English 380: Ecolit—Reading and Writing the Landscape

Midterm exam preparation

The midterm exam takes place during the first hour of class, Wednesday February 13. It consists of a single essay of about 500 words in response to one of the three prompts below. The prompts will be randomly distributed to the class. You will not have a choice. The essay will be graded for substance and count 10% of the course grade.

1. Discuss the attraction of wild vs. civilized or rural vs. urban or primitive vs. sophisticated as a central theme of ecoliterary works we have considered. Make reference to specific passages in three of the following writers or works: the Bible, Ovid, Vergil, Marlowe-Ralegh dialogue, Wordsworth, Thoreau, Austin

2. Discuss the values of solitude and retreat to the natural world as presented in three of the works read this quarter. These might include writings by Shakespeare, Marvell, Wordsworth, Thoreau, and McKibben. If appropriate make reference to your own experience.

3. John Muir and Mary Austin both celebrate extreme landscapes of California. Compare and contrast those landscapes and the kinds of extreme human experiences that unfold there.

The essay will also be graded pass/nopass for the GWR. To pass the GWR, the essay must have a clear thesis, unified and coherent paragraphs that develop topic sentences, and no more than a few minor grammatical or punctuation errors. Most of you will pass the GWR on this go-round. If you don’t, we’ll meet to talk about what you need to do to pass on another try that will involve writing on a topic we both agree upon in advance.

Please bring a bluebook in which to write.