TCF 311 Exam #1
The exams for this course will mostly consist of in-class essays on TV programs you choose. They will require you to apply the analytical principles presented in class and in Television.
In specific, Exam #1 will cover chapters 1-4--including concepts such as flow and narrative/nonnarrative structure. There will be a few short-answer questions, but the bulk of the exam will be an essay on a television program you have chosen in advance. It will be open book and open note. That is, you may use any books/notes during the exam.
Preparation
Choose a fictional, narrative television program ahead of time. Do not select a nonfiction, nonnarrative program such as a game show, sports program, or so-called "reality" program (e.g., Survivor or Big Brother). Also, you may not select a program discussed in detail in class or on www.TVCrit.com -- specifically, The Andy Griffith Show, Designing Women, Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Two Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place. However, you are encouraged to read the sample student papers on TVCrit.com as they are structured very similarly to the exam.
Before the exam, prepare the following in word-processed format:
- A scene-by-scene description of a single episode, including when the commercial breaks occur and a list of all the commercials.
- The episode's credits: producer, production company, director, writer, principal cast (actors' and characters' names). Remember, The Internet Movie Database (us.imdb.com) and EpGuides.com contain most of this information.
The scene-by-scene description and credits must be turned in at the exam and will be worth 5% of the exam score.
It would also be a good idea to think through the analytical principles we've discussed as they apply to your particular program. You might even outline some thoughts along these lines, but you should not prepare a formal essay.