also write about the textbook in detail in order to earn a passing grade. Fill your essays with relevant, detailed information: cite specific lectures and specific examples from the textbook. You must do more than simply REFER to the textbook; you must USE EXAMPLES and provide DETAILED INFORMATION from the textbook. You do not need to cite page numbers, provide footnotes, or quote word-for-word. But you must discuss the textbook in sufficient detail to PROVE conclusively that you actually read it. Before you start writing an essay, read the questions carefully. Think about what each question is asking. Choose the question that allows you to use the most detailed information from readings and lectures in your answer. Consider making a brief outline in the back of your exam booklet before you start writing. An outline helps you to organize your thoughts and answer all parts of the question, but outlines are optional and will not be graded. Answer the question directly without a long-winded introduction or any random information irrelevant to the question. Your essay must have a THESIS, which means a basic argument in direct response to the question. Your essay must also have lots of EVIDENCE in the form of specific examples and detailed information from the readings and the lectures to support your thesis. You will be graded on the presence or absence of such information, its relevance to the question, and how well you use it. Do not simply recopy your notes or passages from the textbook. No essay question will ask you to do that. Instead, find relevant information in your notes that you can insert into your essay as proof that you went to class, paid attention, and read the textbook. Be specific, not vague. Do not assume that Prof. Gendzel already knows the material. Show that YOU know the material. Discuss relevant people, events, movements, organizations, legislation, trends, and ideas; cite specific textbook chapters and specific lectures; give lots of examples; explain your evidence in detail; show how it all supports your thesis. Don t make passing reference to things: develop your examples in detail, relate them to your thesis, and always stay focused on the question.

4 4 SAMPLE ESSAY QUESTION Here is a sample essay question that could appear on the Midterm Exam: What were the THREE most important reasons for American growth and expansion before the Civil War? Why did the United States become so big, wealthy, and powerful before 1860? Who were the winners and losers in that process of expansion? Think about how you would answer this question. Notice that it has multiple parts. Notice that it requires you to use multiple readings and lectures. Remember, you will be graded on how well you use BOTH the textbook AND the lectures, so DON T rely solely on lecture material. You MUST find relevant information and examples from the textbook to support your thesis, and you MUST discuss the textbook in enough detail to prove that you read it. Don t just mention the textbook; USE information and examples from the textbook as evidence to support your argument in your essays. ESSAYS BASED SOLELY ON LECTURE MATERIAL WILL NOT RECEIVE A PASSING GRADE. HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU WRITE? Write as much as you can as long as everything that you write is relevant! Every bit of evidence from the textbook and the lectures helps if you can demonstrate that it supports your argument and directly answers the question. With open-notes exams (see below), you might be tempted to simply recopy long passages from your notes, hoping that somehow it will all count. But remember, your essay must have a THESIS a core argument that answers the question, supported by lots of EVIDENCE from the textbook and multiple lectures. You must explain WHY the information that you provide answers the question, and HOW it supports your thesis; do not assume that this is obvious or that the reader already knows the answer. Always explain WHY you re saying what you re saying: why is this information relevant? How does it relate to the question? You must CONNECT the information you provide to the question you re answering if you want it to count. OPEN NOTES EXAMS Exams in all of Prof. Gendzel s undergraduate classes are closed-book, but open-notes. As explained in the syllabus and in class, you may refer to your own handwritten notes during all exams. Therefore, you should concentrate on taking good notes on the lectures (when you are in class) and on the textbook (when you are not in class). Organize your notes by daily lecture topics and by daily reading assignments so that you can find the right information quickly. You may NOT refer to any books, laptops, computers, tablets, recorders, electronic devices, anyone else s notes, or anything typed, printed, word-processed, or photocopied during exams. If you keep your handwritten notes in a binder or in a notebook, remove EVERYTHING ELSE from the binder or notebook. Prof. Gendzel may inspect your notes, binder, or notebook during the exams; any unauthorized materials will be confiscated with possible penalties for cheating (see syllabus under Academic Integrity ).

