Sample Exam

You will have to answer three short essays and you will have a choice of 6 questions.

Make sure that you draw on the readings and refer to actual events/personalities/institutions.

Here is an example of the kind of questions you can expect.

1. What are some of the obvious features of the Japanese growth model of the 1960s?

A good answer requires that you have read and absorbed the readings. Please do not rely on your class notes alone. Lectures

supplement and expand on the readings; they are no substitute for the readings. Be as specific as possible and organize your thoughts before you

write them down. You have 75 minutes to complete the exam. Allocate around 25 minutes for each essay question. In those

25 minutes, you have time to jot down a brief outline of the main points. Then use the outline to construct an argument. Again, remember to incorporate the readings. Look back on the questions I posted on the Web, check your answers, and reread portions of the assignment that were not clear to you.

The essays will test you for specific knowledge. If in doubt, move to the next question. Do not answer a question on Japan in the 1960s by discussing the problems of the 1990s. This kind of answer will receive zero points! So stick with the question.