English Lit Test

[sdeserio]

I am taking the test soon, getting nervous and frustrated because there is so much to study. Anyway, On the test, do i have to ID some poems? Or do i just have to interpret them? There are so many poems by the same author, i don't want to get bogged down by memorizing them all. Any tips?

Sd

Any suggestions on the best way to study for the poetry part of the test. I know most of the major authors (prose), passed A & I test (interpreting should be ok for me). I am just not sure of the best way to study the poets and how to ID them. For example, Wordswoth wrote many poems - not sure what to focus on. Any Suggestions? What is the best way to ID them?

Thanks

Stephen

[auburngal_india]

Hi Stephen,

I just took this test on Friday (today is Sunday) and I was really worried about it - but it wasn't that bad at all! To be honest - there aren't many questions like ''who wrote such and such a poem''. There are way more analyzing questions than anything else. Yes, the poets did all write a ton of stuff - but most of them wrote in a specific area. If you know that x person wrote love poems, and y person wrote war sonnets, and z person wrote about nature - you'll be just fine.

What I did, was to make a list of all the major authors - whether it be poetry or not. That really helped me. If you color code the authors and their works to the century/time period they are in, that helps too. I have a great document that I made that helped ... here's the webpage (blog) I made for it (and a couple other documents too) CLEP help and information!

There were a few questions naming a couple characters and you had to answer the author. Not too bad - just something to keep in mind. Shakespeare: Juliet, Hamlet, Othello. Austen: Emma, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Ferrars. etc.

I hope this helps - if you have any more questions feel free to ask. I got a 64 on this test and scored 56% on the Official CLEP study guide test, so I think it's easier than what you think. Just be sure you know how to answer questions about a passage! That is most of the test.

Best of luck,
India

Literature Study Guides - SparkNotes
this has summaries of most major English Lit. works - good to read some of these.

Literary Terms : SparkCharts
this is a must!!!! make sure you know most (or all) of this - it's on the test.

p.s. know this too:

450–1100: Old English (Anglo-Saxon) – The language of Beowulf and Alfred the Great.
1100–1500: Middle English – The language of Chaucer.
1500–1650: Early Modern English (or Renaissance English) – The language of Shakespeare and the King James Bible.
1650–present: Modern English (or Present-Day English) – The language as spoken today.

[jackzack87]

I took english lit and A&I lit. I studied for a short time just browsing the major authors (Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Dickens, etc). You will encounter alot of popular works, and knowing who is the author is immensly helpful. Also get down basic styles of writing. It is a broadly based test; trying to read all the books it will cover is impossible. Shoot for the larger base of understanding style, time periods, and major authors and you'll be fine.

[sdeserio]

Thanks for all your help! I will keep you updated on how it goes. I am going to take it in the next 2 weeks.

Stephen

[studyhard]

It's been a long time since I took that test, but I would say that any questions that focus on "who wrote what" tend to be pretty basic. In other words, they aren't likely to delve into the nitty gritty obscure works of each author. You might see a question like this:

Shakespeare wrote which of the following?

A. Henry V
B. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
C. Pride and Prejudice
D. Great Expectations
E. Poor Richard's Almanac


What you might do is make yourself a list of the major authors and list underneath it half a dozen or so of their most famous works. Look up those works on SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides to read the summary so you're basically familiar with it but don't worry too much about it getting ultra-detailed.

Do study up on Shakespeare, by the way. Read the summaries of many of the major plays.

[jeff]

Hi India,

What I did, was to make a list of all the major authors - whether it be poetry or not. That really helped me. If you color code the authors and their works to the century/time period they are in, that helps too. I have a great document that I made that helped ... but I can't get it to attach on here. If you want - you can email me at shalom.india@hotmail.com and I can email it to you.

Are your study notes still available? I would really appreciate a copy if you are still willing to share them. I am having a hard time finding study materials related to this exam.

Thanks,

[andalli]

Greetings;
Thank you guys for all your contributions. I will take this test next month (August 18th) so I have around a month. Do you guys think that I can pass it? I haven't studied for it at all yet, that's why I am worried about it.
I would like to know if "CLEPÂ English Literature Exam Guide" from collegeboard.com will help to study quickly and effectively for the test?
Also is there anywhere online to take a practice test?
Anymore help/hints... will be appreciated. Thank you guys for your cooperation and help in advance.

Adam

P.S: India, can let us if you still have your notes. Thanks

[LaurenC]

Hi,

My daughter just took this test a few hours ago. With about 2 1/2 weeks of study she passed with a 55! She enjoyed studying for it and went in confident. She cracked up because with all the studying she did on Shakespeare there wasn't a single question or even an answer choice on him. Anyways, she used India's printout and also Barron's EZ-101. She had the Idiots Guide that we kind of went through after studying from other sources. We only had it because it was sent to us by accident when we ordered Barron's and she told us to keep it. Like a pp said, it's impossible to read every work from every author, poet, lyricist, etc. IDing an author with their most noted work is important and even knowing the basic storyline. She studied main characters of certain works but it didn't come up too much on her test. We got to the testing center a little early so I continued to go over some things in the Barron's book with her. One thing that I read to her in the car that she didn't know before was actually on the test. It was about John Keats poem, Endymion. It has the famous line, "a thing of beauty is a joy forever". You have plenty of time to study. Let us know how you do.

Jeri

[Chebasaz]

Hi,

My daughter just took this test a few hours ago. With about 2 1/2 weeks of study she passed with a 55! She enjoyed studying for it and went in confident. She cracked up because with all the studying she did on Shakespeare there wasn't a single question or even an answer choice on him. Anyways, she used India's printout and also Barron's EZ-101. She had the Idiots Guide that we kind of went through after studying from other sources. We only had it because it was sent to us by accident when we ordered Barron's and she told us to keep it. Like a pp said, it's impossible to read every work from every author, poet, lyricist, etc. IDing an author with their most noted work is important and even knowing the basic storyline. She studied main characters of certain works but it didn't come up too much on her test. We got to the testing center a little early so I continued to go over some things in the Barron's book with her. One thing that I read to her in the car that she didn't know before was actually on the test. It was about John Keats poem, Endymion. It has the famous line, "a thing of beauty is a joy forever". You have plenty of time to study. Let us know how you do.

Jeri

Tell her "Congrats!" Sounds like she lucked out on Shakespeare, but everyone should know some Shakespeare so her study time wasn't that big of a loss.

I considered myself pretty up to speed on his plays, but they hit me with about 10 questions from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which I had never read or seen. For about 10 mins straight I was getting questions about Puck, Faeries, and other things I had no idea about.

I went home after taking (and passing thankfully) the exam and read up on the play. Not a bad play, but I wish I would have had a friendlier introduction to it!

[HedyBrown]

I passed the English Lit with a 76 prior to joining Instant Cert. I was fine on poetry, essays, and novels, but absolutely terrible with modern theatre. I read the NY Times Guide to Essential Knowledge's section on theatre, and I think I did okay on those questions.

One suggestion for poetry - get an anthology that uses chronological order, and doesn't 'update' the text from its original language. Go through and read a few lines from every poet - get a sense of the timeline, the movements, and the poets' names. That way, when they ask you a question about Keats or Spenser, you'll be able to tell the difference between the two. Metre and rhythm changed with the movements, as well as the vocabulary. I think if you can get a general sense, you'll do pretty well.