5 5 HOW TO TAKE NOTES IN CLASS 1. The PowerPoint slides and the list of terms for every lecture contain information that could appear on exams. The list of terms and the words on each slide are the bare minimum that you should write down in your notes. Add more information that seems important to you, but at least make sure you write down every word that appears on screen. 2. Lecture-based questions on exams will ONLY test material from PowerPoint slides or from the lists of terms. Each lecture will be the subject of multiple exam questions. If you miss class, download the list of terms from the course website. You may borrow someone else s notes for lectures that you missed, but you may NOT refer to anyone else s notes or any photocopied materials during the exams. You must REWRITE anyone else s notes in your own handwriting if you want to use those notes during exams. 3. No use of ANY electronic devices is allowed in the classroom without Prof. Gendzel s written permission in advance. Any notes that you type into a computer will have to be rewritten by hand onto paper if you wish to refer to those notes during exams. You may NOT refer to ANYTHING typed, printed, word-processed, or photocopied during exams. Computer printouts are NOT allowed. You may NOT refer to any computers, phones, laptops, tablets, recorders, or other electronic devices during exams. 4. SJSU Academic Senate Policy S12-7: You must obtain the instructor s permission to make audio or video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private, study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material. Do NOT photograph, record, transmit, share, stream, upload, broadcast, or post ANYTHING from this class in ANY way for ANY purpose. You MUST have Prof. Gendzel s written permission in advance if you wish to record his lectures. See Prof. Gendzel for details. HOW TO TAKE NOTES WHILE READING THE TEXTBOOK 1. Don t try to recopy every word in the textbook. Instead, organize your notes by daily assignment (e.g., Day 1, Day 2, etc.) and by chapters (Chap. 1, Chap. 2, etc.). As you saw in the sample multiple-choice question (see p. 2 above), exam questions on the readings will specify the textbook chapter and the day the chapter was assigned. This is why you should organize your notes that way. 2. Focus your notetaking on Prof. Gendzel s list of Textbook Terms for each chapter. You can download the Textbook Terms from the course website. You do not need to write down every name, date, fact, and detail that the author mentions. For example, to take notes on Chap. 1, start by writing down Day 1, then Chap. 1: Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress. Then refer to Prof. Gendzel s list of Textbook Terms. Start reading Chap. 1 with the list of terms in mind. You can see that the first terms listed for Chap. 1 are Arawak Indians and Columbus arrives in America (1492). Look for how the Arawaks and the arrival of Columbus are discussed in Chap. 1. Try to recognize the main point of what you re reading without getting bogged down in minor details or examples. You don t have to know names, dates, or particular events UNLESS they are on Prof. Gendzel s list of Textbook Terms.

6 6 HOW TO TAKE NOTES ON THE TEXTBOOK (continued) 3. Once you ve finished reading about a particular Textbook Term, stop and write a sentence or two summarizing what you just read while it is still fresh in your mind. For example, in the opening paragraphs of Chap. 1, what the Arawaks did with Columbus sword, or what their spears were made of, is not important. Focus on the Textbook Terms for Chap. 1: what was important about Arawak Indians and the arrival of Columbus? If you start reading Chap. 1 with the Textbook Terms in mind, you ll see that the opening paragraphs are about the clash between two different cultures based on different values. Write down something about THAT, not about the percentage of land in Spain owned by 2% of the population, or the number of crewmen on the Santa Maria. Don t focus on details, statistics, or examples; rather, what are the details, statistics, and examples supposed to prove? How would YOU use them in an essay? 4. Once you ve taken a few notes about the Arawaks and the arrival of Columbus, read further and take a few notes on European trade with Indies and Asia, the next Textbook Term listed for this chapter. The reason for Columbus voyage is certainly worth noting. Keep reading so that you can write something about Hispaniola, slaves and gold, encomiendas and mines, and the rest of the Textbook Terms for this chapter. Remember, only details (such as names and events) that appear on Prof. Gendzel s list of Textbook Terms will appear on exams. Think about how they might appear as multiple-choice questions AND how you might use them as examples in your essays. 5. Proceed in this way write down Textbook Terms for each chapter, read about them in the textbook, and write down some notes relevant to each term as you go along. Focus on the main point about each term, not minor details. Use the Textbook Terms for each chapter to alert you to important subjects that could appear on the exams. Don t bother with insignificant statistics, names, dates, or details unrelated to the Textbook Terms. Remember, textbook questions on the exams will ONLY refer to material mentioned in the Textbook Terms that you can download from the course website. WHAT TO BRING TO EXAMS 1. Bring a T&E 200 answer sheet available for purchase in the Spartan Bookstore and elsewhere on campus. Do not bring any other kind of Scantron or answer sheet. T&E 200 answer sheets are the BIG blue ones (8½ x 11 ), NOT the little green slips. 2. Bring a #2 pencil to fill in bubbles on your T&E 200. Make sure that your pencil is sharp and has a good eraser, or else else bring a separate eraser. If you must erase during the exam, erase completely, so that only one bubble per answer is marked. 3. Bring two large-size (8½ x 11 ) exam booklets of any color, available for purchase in the Spartan Bookstore. Bring more than two if you think you are likely to need them. Bring only BLANK exam booklets to the exams. Do NOT write in them before the exam. 4. Bring TWO ink pens with blue, black, or blue-black ink. Always bring two in case one runs out. You MUST write your essays in INK, NOT in pencil. It s OK if you have to cross something out. 5. Bring your own handwritten notes that you wrote yourself with a pencil or a pen on paper. There is NO LIMIT to the amount of such notes that you may bring and refer to during the exam. However, you may NOT refer to books, anyone else s notes, any typed, printed, word-processed, or photocopied materials, any computers, laptops, tablets, phones, recorders, or any other electronic devices.

