Foo - Is this a bit much for a midterm exam?

I took my english exam today, i just think it was a bit much to do in 1.75 hours. Here is how it went
15 points- 30 multiple question common exam, no big deal
40pts- 2 "short" answer questions

1. Please explain using specific examples from class, literature, and elsewhere, A. How to actively reject simple definitions and B. what some of the effects this rejection might have, both in literature and the rest of life.

2. Please define both America and American literature, in depth. Additionally, please explain why this is so difficult to do.

And then for 45 pts....

Explain, in great depth, how you would allegorize the story of Arthur Millers writing the Crucible. Explain why you, as an author, might choose to allegorize anything in the first place...


So he wanted the 2 short answers to be about 2 pages each, and the essay pushing 6.
Well i did manage to finish the first question, and most of the essay. But time ran out! I just feel like this was unfair with the amount of time we had to do this. Every other student i spoke with had the same problem. What are your thoughts? Is this a bit much for a midterm?

Yikes dude, 2 pages each? Yeah thats a little cheap though..

the simple definition question ended up beign 3 pages. Still, i just dont think its fair to ask that on the highschool level in under 2 hours

Did the teacher cover all of these topics in-depth? Seems a bit deep to me, unless you have a teacher with an amazing knack for sharing information. What kind of reading list do you have? It must be expansive...

10 pages in an hour under 2 hours? thats not right. Our hardest test we ever take is 4 short answers and 2 essays in 50 minutes, but the short answers really are short (like a paragraph) and the essays are one page each.

Your assingment sounds more like 2 essays and a book then 2 short answers and a essay.

Phantom arr you in public, college prep, or like just pre ap/honors??

I may want to become a professor someday, so I often think about what an ideal exam should look like. Personally, I think the exam looked fine... until the teacher threw in his idea of a reasonable response length. At that point, the exam basically became an exercise in writing as quickly as possible.

It's one thing for an exam to be tough. It's quite another thing for an exam to measure how quickly the student writes.

Edit: By the way, if I were a student confronted with such a situation, I'd write shorter responses (or perhaps even just outline my answers rather than writing in sentences), recognizing that there's no way I could complete coherent responses otherwise.

well i am taking a College Prep english course.
This was my favorite midterm, I really like answering these kind of questions. I would have done very well if I had more time i think...
One thing though is that this guy has been a professor in college for some time. He is a published poet, owned his own newspaper, basically made a living off writing. He does Slam poetry, and writes songs. So this is his first year teaching highschool

Actually, wait, did the teacher say he wanted these lengths, or were these lengths what you thought was necessary to give a complete answer? If he wanted those lengths, that's not very reasonable. If you thought your answer had to be that long to be complete, then you need to learn to be concise and to the point when under exam time pressure.

He was the one who suggested the response lengths

That is crazy, phantom. But, next time, try to come up with quick bullet points and then hit each one, with as concise wording as you can. I did political science and our exams were somewhat similar.

Practice thinking argumentatively: Propose an idea, break it down into points and then wrap up your point as succinctly as possible.

We did have a choice for the essay though, the other two were:

First, select one good quote you think represents a patently colonial mindset and a second good quote you think represents a patently postcolonial mindset. Please explain in grease depth, the historical, literary, and cultural identity shifts evident between the two mindsets, as seen in your quotes. Additionally, please explain what such an evolution of thought and style indicates about America/American literature and describe, in detail, a similar transition in any other American Literary period.


Select one poem by either Whitman or Dickinson and effectively make the case that it should be considered a text in the tradition of one of the 3 traditions;
American Romanticism, American Gothicism, American Trancendentalism
Additionally, please explain, step by stepm how American literature developed from what it was in the 1600's to what it appears to have developed into in the poem you have selected

I was writing so damn much and fast i have a lump on my finger :(. I might have been able to pull it off if I could type it

that is totally rediculas. 6 pages, and then two 2 page essays in less than 2 hours. phantom go and make an appointment to see a counseler, have them talk some sense into your teacher. in my experiences teachers dont take students seriously, he will give you that 'your a little punk, I went through college' thing. but there are some teachers that will listen to you, but this guy doesnt seem like one.

good luck with the rest of your exams(if you didnt finish already)

is he gonna curve it?

is he gonna curve it?
I doubt it

WOW bro you got it bad. English midterm for 10th grade is: 1:30 for reading a short story and a poem, 8 multiple choice question on both passages, and writing a 4 paragraph "linked passage" essay connecting the two passages together to a common theme. I was done in an hour and gave me a good half hour on my book, "O'Reilly Factor For Kids." Then I went home and went on a long bike ride.

Good day?Oh yea.