Humanities questions (re: IC)

[argentnox]

I signed up for IC in order to study for Humanities, and I must say, I am very impressed with the flashcards! I would like if the important bits in the extra info were actually flashcards, as it makes it much easier to study that way.

Anyway, I should be pretty set with literature and plays, as I took A&I, American Lit, and English Lit, all with great scores. I am completely hopeless when it comes to everything else, though. All I know is that I LIKE classical music, not who composed it. I have never seen an opera in my life. I have heard of Frank Lloyd Wright, as several of his houses are close to where I live (and they do tours of them), but I cannot pick out things like a common theme in his architecture. I have not a clue on artists, either, other than Picasso.

If I am just studying the IC flashcards and make my own flashcards for the extra bits of information, will that be enough to get me through the areas I am weak in?

When should I feel safe going to take the test? i.e. if I make up a personal set of flashcards with the actual IC questions and the extra info, what percentage should I be getting before I can feel safe? How well should I be doing on Peterson's practice tests?

I have to admit, this is the first exam that has actually worried me. I will be so glad when this one is over. The tests and classes I have after this are mostly more concrete things. Math, natural sciences, biology, psychology, etc. Less of the who did what when type of thing, which is what I am terrible at. I am fantastic when it comes to concepts and critical thinking, but memorizing names, titles, and dates is enough to make me want to rip my hair out and jump off of a building simultaneously!

[cdautel]

Hi! I would just keep going through all the flashcards and concentrate mainly on those that are giving you trouble. I mostly used IC when I studied for this test and the exam was a breeze because of the flashcards. I ended up passing with a 70, although I am a musician, so that may have helped a little.

Hope this helps, and that everything goes well!
Candace

[argentnox]

What should I be scoring in practice tests and what percentage should I be getting on IC flashcards?

[artcoffeewords]

I took Humanities last week. One the first Peterson's practice exam I got a 64, then in the 70's for the other two. On the actual CLEP I got a 73. I found the real test to be much easier than the Peterson's practice exams. It was more in line with the practice test in the CLEP Official guide, imho. I am sure all of my incorrect answers were on the music questions, of which I had about 10. I know the major composers and their works, but I have trouble with musical terms.

Something that helped me tremendously with the poetry questions was reading through some of the short poetry collections published by Dover. Search for "Dover Thrift Editions poetry" on Amazon. I read through "100 Best Loved Poems" and "100 Best Loved American Poems". We have a pretty good collections of these little Dover books on our homeschool shelves. They only cost about $1.50 each. They give a little biographical and contextual background for each poet along with their most famous poems, often presenting the poets in chronological order.

[argentnox]

I just took the Peterson's exam, and yikes, that was incredibly hard! I know they Peterson's practice exams are harder than the real thing, but my confidence is pretty shattered. I am supposed to test this weekend. Eek!

I got a 53% on the practice exam I took, and I think a lot of that was from good guessing. Most of the stuff in the practice exams was not in IC at all. Is the Humanities practice exam from Petersons not really in line with the real CLEP, or should I postpone my test date? I am still working on the fine arts section, but I have the IC flashcards for the lit section down pat. I am only missing about 5%, and that includes all of the little extras in the explanation (I made flashcards out of all of those...)

[LatinTea]

I should get my son to comment on this...but, one thing that concerns me (and take this with a grain of salt since I have not taken this test yet), is that you don't have working knowledge of artists and their works. Do you have access to an art book at home or your library? You just need to know some of the big names, I believe, and a quick once through a book would help.

I'll get Ruddigore on this in a bit. He took the test (having NOT done Peterson's) and got a 75.

[argentnox]

I should mention that I started this thread before I had studied the IC Fine Arts flashcards at all.

I downloaded images of all of the artwork mentioned in IC. I then made a spreadsheet of each piece of art, the artist, and what movement/period it was from. I am working on studying that today. I am a quick study, so I should be able to get them down tonight.

The problem was that there were just so many things on the Petersons exam that were not covered on IC, so I am really nervous.

[Chebasaz]

It's a huge exam, so don't freak yourself out.

Even the CollegeBoard makes mention that the chances of one person being familiar with all of the info on the exam is very slim.

[argentnox]

It's a huge exam, so don't freak yourself out.

Even the CollegeBoard makes mention that the chances of one person being familiar with all of the info on the exam is very slim.

I am not worried about being familiar with all of the info, but I need to be familiar with enough to get a passing score. There was SO, SO much on the Petersons that was not covered in IC that it has me worried. I know the Petersons are usually more difficult, but I am normally scoring mid 60's on the Petersons before taking the actual test. Even the literature section, which I am completely solid on from IC notecards, had authours and works I had never even heard of.

[pcs]

I'm working on this also, The lit section is a new world to me as I have never really liked to read. I am attempting to memorize everything and have the lit section about 98% completed. Has anyone out there taken this test with really no solid knowledge just using IC and passed? I want to do well but I also know a 50 is as good as an 80.