History 35B
Ms. McClain

Guidelines for the First Exam

         The first exam in the course will consist of a choice of a) 40 multiple choice questions, or b) for those of you who would prefer to write an essay, 20 essay questions and one essay out of a choice of three topics.  The exam will cover the period from the Sino-Japanese War in l894-through the Japanese conquest of Manchuria in l932.  Be sure to review a) class materials, including lectures and discussions, b) the assignments in China's Path of Modernization by Ranbir Vohra, and c) the hand-out reading from The China Reader by Schurmann and Schell.   

I.  Multiple-Choice Questions:

      The multiple-choice questions will cover major themes, concepts, ideas, personalities, and events.  While the book presents you with many facts, try to emphasize the main ideas in your readings. The only people and dates that will appear in the multiple-choice questions will be ones specifically mentioned in class. For the purposes of the multiple-choice portion of the exam, you will not need to study the following:

a) the names of all of the factions or "cliques" in the GMD party described in pages l34-l35;

b) pp. l40-l48 beginning with "The Reorganized Nationalist Government."  This material, which discusses events after l932, will be covered on the second midterm exam in the course

II.  Essays:

       For the essay portion of the exam, I will give you three topics, and you will write on just one of them.  Try to be well-organized, analytical, accurate, and thorough.  Assume that the reader knows nothing about the topic.  You might practice writing essays within a 30-minute time period, so that you can become accustomed to organizing your thoughts, and writing as thorough and thoughtful an essay as possible within that time period.  Jotting down an outline before you actually write your essay can be very helpful.  I will not be grading your essays on the basis of your English language ability as long as I can understand the content of your discussions.  The following are the major subjects for the essay portion of the exam.

        a) the ideas for change by Hu Shi and Chen Du-xiu during the "Isms Controversy" in the May Fourth Movement period, and your opinion regarding each man's ideas;

        b) the reasons for the First United Front, the benefits and disadvantages of the Front, and your opinion of the Front;

        c) the impact of Japan on China during the late l800s through the takeover of Manchuria.

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Second Midterm Exam Guidelines

        The second midterm exam will cover a) all of the material covered in class and b) assigned readings in Vohra's book as well as the hand-out reading from The China Reader:  Republican China by Schurmann and Schell, after the first midterm exam. 

        You can choose either to do all 40 multiple-choice questions, or just the first 20 of the multiple-choice questions and one of the essay questions at the end.  The subjects for the essay topics will be l) American foreign policy in China during the l940s, 2) Mao's ideas and actions during the late l920s and l930s, what successes and problems he had, and how his ideas and actions differed from those of the party's leaders, and 3) the reasons why the CPC won control over China and why the GMD lost control over China. 

        Good luck on the exam, and be sure to bring a #2 pencil for it.

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Final Exam Guidelines

       The final exam will have a choice of either a) 60 multiple-choice questions, or b) the first 30 multiple-choice questions, and one essay question from a selection of three topics.  The exam will include material from class--including lectures, discussions, and films--and assigned readings after the second midterm exam.  There will be quite a few multiple-choice questions from Son of the Revolution by Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro.  The only names of persons and dates that will appear on the exam are the ones which we have discussed in class.

       If you choose to write an essay, the following are subjects upon which the topics will be based.  You will choose only one topic on which to write.

       a) what accomplishments and, on the other hand, what problems the Communist government has had on mainland China since l949, and your own opinion regarding what this government has done.

       b) the various minority groups in China, and what the government's policy has been towards them since l949, and your opinions of that policy.

       c) the history of the relations between the Chinese Communists and the Soviet Union since the l920s through the l960s. 

       If you have any questions regarding the exam, please feel free to contact me at (4l5) 95l-l021, and good luck on the exam.