Literature Clep
The analyzing and interpreting literature clep examination covers material that is usually taught over two semesters during an undergraduate literary course. The great thing about passing this test is you can earn 6 credits and save yourself the equivalent of 2 semesters of college.
Another benefit of taking and passing this literature clep test is that the examination does not require that you are familiar with any particular literary works. It does however assume effects that that the test-taker has read widely in aspects of fiction, drama, poetry and nonfiction.
I personally took this test and passed it, another benefit of taking not only this test but any clep test is that it doesn’t matter what you score, as far as percentage goes, or grade point average, it just matters that you score high enough to pass the test. By passing each clep examination you get full credit on your transcript but have no GPA or percentage that is added or calculated into your overall GPA grade point average.
English and literature are personally not strong points of mine, however by using the official study guide, I was able to learn enough about what they were looking for in interpreting poetry and other short stories to successfully pass the test. This is one of the easiest clep tests and I would recommend that everyone attempt this test at least once.
The examination is approximately 80 multiple-choice questions that need to be answered over 90 minutes. Some of the skills and knowledge required to pass the test are the following:
Ability to read poetry and drama with comprehension
The ability to analyze elements of the literary passage and to understand the imagery style and tone of writing.
The ability to understand and recognize metaphors.
The ability to decipher the author’s attitude.
I noticed that on many websites as well as the clip study guide it talks about having a familiarity and being well read however I found this is not necessarily needed, all you need to do is spend a week reviewing the study guide and working on the practice tests and that will be sufficient to pass the exam.
The example consists of 35 to 45% of poetry, 35 to 45% of prose, meaning fiction and nonfiction, and 15 to 30% drama.
Although many websites will give you various study topics just stick with the official clip guide. If I can use that guide to pass this test without knowing or even liking literature then that’s all you need.
Here is a quick sample test question that will give you a good idea of what you can expect as far as reading and then the questions that they would ask and expect you to know.
Sample Test Questions
The following sample questions do not appear on an actual CLEP
examination. They are intended to give potential test-takers an
indication of the format and difficulty level of the examination
and to provide content for practice and review. For more sample
questions and info about the test, see the CLEP Official Study
Guide.
My Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane. 5
Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain* to list*:
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted grey
Is silver now with clinging mist.
10
The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.
15
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow;
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.
20
1. The central subject of the poem is
(A) a couple’s conversation about which season each prefers
(B) the speaker’s dislike of autumn weather
(C) the speaker’s desire to spend time with his companion
(D) how sadness helps the speaker appreciate late autumn
(E) why the speaker’s companion is looking forward to winter
2. The poet primarily uses which literary device to
characterize the speaker’s “Sorrow”?
(A) Symbolism
(B) Parallelism
(C) Foreshadowing
(D) Personification
(E) Irony
In context, the word “simple” in line 9 most nearly
means
(A) plain
(B) straightforward
(C) easy
(D) rudimentary
(E) foolish
4. Lines 7–12 “She’s glad … the heavy sky” are best
described as a list of
(A) what makes late autumn such a sad time
(B) what the speaker dislikes about his surroundings
(C) what the speaker’s “Sorrow” finds appealing
(D) signs that a cold winter is approaching
(E) signs that the speaker’s “Sorrow” is biased
(C) the speaker has never learned to love November days
(D) the month of November has just ended
(E) the speaker has loved November days for a long time
8. In the last stanza (lines 16–20), which of the
following reasons does the speaker give for not telling
his “Sorrow” how he feels about late autumn days?
I. The speaker values the perspective given by “Sorrow.”
II. It would be useless for the speaker to reveal his or her feelings.
III. The speaker is afraid to reveal his or her feelings.
(A) I only
(B) I and II only
(C) I and III only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II and III
5. Lines 9–10 suggest that “she” is “glad” because
(A) the autumn rain is ending
(B) the mist is another aspect of autumn that pleases her
(C) she is dressed well for the late autumn weather
(D) she likes the new silver color of her clothes
(E) the color of the sky has become more beautiful
6. The phrase “desolate, deserted” (line 11) is an
example of
(A) allusion
(B) alliteration
(C) metaphor
(D) metonymy
(E) onomatopoeia
7. The phrase “Not yesterday I learned to know / The
love of bare November days” (lines 16–17) suggests that
(A) the speaker fell in love on a November day many years ago
(B) today is the first day of November
9. The speaker’s attitude in the poem is primarily one of
(A) fear and despair
(B) excitement and anticipation
(C) melancholy tempered with contentment
(D) frustration with his companion
(E) surprise leading to joy