Instructions and a practice question for the final exam.

1. Final Exam Review:
Short Answer Questions

2. • 5 short answer questions
• 60 minutes long
• Titles need to be formatted according to MLA style;
Works Cited not required.

3. Possible Topics
• Shakespeare’s Hamlet
• Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross
• Churchill’s Top Girls
• Clements’ The Unnatural and Accidental Women

4. Exam Directions
• Identify the author and title of the work in question.
• Provide a clear answer to the prompt and explain your reasoning.
• Support your argument with specific examples from the class text.
• Answer in sentence form, with titles formatted according to MLA
style.
Scoring Guide
• 3 marks for quality of answer.
• 2 marks for quality of the supporting evidence.
• 1 mark for formatting and MLA style.

5. Practice Question
Set a timer for 10 minutes and answer the
following question:
• Pick one of the following terms and discuss how it helps the audience
understand the characters and/or themes of The Unnatural and
Accidental Women:
• Set
• Costume
• Lighting and sound

6. Practice Question: Answer Criteria
• Identify the text and author, formatting titles according to MLA style.
• E.g. Marie Clements’ The Unnatural and Accidental Women…

7. Practice Question: Answer Criteria
• Clearly answer the question prompt. Use specific, precise language
and clearly define any terms used.
• E.g. Marie Clements’ The Unnatural and Accidental Women uses blue
lighting and ocean sounds in “The Woman’s” sections to develop its
theme about the danger of loneliness.
• Note: The answer focuses on specific examples of light and sound in the play.
• Note: The answer clearly defines what the theme is.

8. Practice Question: Answer Criteria
• Support your answer with specific examples from the class text.
• E.g. The stage directions describe The Woman's hotel room as bathed in a
blue light. The color blue suggests sadness and depression: think of the
phrase "I'm feeling blue." Thus, the stage lighting suggests that The Woman is
depressed.
• The colour blue is also linked to the ocean, a link which is reinforced by the
tidal sound effects and the description of The Woman’s bed as an island. This
creates a sense of isolation: The Woman is like a castaway stuck on a desert
island.
• The blue lighting and ocean sounds also make it feel like The Woman is
underwater: she is drowning.

9. Practice Question: Complete Sample Answer
Marie Clements’ The Unnatural and Accidental Women uses blue lighting
and ocean sounds in “The Woman’s” sections to develop its theme about the
danger of loneliness.
The stage directions describe The Woman's hotel room as bathed in a blue
light. The color blue suggests sadness and depression: think of the phrase "I'm
feeling blue." Thus, the stage lighting suggests that The Woman is depressed.
The colour blue is also linked to the ocean, a link which is reinforced by the
tidal sound effects and the description of The Woman’s bed as an island. This
creates a sense of isolation: The Woman is like a castaway stuck on a desert island.
The blue lighting and ocean sounds also make it feel like The Woman is
underwater: she is drowning.
Taken together, the lighting, sound effects, and set suggest that The Woman
is drowning of depression, isolation, and alcohol, and reinforce the play’s theme
about the danger of loneliness.

10. Study Tips
• Memorize titles of texts, authors’ names, and the names of main
characters.
• Familiarize yourself with 2-3 main themes in each play.
• Review self-test material: refresh memory + look for important
themes, topics, and quotations
• Budget your time: a rough guide is 10 minutes to preview the
questions + brainstorm answers and 10 minutes per question

11. Important Note for Online Exams
• SAVE FREQUENTLY
• You should be saving after every question or 20 minutes, whichever comes
first.
• You might consider writing your responses in a Word document and
then copy-pasting it into the exam box.
Benefits Drawbacks
• Backup copy of exam materials in case
something goes wrong.
• Formatting doesn’t always transfer:
e.g. italicized titles are no longer
italicized after copy-pasting.
• Spellcheck. • Running out of time before being able
to copy-paste exam answers.