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Exam Preparation
Cities and Civilizations – Fall 2013 – Roper
STUDY TIPS
I strongly suggest that you actively study for this exam rather than simply ‘go over’ your notes.
Active study involves things such as making lists of terms, categorizing information (a good way
is to split terms—people, places, events, ideas—up into sections that deal with each civilization
we’ve covered), creating time lines, outlining historical arguments, etc. You will be asked for
specific information (i.e. facts) on exam day, so you should be familiar with all that we have
covered.
Another way to study is by asking yourself, or better yet asking a classmate, the bigger questions
about the material and creating a systematic answer that includes a THESIS (i.e. an argument)
and is backed up by some specific issues and facts. The ‘bigger questions’ are those that we’ve
addressed in class. Some examples: What exactly IS necessary for a civilization and why should
we consider the Sumerians or Greeks civilizations? Why WAS it important that the Greeks won
at Salamis and Plataea? What was the general progression (chronology) of the Persian conquests
and the invasions of Greece and how did the smaller Greek forces end up defeating the Persians?
EXAM FORMAT
I. Objective Section: Your exam will begin with an objective section consisting of specific
questions concerning the cities and civilizations we have studied. The format of most of these
questions will be similar to the formats you have seen on your regular tests. Using your review
sheets, as well as reviewing your class notes, the class readings, and the PowerPoints, is strongly
advised. Note that Gates of Fire is fair game, as well as any of the other primary and secondary
sources we have covered. This section will most likely consist of some or all of the following
components:
 Map – see your Maps of the Ancient Near East and the Greek World. You should know
where to locate the major places we have discussed this semester.
 Timeline – the PowerPoints and timelines we have done in class should help for this.
You may want to construct a review timeline of your own.
 Multiple Choice – readings and notes are crucial here. So-called big issues might
appear here (e.g. Which of the following is not generally considered a requirement for
civilization? What city featured a wall described by Herodotus? and so forth).
 Name That Civilization – be able to identify the significant and representative aspects of
each of the civilizations we have studied (Sumerian/Babylonian, Hittite, Minoan,
Mycenaean, Spartan, Persian).
 Name That Figure – we have studied the actions of a number of significant people (or
literary characters) throughout the course of these civilizations. You may want to make
a list of them and categorize them under each civilization as a way to study.
 Whatever else cooks up – who knows what other surprises might appear…
II. Identification / Short Answer Section: The second part of your exam will consist of
identification questions or similar short answer questions, much like those on your regular tests.
You should focus on the major features of each civilization. You may be asked to identify
anything from a picture to a place to a person to a quotation to whatever else we think of. Pay
particular attention to the primary sources we have studied – not just for their content, but also
for the perspective of the author.
 Definitions: You have accumulated a rather extensive list of vocabulary words that may
appear in many forms. Major Greek terms that we have discussed may also appear.
 Primary Sources: You have read a fair number of primary sources over the semester.
You should be familiar with them (general content, author, date of composition) AND
be able to explain why each was written (historical context and purpose) and what we
can learn from such documents. Sources include: the Enuma Elish, “Hammurabi’s
Code,” the Pylos Tablets, the inscription from Medinet Habu, the Iliad, Tyrtaeus’
“Code of the Citizen Soldier,” Aristotle on the polis, Herodotus’ Histories, Plutarch’s
“Life of Lycurgus”.
III. Essay / Historical Argument Section – The final part of your exam will consist of writing
an essay—or series of short essays—in which you will be asked to construct more complex
analytical arguments about cause and effect (similar to what you’ve seen on tests) and to make
connections across time periods. Why did something occur? What is the significance of suchand-such? Why might we date something to a certain period? How do these events connect?
You will be asked to draw on information from all of the civilizations we have studied and to
make connections between the civilizations. Here are a few ideas to focus your preparation:
1. Geography. How has geography affected the cities and civilizations of Mesopotamia
and Greece? How did geography affect where and how cities were founded? How did
geography affect the cultural, economic, and political development of civilizations?
How did geography drive and change the way civilizations developed over time? Do
not limit yourself solely to physical geography (although this is certainly a major factor)
but also look at the role geography has played in other ways as well (i.e. religious
attitudes, military impact, physical development, etc.).
2. External Forces. How have external forces (war, famine, volcanoes, enemies, etc.)
shaped the course of each of the cities and civilizations we have studied? There is a
wide range of ways in which external forces have both positively and negatively
affected the lives of the Mesopotamians, Persians, and Greeks. For example, what role
has peaceful interaction with outsiders/foreigners played? Have external forces brought
these cities together or torn them apart? What role has war played in the ways each city
and its people developed?
3. Sources. Over the course of the semester, we have examined a wide variety of sources,
from the written—creation stories, religious explanations, mythology, epic poetry,
histories, dramas, novels, etc.—to the archaeological—artifacts, images, structures, etc.
What have we learned about assessing the validity of these objects as sources? How are
primary sources different from secondary sources, and how should we treat them
accordingly? Why does it seem that the same types of sources appear across
civilizations? Which ones emerge, and how might we compare them? What does the
form—as well as the content—of a source tell us about its civilization?