Hello, All—
I am sure many of you are wondering what the final exam will cover, so I thought I would provide you with a study guide. Needless to say, any course material from any of the five units is fair game for the final exam; however, this guide will give you an idea of the material that is likely to be most heavily covered on the exam.
Thesis Statements: Know what a thesis statement is and what differentiates a good thesis statement from a poor one.
Audience Awareness/Tone: Understand how tone affects one’s audience. Know which tone(s) and approaches are likely to persuade readers and which are likely to alienate them.
Paraphrases & Summaries: Understand why parenthetical citations and Works Cited entries are necessary for both paraphrases and summaries. Be able to recognize the difference between a legitimate paraphrase and a plagiarized paraphrase. (Remember: The language of a legitimate paraphrase will be significantly different from the language of the original source. Changing one or two words does NOT make for a legitimate paraphrase.) Be able to identify effective summaries and ineffective summaries.
Direction Quotations: Understand the most effective way to incorporate direct quotations into an essay.
Source Credibility: Understand the meaning of the word “credibility.” Understand criteria used to evaluate credibility of sources. (You might refer to the AACCO material in Unit 1 to review this concept.)
Block Quotation Format: Understand when block quotation format should be used and how block quotations should be formatted.
Using Transitions Effectively: Understand the purpose of transitions and how to use