To avoid slinging bull on the exam, you will need facts and details, real content that you can pack into the essay to give it substance -- and to prove to the professor that you really read the material in the course! Where will the essay content come from?

Use your World Literature Journal to prepare for the exam. With each entry in your journal try to focus the journal writing on the theme that you intend to write about in the exam. Note the details from the lesson that seem to bear on the subject that you have chosen, and note the page number of each of these details so that you can provide accurate citations when writing your essay.

As the course progresses and your journal grows longer, begin to compare and contrast the readings that bear on your exam topic.  By the time the exam rolls around, you will have not only a lot of data about your topic but also some ideas about how the pieces go together. You will be in position where the exam will almost write itself.