Analyzing and Interpreting Literature

[jm82792]

I've passed the following CLEP tests,
Biology, US History 1 and 2, Micro Economics, Information and Computing Systems
Educational Physiology and Sociology.
Now I'm going to take in two weeks Natural Sciences and Western Civ 1.
After taking the two CLEP tests I will have three weeks to prep for analyzing and interpreting literature.
How hard is this ?
Any information about the test?
I'm 17 and so far I've only failed one CLEP out of what I've taken,
I am rather worried about the "unknown" and want to knew about this test as much as I can.

Thanks for your time,
Josh Martin

[Ruddigore]

After taking the two CLEP tests I will have three weeks to prep for analyzing and interpreting literature.
How hard is this ?
Any information about the test?
I'm 17 and so far I've only failed one CLEP out of what I've taken,
I am rather worried about the "unknown" and want to knew about this test as much as I can.

I took A&I Lit when I was 18 and didn't have any trouble with it. Here's what I wrote in the specific exam feedback (which you may or may not have access to):

I passed Analyzing and Interpreting Literature with a 70. I used the REA book almost exclusively. My only other study was from a book with literary terms that I could have gotten from the REA book (which had not yet arrived from Amazon at the time).

REA's literary review section covers Prose, Poetry, and Drama. Aside from reading this literary review and writing out the literary terms I was less familiar with on some flash cards, I took the three practice exams, which were definitely more difficult than the real thing. I scored 58% on the first two exams and 68% on the third. (I also took a CLEP Official 50-question practice quiz and got an 82%. I highly recommend it as a confidence booster.)

The REA guide for A&I Lit is one of their best (it is certainly written better than the other REA guides I've read).

If you are inclined to like to read, passing should be easy, otherwise, a week of prep (I had 6 days to go through the book) may not be enough. Either way, this is doubtless the best place (next to this forum) to start with A&I Lit.

This was actually a fun test to take. I enjoyed reading the passages and answering the questions more than I had anticipated. I had over fifteen minutes left when I finished.

Hope you ace the test! Feel free to write here or PM me if you have any questions.

[scarlet_bandit]

if you're good at reading, should be easy. I passed cold turkey. Study literary terms like hyperbole, onomatopoeia, metaphors, stuff like that. I guess if you need to study, then the REA book or petersons.

and don't take too much time on one question. i had to rush my last 20 questions because I was running out of time. There's a lot of reading involved.

[dondeal]

Reading long boring poems isn't my greatest trait. I barely passed last week with a 50, but I only studied literary terms and I thought the poems would be a cakewalk. I dislike poems, personally. Learn how to read a poem, formally, and study literary terms.

[margotsara]

I took this test a couple days ago and scored an 80 with over 30 minutes left at the end. I do love reading, but as long as you have a pretty good idea of literary form / function you will do great. I think the most important thing is not to get nervous, just read the passages and choose the answers that ring true.

[Elinor]

Out of the 4 CLEP tests I've taken so far, A&I was by far the easiest. I scored a 74 (I think), with a good half hour to spare. I have always been a fast reader with fairly good comprehension though. The toughest part, for me, was coming from a conservative, home school environment and trying to think about what the test writers wanted me to answer rather than what I actually thought. Having had some 4-H contest experiences helped me with that though.

Also, I took this one with the English Comp w/ Essay, and they kinda complemented each other I think. English Comp had a lot of sentence structure q's and understanding sentence structure helped with analyzing passages.

Anyway, A&I is easy, especially if you're good at reading fast and understanding the passages.

Good luck on your tests!

[harringj]

banghead Wow, I just failed this CLEP by 1 point. Got a 49 and needed a 50. I took cold turkey so I guess that's my fault. Gotta wait another 6 months to take it again...

[jm82792]

Thanks a ton for all the information!!!
I really appreciate it because it helps me know what to expect,
what to study with and such.

[Jeff2243]

I flunked on this exam. Got only 47. Feel so embarrassed. I am not a literature person.
Also, tested for Principles of statistics and passed it (Feedback on relevant thread). Back to A & L.. it seemed so easy and I was so happy with almost 30 questions through , easy ones. That's when I realized that I have only 45 minutes left & 60 more questions to go. I couldn't concentrate on reading the text and started guessing. Last 15 questions I have no idea about & just used my best guess.
What an embarrassment. Lots of posts here about how easy this exam is but apparently not for me. I can pass a Math exam without studying but not this one. Learned a lesson ; don't go for something you have no prior knowledge of.
I need 12 credits in Arts and sciences. Can someone suggest me some easy ones which at least make some sense while studying ?

[jm82792]

This isn't fun,
I'm prepping for it right now and have 3 weeks until I take it.
Last Friday I took Western Civ and Natural Sciences and scored 60 on both of them.
There is so much noise in my house from my 5 siblings,
it's almost suicidal reading these poems,
but I think I can pep for them and pass in the end.