7 7 WHAT TO DO DURING EXAMS 1. Arrive on time, sit quietly, and do not talk to anyone during exams. Go to the bathroom BEFORE the exam so that you do not bother other students by getting up and leaving the room. Once the exam has begun, do NOT leave the room without Prof. Gendzel s permission. 2. Make your calls and check your messages before the exam. Then TURN OFF your cell phone, laptop, computer, tablet, recorder, and any other electronic devices. Put your devices away where you cannot see, hear, use, or access them in any way. Prof. Gendzel will be monitoring the classroom and cheating will be penalized (see syllabus). 3. Write your name at the top of your T&E 200 answer sheet LAST NAME FIRST. Leave a space between your last name and your first name. Darken the corresponding bubbles under each letter of your name. Write your name, date, and HIST 170 on the front of your exam booklet. 4. When you get your copy of an exam, write your name on the exam in the space provided. Yes, you may write on the exam itself but you will only be graded on your T&E 200 answer sheet and your essays. 5. Read each multiple-choice question carefully. Choose the one best answer for each question. Every question has one answer that is always better (i.e., more correct) than the other answers. Choose the one best answer based strictly on the readings and lectures for this class, not any other source, and darken the corresponding bubble on your T&E 200 Scantron. 6. Answer all multiple-choice questions and leave none blank. Every correct answer is worth two points. Blank answers are worth ZERO points. There is no deduction for wrong answers. Guess if you are uncertain. If you can eliminate some answers as definitely wrong, you improve your odds. NEVER LEAVE BLANKS! 7. In writing your essays, use INK (not pencil) and make your handwriting legible. Do not skip lines unless your handwriting is exceptionally large or sloppy. Write on both sides of the page unless your ink bleeds completely through the paper. Do NOT write in pencil. Do NOT write in the top, bottom, left, or right margins of each page. 8. You may freely consult your own handwritten notes during the exam. Flip pages quietly and do not share information or communicate with anyone else. Keep your eyes on your own notes and your own exam. Do NOT look at anyone else s notes or answers under penalty of cheating (see syllabus). Do NOT speak to, communicate with, signal, help, distract, or bother anyone else during the exam. 9. Use all of your available time. There is no bonus for completing exams early. Use your time to do your best, get all the answers right, and pack in lots of relevant course material into your essays. If you are late to an exam, you will receive no extra time, so don t be late. If you miss an exam, see the syllabus policy for scheduling a possible makeup exam (ONLY with official documentation of a personal emergency). 10. When you are finished, if you still have time, add some more relevant information from the textbook and the lectures to your essay and check your T&E 200 answer sheet. Make sure that no question is left blank and that none has more than one answer marked. Turn in your copy of the exam, your exam booklet containing your essay(s), and your completed T&E 200 answer sheet to Prof. Gendzel at the front of the room. After he has checked everything, you may leave the room quietly.

8 8 WHAT TO DO DURING EXAMS (continued) 11. DO NOT take the exam with you when you leave the room. Leaving the room with any image, copy, or record of an exam, or transmitting, sharing, streaming, uploading, broadcasting, or posting any information about an exam in any way, is strictly forbidden and constitutes cheating (see syllabus for the penalty for cheating). 12. There is no time in class to go over exams in detail. If you want to know which multiple-choice questions you missed on any exam and how to improve your scores, make an appointment with Prof. Gendzel. Your success is important to him, but he can t help you if you don t ask for help. 13. The Midterm Exam is worth a maximum of 200 points and the Final Exam is worth a maximum of 300 points. See the chart below if you want to know how your exam scores count in your course grade, or what scores you need in order to get a certain grade in the course. Midterm Exam (2 1/2 hours Tuesday, June 16) Part 1: Multiple Choice on Days 1-5 Part 2: Essay on Days 1-5 Final Exam (4 hours Thursday, July 2) Part 1: Multiple Choice on Days 6-9 Part 2: Essay on Days 6-9 Part 3: Comprehensive Essay #1 Part 4: Comprehensive Essay #2 150 points 50 points 150 points 50 points 50 points 50 points 500 points possible TOTAL POINTS REQUIRED FOR COURSE GRADE: = A = A = A = B = B = B = C = C = C = D = D = D- 299 or below = F See the course syllabus about the optional Extra Credit Paper that can earn up to 50 points. You can download the Extra Credit Paper handout from the course website.