Introduction
One of the most interesting things I learned when I became a teacher, is that teaching something is a great way to really learn something. The next best is trying to come up with questions that ask people to demonstrate their understanding of something, and then helping them to find the best answer.
This assignment asks you to decide what some of the important concepts from each of our 3 modules (fiction, poetry, and art) were, and then to write your own test questions about them. You will also be asked to write explanations for why you choose what you choose along the way. One way to think of this assignment would be as an answer to the question, “If I were to test you on what you have learned about the main concepts from each of our modules, what would that test look like, what would the best answers be, and why would those be good answers?”
Instructions
For each of our three modules do the following:
Module:
fiction(Plot, Character, Setting, Point of View, Symbolism, Theme, Style, Tone, and Irony)
poetry(Word Choice, Word Order, and Tone, Images, Symbol, Allegory, and Irony, Sounds, Patterns of Rhythm)
Art(The Appeal of Art, The Aims of Art, Style and the Formal Elements of Art, The Themes of Art, Approaches to Art, Arguing About Art)
- Choose two important concepts for each of the three modules. For your concepts, you might consider the formal elements of fiction, poetry and art that we have examined, a particular “approach” or “perspective” from which one might approach a creative work (such as formalism, history/biography, reader respones, etc.), or some other concept that you feel was important.
- Write a short paragraph describing your two concepts for each of the three modules, and explain breifly why the concept is important.
- For each concept, write an exam question that asks someone to define, and/or use the concept.
- Provide the correct answer to your question, along with an explanation of why it is the correct answer. If there were other options—if your question is multiple choice for instance—explain why the other choices are incorrect.
When you are finished you should have 6 concepts, each with an explanatory paragraph, an exam question, a correct answer to the exam question, and an explanation for why the answer is correct, and why other options (if there are any) are not the best answer, or are incorrect. Please submit your assignment by clicking on the “Course Project” title above.
