A History Major's Journey

[Westerner]

CLEP Western Civilization I

Test date: November 2011
Score: 63
Length of study: ~2.5 weeks
Resources: online flashcards, REA, Petersons PTs, OCSG, online quizzes
PT scores: REA—60%, 71%; Petersons—67.5%; OCSG—79%
Observations:

—I underestimated this one; it had more on the culture, feelings and society of the times than I was expecting. Google helps you find interactive, colorful timelines, but it's a good idea to also make your own.

—Definitely focus more on the Middle Ages/Renaissance; some Q’s dealt more with the society back then than I was expecting. Also get a very good feel for how Ancient Greece and Rome were and know the big names.

—There were some Roman Literature questions that threw me for a loop

—I had a foundation through the Bob Jones World History high school textbook (for the high school course I'd done about two years earlier!) I used the LN (put it on Random and it's great for drilling the terms) and the REA (which I thought was terrific for an overview of the subject). But I do think the critical thing with the History tests is that you have a textbook. It just helps put everything in perspective and does a great job of explaining important people, places, and things in relation to everything, which is something that flashcards just can't do. Flashcards help with memorization but a book with help you understand the "whys"—something that's especially critical for this test. WC 1 is more about the social aspects of things than I was expecting. So, you could even go to the library and look for a comprehensive book or textbook on this time period—it'll greatly help.

—I don’t usually take my own notes but for this test I had to actually write out my own timeline to make sure I understood and could remember everything. That definitely helped. Just put in major time periods (Ancient—>Greek—>Roman...) and then add wars, people and whatever else you want! Overlapping the civilizations also helps because sometimes they existed at the same time as others.

Online timelines are EXTREMELY useful, especially if they’re interactive or colorful Only if there’s a lot of info, it can seem overwhelming and you might just get confused. Take your time with them Here are a few:
pretty basic
doesn’t go very far; good for Roman time period
interactive—really good!
this is the one I used as a primary resource for this test—IT IS AWESOME!!!!!

Also, here’s another great list I found online:
• Ancient Near East
• Egypt and Mesopotamia at a Glance
• Egyptian Political History
• Law of Babylon
• Ancient Greece and Hellenistic Civilization
• Dark Ages of Greek
• Religion during the Dark Ages
• Politics during the Dark Ages
• Law during Dark Ages
• Social and Economic Life in Dark Ages
• Evolution of Athens
• Politics in Early Athens
• Agriculture in Athens
• Early Reforms
• Greek Philosophy and Science
• Greek Wars
• Ancient Rome
• Early Republic
• Punic Wars
• Rome in Third Century
• Trade in Third Century
• German Invasion
• Medieval history
• Byzantium and Islam
• Byzantine
• Factors responsible for the stability of the Byzantine Empire
• Architecture during Byzantine civilization
• Islam
• The growth of Islam, Islamic civilization and culture
• Islamic religion
• Islamic philosophy
• Islamic art and architecture
• Islamic technology
• Early Medieval Politics and Culture through Charlemagne
• The Reign of Charlemagne (768 To 814)
• After The Decline of Charlemagne
• Economic & Social Condition of W. Europe in the Early Med. Period
• Feudal and Manorial Institutions
• The Agriculture Revolution
• Modern agriculture tools
• Manorial regime
• Growth in trade and urban revolution
• Rise of towns and changing economic forms
• Cause for the medieval urban revolution
• Social and economic organization of the town
• Medieval thought and culture
• Education during the higher medieval period
• Literature during the high medieval period
• Architecture during the high medieval period
• The medieval Church
• Political power of the Church
• Renaissance and Reformation
• Renaissance in Italy
• Renaissance of Thought and Literature
• Renaissance art
• Renaissance architecture
• The decline of renaissance in Italy
• The Renaissance outside Italy
• Renaissance literature in northern Europe
• Decline of Christian humanism
• Renaissance poetry in northern Europe
• Renaissance architecture in northern Europe
• Renaissance paintings in northern Europe
• Protestantism and Catholicism reformed and reorganized
• Protestant reformation (early 1500 and 16th century)
• The result of protestant reformation
• Catholic reformation
• Result of catholic reformation
• Early Modern Europe, 1560-1648
• The opening of the Atlantic
• The Commercial Revolution
• Dynastic and religious conflicts
• Thoughts and culture
• Peasantry
• Growth of town and urbanization
• Education
• Culture


CLEP Western Civilization II

--I passed this test with 69 after 2 weeks of study in January 2012.

--Resources: online flashcards, REA, Petersons PTs, OCSG, online quizzes, timelines!!

--Use timelines. Study up on obscure wars too. Know how countries related to each other.

--I was sorta nervous about this test because it was said to be harder that WC1 (on which I got 63) so I studied extra hard. Though there were some questions on economics and women's rights and roles (especially dates) that I wasn't too sure about the answers to.

--For practice tests, I got 73% and 68% on two Petersons, 84% (65 according to the computer and 80 according to the book :confused on an REA and 60% on the OCSG. With the other practice test scores being what they were, I was hoping to score score higher in the OCSG, so I was worried enough to postpone my test for a day and do more study--these Annenberg videos—Resource: The Western Tradition—were great!

And here’s a great list of “gotta-know” topics I found online:

• Absolutionism and Constitutianalism, 1648-1715
• The “Westernization” of Russia
• Competition for Enpire and Economic Expansion
• Global Economy of the 18th Century
• Europe After Utrecht, 1713-1740
• Demographic Change in the 18th Century
• The Scientic View of the World
• Major Figures of the Scientific Revolution
• New Knowledge of Man and Society
• Political Theory
• Period of Enlightenment
• Enlightenment Thought
• Enlightened Despotism
• Partition of Poland
• Revolution and Napoleonic Europe
• The Revolution in France
• The Revolution and Europe
• The French Empire
• Congress of Vienna
• The Industrial Revolution
• Agricultural and Industrial Revolution
• Causes of Revolution
• Economic and Social Impact of the Working and Middle Class
• British Reform Movement
• Political and cultural developments 1815-1848
• Liberalism
• Conservatism
• Nationalism
• Socialism
• The Revolutions of 1830 and 1848
• Politics and Diplomacy in the Age of Nationalism, 1850-1914
• Unification of Italy and Germany
• Austria-Hungary
• Russia
• France
• Socialism and Labor Unions
• European Diplomacy, 1871-1900
• Economy, Culture and Imperialism
• World Economy of the 19th Century
• Imperialism in African and Asia
• The First World War and the Russian Revolution
• The Causes of the First World War
• The Economic and Social Impact of the War
• The Peace Settlements
• The Revolution of 1917 and its Effects
• Europe Between the Wars
• The Great Depression
• International Politics, 1919-1939
• Stallin’s Five Year Plans and Purges
• Italy and Germany Between the Wars
• The Second World War and Contemporary Europe
• The Causes and the Course of the Second World War
• Postwar Europe
• Science, Philosophy, the Arts and Religion
• Social and Political Developments