English Lit CLEP

[swinkelman]

Took and passed Eng Lit CLEP today. Thank you for all of your help.

[hoagland]

Hi,

I just passed the English Literature test today and passed with a 62! The resources I used were the Barron's EZ-101 book, the feedback from the IC forums and CP! forums, and then some flashcards my coach from CP! gave me. I also took the practice test out of the Offical Clep Guide book beforehand and scored a 60 on it.

I read through the Barron's book but that is about it. The feedback on this test is great - although test versions are different so not all of the questions others got related to my test. I used flashcards and memorized each author's name and works, then highlighted the works and authors depending upon what time period they were in (Yellow - Renassaince, Pink - Enlighenment, Red - Victorian). That REALLY helped narrow down answers and have a good standing on specific works/authors and what type of works an author wrote, as well.

Analyzing is a big part of the test, so if you've taken A&I it helps get you into thinking about passages in the analyzing "mode". Basic literary terms are kinda necessary such as alliteration, personification, dramatic monologue, etc...but it doesn't get too detailed with the terminology.

The test itself wasn't too bad, although some things did trip me up a some - like what work had this specific character in it and three question that asked what pairs of authors 1) helped each other's political views and satires, 2) collaborated together on plays, and 3) stirred up popularity (?) for metaphysical poets. Some of the choices were Wordsworth and Coleridge, Pope and Swift, Spenser and some other guy from that time period, and a couple others.

Good luck to anyone that is going to take this test in the future! It's a good test to take! Thanks for all the feedback!

`Dakota

[TMW2010]

This thread is right on the money for the English Lit test. I'd used the info from this thread, Barron's Ez-101, and Wikipedia pretty exclusively... The information in this thread was like gold for me.

[q231q]

First of all, Thanks to all of you for posting, following your study advice, I was able to get a 67 on the test and shorten my graduation date by an entire semester, thanks to my poor organization.

Secondly, to all of you that found this when searching for english lit clep test tips, if you go through each post and write down the tip, then study each of the recommendations, you will be a long way towards passing.

My test mainly consisted of a few paragraphs to read, that had 3 questions associated with it. 2 would be analysis of the quote, while one would be about the identity or the author, or something else specific. Without a real strong background in English literature (mine was a high school class 5 years ago) it is very possible to do well on this test, if you are a good reader. with the tips from this site, you can easily pass this test. I spent an hour or two studying for 6 days, which mainly consisted of me reading things from this forum, and writing them in a notebook.

Thanks all,
David

[L_Hancock]

First off, I found a new way to study. If the books you're using aren't your own, yet, you'd like to find a way to highlight or mark them up...you can use colored paper clips. Just put them along the edges of the page “highlighting” specific lines you'd like to come back to later.

Books used:
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to English Literature
- Cracking the GRE Literature in English Subject Test (Princeton)
- Cracking the AP English Literature Exam (Princeton)

Also, I used the Instant Cert forum...many people posted lists of important authors (helpful - thanks) – I combined all of them, then, organized them by year (see attachment). Additionally, there's attached a list of all the literary terms helpful to know. Keep in mind if you re-phrase them & put the definitions into your own words, you'll be able to learn them faster.

Going from the “Authors” list, look up reviews/summaries on their important works (something I should have done) there can be a few questions on the test with a passage, then, asking you the work it's in or the author. Maybe use sparknotes? I didn't do this, but, it could be an “easy” way to add a few more points (if you have the time in your study schedule, that is).

Be sure to know the story of King Arthur, most of Shakespere's works (u-tube movies help with those)(the test could ask something about a main character from one of his plays). Also, 1-2 passages from Pilgrim's Progress (John Bunyan).

There were a few Old English passages, but, if you read them out loud (or whisper them to yourself) they'll make more sense.

Try and learn to distinguish the different types of poems...I studied & took this test in 2 weeks, and though I passed it, if I'd spent more time trying to understand poem types (in the definitions attachment), could have scored even higher. Most of this test was analyzing all sorts of short passages & poems, or paring authors to their more famous works. The current CLEP break-down didn't match my test that well, and there didn't seem to be much info on the web about this test, so, hopefully, this will help someone else taking this test (that's why this post is so unusually long)

Good Luck

[Chebasaz]

Ugh, posted the reply in the wrong forum.

Great write-up, I'm sure it will help plenty of people!

Congrats on the pass! :hurray:

[oldfashionedgirl]

Thanks so much for all the great tips and advice....I'm going to take the English Lit CLEP next week (I've been studying for 5 weeks now). So hopefully I do well! My university require the English Lit w/essay. Has anyone taken the essay portion? I'm not sure what to expect for it, or the test really. This will be my first CLEP!

CLEP Pro, I hope I can be as lucky as you!!!

Study Plan:
-Advice on this board
-Norton Anthology for reference
-Studying the top 10-15 authors of each period and reading up on them and their top 2-5 works.
-flashcardmachine.com to enter all the info...and use the flashcards to keep it fresh in my mind.
-iTunes University has some great free literature lectures...these are fantastic when you are bored of studying!
-Official CLEP test book

Any other tips?

[amykschlueter]

Hello everyone,
I just wanted to give a huge thanks for all the posts. I have read all of your suggestions and studied for about the past 4 weeks. While my version of the CLEP contained quite a bit of modern lit (of which I was clueless!), I passed with a 70! It's a huge relief and weight off my shoulders.

Thanks so much...I couldn't have done it without all of your help!:hurray:

Amy

[creationstory]

very very nice

[blllonde]

oh my god. thank you guys so much. im missing 6 credits in english to complete my legal studies degree, which if the clep didnt exist, id be in school this semester.

im trying to take the clep test by next week, so just in case, i can still register for the 2 classes (LAST RESORT )

BUT.. this thread has beeen so unbelievably helpful.

I printed SparkNotes "Common Literary Forms & Genres" and got the E-Z Barron's Eng Lit.

I just have ONE question..


is there anything else on SparkNotes I will need, aside from actual books and literary pieces & their summaries?

More specifically.. with the A+I part of the test.

thanks so much guys!!!
<3