I am glad to say that in the last weeks of the term I could notice a change of attitude from many of the students in your class. More peope to have read the books, more discussion in class, better use of English... This was confirmed by the exam, where I could see an active attitude, a desire to performa and to make the most of the time you had.
Most of you had prepared fairly well the subject on the target of satire in "Gulliver’s Travels". Everyone tried to write something about the quotation from a novel. However, many of you had trouble identifying an essay (from my 2-hour long presentation of The Golden Age of the English Essay), or a a pamphlet by Milton (I talked about those for half an hour), or another satire by Swift (this was a 2-hour lecture, plus your required reading of A Modest Proposal)...
(I know a few of you were unhappy with the quotation from Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey; "rhe age of romance was over#. It’s true, you did not have to read this nover for class. However, I did present it in class, and I read to you exactly that quotation. You were not supposed to identify characters or plot elements, but rather to speak about the change of attitude in this author, alongside with her caracter, Catherine Morland. An abandoning of romance and Gothic models and a strong commitment to realism, that was the way to go for the novel of the next century. Most of you discussed that, and you got fine points for that).
Average results for the Questionnaire. The highest score (obtained by Lorena) was 19.5 points, out of the maximum 26, which is good, but not brilliant. Well, in the future we’ll have to work more on this format. Maybe I’ll have to give you such questionnaire 2-3 times during the term... - what do you think of that?
I am very satisfied with the intense activity on the Internet Forum. 15 of you actively participated in the forum. I appreciate the fact that you those who posted the initial questions -- Timea, Ariana, Mihaela and Alexandra -- did it in a clear and inviting manner, that stirred so much interest. There were some great performers on the forum: Mihaela Ani and Emanuela Negru, along with Lorena Luca detach themselves in the winning plotoon. I thoroughly enjoyed Emanuela’s great use of well chosen quotations, and her subtle analyses. Mihaela Ani was spot-on, well documented and convincing. In her comparatively fewer posts, Lorena Luca also gave competent, crystal-clear answers. Dorinela also showed great critical insight. Very clear and well organized mind is visible in all posts by Alexandra Noje. Cristina Ilcas, though answering just a selection of questions, confirms the good impression she made in class. Arianna is a persuasive and staunch feminist -- bravo for that! Timea is in her usual open-minded and intelligent attitude, but somehow seems to have little patience with writing. I have also read good posts (but often just repeating what your previous colleagues had just said) from Ioana-Paula and Andreea.
A couple of you tried some "shortcuts", using copy-paste, which even on a forum still amounts to plagiarism. Roxana’s single attempt is excusable. However, Emima was a great disappointment: 3 plagiarized posts, all of them from disreputable sources; you are banned from the forum until you’ve learned your lesson.
Like in an athletic race, we have seen some last-minute evolutions, from students who took the lead. Here’s in the order of your grades:
1. Emanuela Negru (9.53) is, as her final grade well shows, the overall winner. You are very thorough, Emanuela, you read the books with attention to details. You have made very good use of quotations. In the written exam you fought for every fraction of a points. Kudos!
2. Cristina (9.14)-- you had the greatest score on the Seminar: excellent activity in class, great posts. Yet, your dropping completely one point in the written exam, made you lose precious points (average 8,40, which is still second in class). After all, you wrote the best presentation of the Advantages and Disadvasnteges of the episotlary technique. You need to apply for a "grade increase" (marire de nota)!
3. Mihaela Ani, (9.03) the other BistitaNasaud lady, comes very near, especially due to her great forum posts (where she won the most points of the class). Good English, even though from time to time there are nagging misspellings (begginning, imortals).
4. Alexandra Noje. (8.69) You are good on the debate side, which shows in your forum posts. But you are average when it comes to the knowledge of theoretical terms, and you need to improve your critical language. (Errors: bourgeoisie is not a person, but a social class).
5. Timea V. (8.58). You are the second best debater in face-to-face combat in the seminars. Yet, you do not seem to be eager to write as much as you like to talk. You need to do something about that, so that you might write moder extensive analyses.
6. Lorena Luca. (8.34) Compact style in writing, but everything you wrote is right and clear. Best results in class on the Questionnaire. Solid contender on the forum, which compensated the skimpy activity in the seminar.
6. ex aequo Dania (7.34) -- you come shoulder to shoulder with Emanuela at the finish line of the 4-Questions. Indeed, your average on the 4 questions is 9.41, exactly the same as Emanuela’s. You lose because of your intermittent attendance of the seminars. If you had participated on the forum, you would have been better placed.
Arianna M. - you are good on persuasive, combative posts. But you tend to compensate what you do not know (and you don’t appear to be a great book reader as yet) with mere speculation, which does not always work. And you have to be more active in class.
Dorinela C. - You have some knowledge of the subjects, but you are let down by (1) you inability to choose what is important from what is not and /2) your occasionanlly poor wording in English. (Nagging errors: maester, very genius used as an adjective).
Richard - uneven. Such a great discussion on Jonathan Wilde the Great, preceded by vague treatment of the other subjects. Up and down, like a roller coaster. You need to stabilize that.
Andreea Sabadis - based on some good answers you gave indcidentally, I have the feeling you could do better... which is visible in some of your forum posts.
Roxana P. and Ioana O. - little knowledge of the baisc facts in the 4-subject test. You both fare better on the forum, though you are never too original.
Emima - sorry to say that, but you made a fool of yourself with those plagiarized posts on the forum! In the written paper, there are some inacceptable grammar errors: he teached, he didn’t listened, -- as well as lexical mistakes (a bourgeoisie man - not an adjective! -- or advices - no plural!)
Malina -- almost nothing on the 4-subjects. Non-combat attitude.
Denisa - too general and unspecific about every subject.
Adriana Cozma - worst Questionnaire in class (your result lie beneath the statistical limit of hits scored when choosing items at random).
Nothing to write home about: Ionut, Claudiu... and everyone who made meteoric mute apparitions in a couple of seminars...
For more feedback on the forum, check out my comments at the end of the threads.