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History midterm update
Oct. 21st, 2010 02:06 pmI found out last night that I don't actually have a grade for my midterm yet. The midterm grade posted online is actually for my paper on Heart of Darkness. I made several of really dumb mistakes on the paper and I was glad that didn't hurt my grade too much (or, apparently, at all). I wish I'd had time to send it to Justin D. and have him proofread for me (though now that I'm thinking about it, I know other people who could also have done it). One thing I had difficulty with, though, is knowing how many quotes to use. Last semester, my teacher wanted to see more quotes from the book than she wanted to see my own opinions. So I basically strung together a loose argument comprised mostly of quotes from the book and that worked really well for her. This time, my teacher wants mostly my opinions and very few quotes. I suspect this will be a problem with all of my history classes and I should clarify exactly what the teacher wants to see: critical thinking or proof that I actually read the book.
I really like my history teacher. The more I listen to her, the more I like her. It probably helps that she makes They Might Be Giants and Franz Ferdinand (both the band and the Archduke) references in class. Last night she asked us to write down what she's doing that we like and what she could do in the future that would help us. I gave her a compliment on her teaching style, but asked for 3 things.
1. I would like a list of terms to listen for offered at the beginning of the semester. Kellner did this for us and it was incredibly helpful. I was able to make study aids as the semester progressed instead of waiting for a term list to be offered less than a week from the midterm.
2. I would like the essay questions for our papers offered at the beginning of the semester. That way I can read the book keeping an eye out for quotes to make my argument. I hate having to reread the book while I'm trying to write a paper.
3. The essay questions for our midterm on the book The Enlightenment was an experiment and I don't think it was a very good one. We didn't cover the topic in class and we didn't get the essay questions until a week before the exam and I didn't feel that was enough time to prepare properly for the test. I lucked out that the question I chose to answer actually appeared on the test.
I really like my history teacher. The more I listen to her, the more I like her. It probably helps that she makes They Might Be Giants and Franz Ferdinand (both the band and the Archduke) references in class. Last night she asked us to write down what she's doing that we like and what she could do in the future that would help us. I gave her a compliment on her teaching style, but asked for 3 things.
1. I would like a list of terms to listen for offered at the beginning of the semester. Kellner did this for us and it was incredibly helpful. I was able to make study aids as the semester progressed instead of waiting for a term list to be offered less than a week from the midterm.
2. I would like the essay questions for our papers offered at the beginning of the semester. That way I can read the book keeping an eye out for quotes to make my argument. I hate having to reread the book while I'm trying to write a paper.
3. The essay questions for our midterm on the book The Enlightenment was an experiment and I don't think it was a very good one. We didn't cover the topic in class and we didn't get the essay questions until a week before the exam and I didn't feel that was enough time to prepare properly for the test. I lucked out that the question I chose to answer actually appeared on the test.