The midterm exam is a 750-850 word cause and effect essay based on the 1992 film, Malcolm X, (starring Denzel Washington and directed by Spike Lee). This essay will be the culmination of the writing skills you have learned in the course so far. This exam is a cause and effect essay, which means you will use the strategy you learned in Unit 3.
I am providing you the exam prompt you will use to write the essay. Using this prompt, you will create an outline of one page (back and front), which you will take to the testing center. During the exam, you will use this outline to write the essay.
NOTE: In the pre-exam preparation, you are only allowed to create an outline. You cannot write a rough draft.
Directions about the film
- Click on the Watch Malcolm X button on left. Read the instructions for using the SWANK site. Click on the link for the movie.
- As you watch, take careful notes about the causes and effects in the film, basing them on the prompt/s below.
- The exam question will be based on cause and effect analysis questions related to the film. You have two choices. PICK ONLY ONE PROMPT. This is the prompt you will also select during the exam.
PROMPT 1: What are two effects of Malcolm X going to jail? The organization for this essay prompt will look like this:
- cause: Malcolm X went to jail
- short term effect: ?
- long term effect: ?
OR
PROMPT 2: What are two causes of Malcolm X leaving the Nation of Islam? The organization for this essay prompt will look like this:
- effect: Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam
- cause: ?
- cause: ?
How to prepare for the exam
- Review the strategies of cause and effect.
- Review the elements of an essay.
- Review how to integrate sources.
- Watch the film in Blackboard (see Watch Malcolm X button). Take careful notes related to the prompt you have selected.
- Create a Cause and Effect outline using the template from the Outline Workseet in last unit.
- You outline should be one page (front and back).
- Make sure that you include in the outline any quotations from the film that you will use as evidence.
