It is openly believed that in literature classes, Template students should not be tested through paper and pencil test.

This is mostly based on the assumption that literature aims for appreciation only. However, the aim of literature testing is to institutionalize certain concepts and facts which are part of the literary learning and to direct attention to the relatively more important literary skill (Tenbrink,1998).

WINTER

Testing has been influenced by theories of reading, literary theories and criticism, and teaching styles.

Questions fall into two main categories:

1. questions that do not require contact with the text. 2. questions that do require contact with the text.

Literature tests are categorized into two:

1. tests of literary information.

2. tests of literary interpretation

1. Identify the context -learning context, language level, role of literature, profile of the language course, profile of the literature course, role of the test, profile of the test, the test writing context

2. Write the test -identifying the target competence, planning the over-all shape of the test
3. Select texts

-seen texts vs. unseen texts

4. Group skills -skills literary knowledge and skills for literary appreciation

5. Match texts to tasks -tasks with seen texts

6.Write test items

-discrete point, integrative, task oriented, essay type like open-ended tests

7. Clarify marking criteria -may include a set of criteria, e.g. content Relevance, etc.

1. What or who is the role model of literary Template competence: the literary scholar, poet, appreciative reader, culturally informed reader or a competent language user?

WINTER

2. What kinds of skills or knowledge would be demonstrated by the target competence? What is expected of the students to do successfully?

3. How are these areas of skills or Knowledge measured? 4. What are the criteria for selecting the texts for the test? 5. What is the relationship of the skill being to what the test measures?

What is a good literature test? A good literature test is measures what it aims to measure. cover a balance and appropriate sample areas that have been taught and not random areas or texts that leave the success of an examinees performance to chance. meet the expectations of the teacher and the examiner.

 ensure that learners are familiar with texts used.

provide a balance of question types, content and skills areas so that a rounded profile of each examinee can be gleaned from the test,
set texts and tasks which are feasible within the allotted time.

Guidelines for Selecting Texts for the Literature Test

The text may either be seen or unseen.

The text may either be full-length or extracts.

The texts should exemplify examples of each genre- poem, essay, short story, novel & drama.

The chosen texts should be representative of Template the chosen themes, topics, and issues. The texts should match the cognitive level of the examinees. The texts should be long enough to generate meaningful activity, but short enough to be practical for a timed activity.

WINTER

What does a literature test measure?

Knowledge of literary terms; concepts; Elements and conventions of each literary genre; figures of speech; kinds of short Stories/novels, kinds of poems, etc.

- explain the use of symbol; how an author presents the theme, explain the figures of speech, point out the atmosphere; and how it was established.

Interpreting symbols Interpreting theme

Interpreting character Interpreting point of view Interpreting setting

Interpreting conflicts

Interpreting style

Interpreting tone

I.Testing Knowledge of Literary Terms

WINTER
Template

1.It is an object that stands for or represents an idea or belief. A. symbol C. foil B. imagery D. figure 2. A long narrative poem which tells of the adventure of a noble hero who represents the ideals of his race or country A. ballad C. Epic B. metrical tale D. metrical romance

3. It is a type of a novel which literally means a novel with a key A. bildungsroman C. Novel of manners B. roman-a-clef D. Epistolary novel 4. Which elements of the short story is exemplified by this excerpt?
The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and wide. On this side there was no shades & no trees & the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was a warm shadow of the building & a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open door into the bar.

A. setting B. point of view

C. theme D. plot

II. Testing Skills in Literary Interpretation After reading the poem, answer the following Questions.
Because I could not stop for death 1. Because I could not stop for death 2. He kindly stopped for me 3. The carriage held but just ourselves 4. And immortality

1. What figure of speech is evident in line 2? A. simile C. personification B. metaphor D. metonymy

- Emily Dickinson

2. Ourselves in Line 3 refers to A. death and the adresse B. death and the persona C. death and life D. death and immortality
Cactus

1. excuse the cactus 2. thirsting the sill 3. excuse its quills 4. stuck out: 5. theyre only an attempt 6. at self-defense. 7. See how it bleeds 8. to fossils the old sand

1. The plant cactus stands for A. despair and pessimism B. courage and optimism C. ability to adjust D. sense of endurance
2. The colon after the phrase stuck out in line 4 is used to _________ A. explain B. clarity C. justify D. defend

WINTER
Template

Example of skills and tasks in a literature test Skills

Appreciating information in openings; how an author sets the theme

Tasks
Select from opening paragraphs the information that will be important to the story; What can be inferred about the story based on the opening paragraphs?

Appreciating how a dialogue operates; what it reveals about the character

Recognizing tone in a text Recognizing development and sequence of the plot

Rewrite dialogues using ones words; change dialogues and discuss its effects on the story
Compare two versions of the same text; identify the changes and their effects Rearrange the events to come up with the plot; compare two different plots and discuss the similarities/ differences in plot sequence Identify the elements of the short story; discuss each element Describe the setting- time & place List what you would do in the circumstances of the story; do the characters respond in the same way or differently

Recognizing the characteristics of the short story Recognizing the role of setting in the story Developing empathy with situation & characters

1. Multiple choice this type of test gives a question 7 a number of options from which the examinee has to choose the correct/best answer. Incomplete statement Ex: In Tolstoys God Sees The Truth but Waits Aksyonof was imprisoned for __ years A. 24 C. 26 B. 25 D. 27

Complete statement Ex: I am between the devil and the deep blue sea. A. between heaven and hell B. between enemies & friends C. between two opposing problems D. between two similarly situation Question Ex: How is Miss Julie described in Strindbergs Famous play? A. full of herself C. victim of the society B. morally corrupt D. all of the above

2. Completion or Gap filling The examinee has to complete a sentence by filling a gap or adding something.
Ex: The odyssey was written by ____. The brave hero of this epic is ______ who has a beautiful wife, ______ and a young son_____. He settled to ____to help the Greeks fight the Trojans. His brilliance is manifested when he supervised the building of the _____ which was instrumental in defeating Troy.

3. Matching Type The examinee is faced with two groups of words, Template Phrases or sentences. Each item has to be linked to a different item in the second.
Ex: A. _____1. American Literature _____2. Latin-American Lit. _____3. African Literature _____4. Chinese Literature _____5. Philippines Literature B a. Kerima Polotan-Tuvera b. Amy Tan c. Li Po d. Bessie Head e. Laura Esquivel

WINTER

4. Question and Answer This type of test asks the examinee a question to be answered by giving short or long answers. Ex: What is Heathcliffs dilemma? What does Hamlet speak of in his famous soliloquy, To be or not to be?

5. True or False This type of test asks the examinee to answer true or false to a statement given. Ex: _____1. One of the elements to magic realism is the use of cyclical plots. _____2.During the Spanish regime, Philippine literature is characterized as an attempt to imitate literary works written in most western countries.

Essay type This type of test requires the examinee to answer a question using detailed proofs & explanation. Ex: Which of the following haiku writers best use concepts of Buddhism in his works? Explain your reasons or justifications. 1. Basho 2. Issa 3. Buson