Shmoop for BA in English

[originalamyj]

As far as shmoop...you pay the $88 a month and just try to knock out as many courses as you can. They really are horrible. I love English Lit and went into courses having read everything but had trouble passing their tests. So you can waste a few days on a course and not get any credit. I've heard of a few people just winging it on exams and if they passed they passed and if not they moved onto the next course. I never tried it that way but my guess is the results are probably the same either way. Its a cheap option but not a fun one for sure. I even complained to them but their customer service is terrible and I never heard from anyone. The only reason I would recommend them is based on cost. Otherwise I think they are a joke. I have no idea how they got ACE approval. Half their exams include typos, the grammar is awful in some of their courses, links are broken and I even found exams where the same exact answer was an option more than once. So which one do you choose - you can get marked for an incorrect answer on A when they want you to select B even though the wording is exactly the same?

I did take Bible as Lit during the 24 hour free trial, passed it and got ACE credit without paying anything. You could try that to see if its worth your time. But I think Bible as Lit was the easiest course to pass. None of the other ones I did were as easy. Maybe try one of the UL courses and see if you can get some free credits that way.

I agree that giving one course a try is a good idea. I will say I’m having a better experience than you. I’ve completed Bible and Shakespeare’s Plays, and am in the middle of Women’s Lit. No broken links so far that I recall. I personally am kind of enjoying it. The courses are definitely longer and there’s whole lot more reading than with study.com. As there should be with upper level courses. And seeing as how there is no other option for these courses that isn’t 5-8 times the cost, I guess I’m overlooking the problems you’ve had. I’m grateful for them because if it weren’t for Shmoop a major in Rnglish would be out of reach for me.

[rlw74]

Those three aren't too bad. There was one other that was pretty easy too but I would have to go back and look at the courses I took. There were a couple that were awful. I loved the Holocaust Lit course but only got a 69 on it because a lot of info was in broken links. Maybe they've fixed some of it. It's been a year since I did any of their courses so maybe enough people pointed out the problems. They were still relatively new at the time.

[originalamyj]

Those three aren't too bad. There was one other that was pretty easy too but I would have to go back and look at the courses I took. There were a couple that were awful. I loved the Holocaust Lit course but only got a 69 on it because a lot of info was in broken links. Maybe they've fixed some of it. It's been a year since I did any of their courses so maybe enough people pointed out the problems. They were still relatively new at the time.

Good to know! I was supposed to take the Holocaust Lit course over Christmas break but decided to hold off on it due to tough subject matter.   I'll definitely report back if I find broken links in any of their courses.

[jsh1138]

Media Literacy was pretty ok. So was Shakespeare in Context. History of Technology was fine too. I'm on Holocaust Lit right now and so far its ok, although bizarrely it says the Allies were the US, France and the USSR, leaving out the UK for some reason

I prefer study.com for anything they over lap in but you can't beat the price at shmoop

[dfrecore]

Media Literacy was pretty ok. So was Shakespeare in Context. History of Technology was fine too. I'm on Holocaust Lit right now and so far its ok, although bizarrely it says the Allies were the US, France and the USSR, leaving out the UK for some reason

I prefer study.com for anything they over lap in but you can't beat the price at shmoop

The US didn't join the war until December 1941, so they shouldn't have been in there either.  It was France, Britain, and Poland at the beginning.  Russia joined (after switching sides) in 1941 as well.

[Ideas]

The US didn't join the war until December 1941, so they shouldn't have been in there either.  It was France, Britain, and Poland at the beginning.  Russia joined (after switching sides) in 1941 as well.

Typical US-centric teaching, I guess.

[bjcheung77]

Shmoop is a weird one, do they still allow you to copy the contents to a searchable pdf or word document? I remember late in 2016 when they only had 3 ACE approved History courses, that was the only way - other than having all the tabs open, to get the info I wanted. Their answers were so closely worded. As long as you're familiar with the topic and have access to reviewing their course material like an open book exam (since it's non-proctored), you'll be fine... I hated it, but not enough to quit it right away.

[Ideas]

Media Literacy was pretty ok. So was Shakespeare in Context. History of Technology was fine too. I'm on Holocaust Lit right now and so far its ok, although bizarrely it says the Allies were the US, France and the USSR, leaving out the UK for some reason

I prefer study.com for anything they over lap in but you can't beat the price at shmoop

I think the first 3 you mentioned are from their newest approved courses. It would be nice if they're becoming more normal regarding their test questions, but I'm skeptical.

Please keep us updated about any Lit courses you do 

[jsh1138]

Media Literacy was pretty ok. So was Shakespeare in Context. History of Technology was fine too. I'm on Holocaust Lit right now and so far its ok, although bizarrely it says the Allies were the US, France and the USSR, leaving out the UK for some reason

I prefer study.com for anything they over lap in but you can't beat the price at shmoop

The US didn't join the war until December 1941, so they shouldn't have been in there either.  It was France, Britain, and Poland at the beginning.  Russia joined (after switching sides) in 1941 as well.

yeah Poland was in it for 4 whole weeks. come on. My point was that the UK *was not included*, not that the US was

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Media Literacy was pretty ok. So was Shakespeare in Context. History of Technology was fine too. I'm on Holocaust Lit right now and so far its ok, although bizarrely it says the Allies were the US, France and the USSR, leaving out the UK for some reason

I prefer study.com for anything they over lap in but you can't beat the price at shmoop

I think the first 3 you mentioned are from their newest approved courses. It would be nice if they're becoming more normal regarding their test questions, but I'm skeptical.

Please keep us updated about any Lit courses you do 

Holocaust Lit was fine. I mean its depressing as anything, obviously, but there were only 1 or 2 weird questions. There is alot of "how does so and so make this guy feel" type stuff and very little on the actual facts of the Holocaust itself. Its mostly subjective, which I guess is understandable since its a Lit course and not a History course. 

I'm working on the UL Shakespeare one now, I'll keep you posted