Quote:
Originally Posted by Elixir.
Hey there,
I'm not entirely sure what your professor's quotation based test is going to look like, so I'm going to give you a couple different suggestions and you can decide what you think will work best for you. 
Writing out the major plot points of the story and the main characters, like you're currently doing, is a great start. Depending on the quotations your professor chooses, you might be able to use contextual clues to help you figure out what piece of literature the quote comes from. Of course, memorize the author that wrote each piece, since you said your professor will be having you match the quotation to the author. Even if the quote isn't blatantly obvious (doesn't mention the character's name, an obscure portion of the story), having a basic understanding of the major points in the novel(s) will help you narrow down your options.
Another way that you can go about studying is to examine the styles of each particular author. Obviously, this isn't going to work as well if the styles of the different authors that you studied are all very similar. If there are obvious differences from author to author, however, this might be a good route to take. For example, Dickens tends to write run-on sentences, especially when he is trying to describe something. He goes a bit heavy on the adjectives. If you were to see a quote with a lot of adjectives and a sentence that is longer than average, you would be able to narrow your choices down, including Dickens as one of your answers. I'm not sure if this makes as much sense on paper as it does in my head, but I hope you're able to understand what I'm trying to say.
I'm actually really good at English, so if you need help studying, feel free to shoot me a PM.
Good luck on your exam! I have faith that you're gonna kill it!
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Hey! I really appreciate the advice. We just started the course (it's a Summer course), so I'm just trying to stay on top of it.
I actually started taking your advice before seeing your response, but I was wondering if it was cool to collaborate with you about various authors I encounter to get your input? For example, we finished the Mark Twain section of Heath Anthology. I noticed that his style tends to play on dialects and has references to war, imperialism, pacifism, and religion. A lot of his stories tend to involve a "stranger." I made note of this, and it seems to coincide with a lot of his views in person after having a lecture on him.
The other person we've read is Herman Melville. I didn't have much to say about him, other than his style is very complicated, rigorous, and difficult to understand.
Do you have any additional thoughts?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mahray
I think Sammi has some good ideas here, I can't offer anything else... apart from WTH prof? This exam just sounds plain weird.
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Haha, right!? Both the midterm and finals are quotation based. There are only two writing assignments (one being daily journals). The midterm is 16.5% of the grade, the final is 16.5%, the journals are 33.33%, and the research paper is 33.33% of the grade. Sooooo, assuming I can do well on the writing assignments, I only need a 75% average on the tests which consist of 33 questions each.
It just seems overwhelming and frightening because I've not experienced something like this before. It seems ridiculous. But, on the other hand, I guess it prevents people from using SparkNotes. I just wish there was more to the exam than quotes only. Blah.