Nichols

English II, Semester II

Final Exam Review
DHS 2016
Second Semester Final Exam Review

Directions: The Semester Exam will be essay based. You will be allowed to use notes that you
have taken for the final.
Anything that you would like to use on the test must be turned in to me by the end of class on
May 27th (whether I am here or not) to be checked off. Please staple all papers together neatly
with all fringe edges from spiral notebooks removed. Please double check before you turn
anything in. Anything that I have not received at this time will not be allowed into the final.
The following ideas/prompts are presented to you as potential questions to choose from on your
exam. I cannot offer any more information than I have already given. Please outline/plan for your
exam appropriately. The more you prepare in advance, the more successful you will be on the
day of the test. If you do not do anything to prepare for this, you will more than likely fail this
final.
***For the purpose of the test, an essay will be defined as a well written, thoughful piece of
literary analysis of a minimum two paragraphs (4-6 sentences each). Your essays should utilize
specific, relevant examples from the text as well as explain the significance of your chosen
examples.
**Please only choose selections that we have read for class this semester.
*English II Regular: You will answer five essay questions in total. You must choose at least two
essay questions from Parts I and II, the fifth essay question will come from Part III.
*English II Pre-AP: You will answer five essay questions in total. You must choose at least two
essay questions from Parts I and II, you may choose the remaining question from Part I or II for
your fifth essay.
Your essays will be considered on the following criteria (20 points per essay):
-Meets length requirement (minimum 2 paragraphs/ 4-6 sentences each, -5 pts each sentence
short)
-Written in complete sentences (Incomplete sentences will not be considered in your final count)
-Written in correct, grammatical English (-1 pt for every error after 3 per essay)
-Thoughful analysis and sythesis of the question presented, not a mere summary of the piece
used.
-Answers all parts of the question asked. Ignoring parts of the essay question will result in partial
credit.

Nichols
English II, Semester II
Final Exam Review
DHS 2016
Essays
Part I: Poetry:
1. Choose any TWO poems from this unit that reveal the energy of the everyday. Compare
the ways in which the poems find energy in the everyday and the poetic devices they use
to reveal that energy to the reader.
2. Choose any TWO speakers from this unit who are dealing with lost love. In a paragraph
or two, explain how each is coping with that loss and consider whether or not they will be
successful in their efforts to move on.
3. Choose any TWO speakers from this unit who gain strength from others. Explain how
their deepest values and sense of selfhood derive from that behavior of others and then
consider whether each has found a good role model.
Part II: Epic and Myth:
1. Which one of the heroic characters in this unit do you find the most admirable?
Which one of these heroic characters do you find least admirable? Support your
opinions with reference to the selection(s).
2. Choose TWO selections that communicate insights into human nature that you find
interesting. Then, in a paragraph or two, explain what those insights are and how they
are communicated in the selections.
3. Choose any TWO characters whose experience dramatically changes their fortunes or
situations in life. In a minimum of two paragraphs, describe these dramatic changes
and discuss who and/or what is most responsible for them.
Part III: Genre Fiction [English II Regular only]:
1. Choose any ONE selection from the unit that shows the power of the imagination.

Explain what the narrators imagination creates and describe the literary devices used in
the creation.