[253] What is on the midterm?

[Richard Smith <smith@sfu.ca>]

Dear 253,

Hopefully you are all well rested and enjoying reading weekend with  
your books. I have been reviewing past lectures, the book, and your  
suggestions from your last tutorial and have come up with a midterm  
exam that I think you will enjoy. Well, maybe not enjoy... but you  
will find it challenging and worthy of your efforts.

Here are some suggestions for studying for the midterm exam. As a  
reminder, the exam takes place this Thursday, February 23, at 9:30am  
in Room 1700 at Harbour Centre. You will have two hours, although I  
suspect that many people can be done more quickly (either you know  
the answer or you don't - it's that kind of exam).
As I mentioned in class, the questions will be short answer, with a  
few true/false and a couple of multiple choice. This means that you  
have an opportunity to identify the concept, person, technology,  
theme, theory, critique, etc. You don't have to write full sentences.  
You don't have have an argument. Just identify the thing(s) that is  
asked for and move on.

There are 45 questions, each worth 1/3 of a mark, for 15 marks.

Review the lectures and read the chapters from the book -- Questions  
come from a mixture of the book and the lectures, with a little over  
half the questions coming from the book (your questions were all from  
the book, so that tips the balance a bit).

Even though the questions are factual, they are framed in such a way  
that you have to know what things mean or the facts won't be enough.  
In other words, I am looking for comprehension, and I have tried to  
focus on questions that are linked to the major themes or issues in  
the chapters and the lecture. Knowing a precise date isn't that  
important but knowing why something happened, or how something is  
connected to something else will be.

I shall be riding the bus to Trail, BC (a 9 hr trip!) while you write  
your exam. Don't worry, though, Roy and Michael have both done this  
exam before and will be able to answer any questions. If you are up  
and around on Friday, I believe the opening ceremonies of the BC  
Games will be broadcast on television. Watch for me, I will have a  
silly toque on.

...r

--
Richard Smith, Associate Professor School of Communication
Simon Fraser University, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, CANADA  
V6B 5K3
Phone: 604 291 5116 Web: http://www.sfu.ca/~smith/ Mobitus: 2001 1070  
0578 skype - callto://richard_k_smith
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