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How to Study for College-Level Exams, Part 2

You can score high on AP, CLEP, DSST, and other college-level exams!

In the last article, I promised to provide a few subject-specific tips to help you study for college-level exams. Some of these tips can also be used for more effective high-school study or for personal research. As homeschoolers, we already know that we can teach ourselves virtually anything we want to know. The keys are desire, perseverance, and access to basic research materials. The process of independent learning is well illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and Benjamin Franklin, who read, observed, recorded, and experimented with new ideas and information. This is still the best way to learn and discover, but it is possible to streamline the process of acquiring basic knowledge of a subject in order to provide a solid foundation for future research, or in order to take an exam. Here are some suggestions for studying specific subject areas.

Literature

There are two types of literature exams available: one is skill-based, and one is knowledge-based. The CLEP exam, 'Analyzing and Interpreting Literature,' is an example of a skill-based exam. While it "tests the ability to analyze and interpret literary passages" (CLEP: Information for Candidates 4), it does not require knowledge of specific literary works. The English and American literature exams, on the other hand, do require "knowledge of the major authors and literary works and familiarity with common literary terms and basic literary forms" (CLEP, 4). Once you have studied for one of the knowledge-based exams, you should have the skills needed to pass the skill-based exam.
Your texts for the literature courses will be Norton Anthologies, which come in several volumes, each covering approximately one semester or half an exam in English, American, or World Literature. Like any college textbook, the Norton can be expensive, but used editions- even very old ones- work just fine, and can be purchased at many used-book dealers such as http://www.half.com. There are many anthologies available, but be sure to look for Norton, as it continues to be the standard text for most colleges, and the editors haven't dumped classics in favor of fads.

Orient yourself historically by reading the introductions to the volume and each literary period, taking particular note of the ideas, events, and people that define the period. For each time period, select the authors and works most often mentioned in the introduction. Read each frequently-mentioned author's biographical sketch and his most famous works. Pay attention to how the author builds upon or alters literary tradition, and how his works do or don't embody the ideals of his era. Work through the volumes chronologically, and when you have finished both volumes of either English or American literature, you should be ready to take the corresponding exam.

History
The best resources for studying history are a college-level text (any introductory text will do), a timeline, and a few good biographies and/or historical novels. The text serves as a scope and sequence; the timeline provides a visual, chronological record of people and events; and the biographies and novels- even those written at young adult level- flesh out and bring to life the dry skeleton of historical facts.

First, skim the table of contents of your text, then the text itself. Pay particular attention to chapter and section headings, summaries, photos and captions, and charts and graphs. Try to establish a mental chronology of major events so that as you go back to read thoroughly through the text, you can understand minor events in the light of what you know will happen later. Read the text thoroughly, underlining or highlighting important points as you go, and adding the most significant to your timeline. When you come across a particularly interesting or significant character, read his or her biography, or a historical novel based during that time period. Finally, skim back through the text and your timeline one more time, refreshing your memory of events that occurred early in the text, and filling in any gaps. You should be ready for your exam!

Natural and Social Sciences
Again, a college-level text will form the backbone of your study. The key to understanding and remembering important science-related concepts is to thoroughly study the vocabulary of the subject. I would recommend writing your own glossary and checking for Greek and Latin roots as you work through the text, first skimming, then studiously reading, then re-skimming as you would a history text.

If you lack a strong background in the natural sciences, you can fill in some gaps with the colorful science encyclopedias and other science-related books published by Dorling Kindersley, Kingfisher, and Usborne. You may also find it helpful to read biographies of important scientists, and record the most significant people and discoveries on your timeline. When you are certain that you have mastered the vocabulary and main concepts of the subject, and can skim through the textbook providing a running mental narrative based upon text headings and illustrations, you will probably be ready to take the exam.

Mathematics
The way you choose to study for the mathematics exams depends entirely upon how you feel about math. If you are comfortable with it, get a college-level text and work through it. Do all the odd-numbered problems in each lesson, then check them. If you need more practice with the concept, do the even-numbered problems. If you lack, as I do, the willpower to make yourself do math, I suggest taking a class at the local community college, which is what I will be doing this summer. Paying for a class provides the external motivation necessary to get through what I perceive as an unpleasant necessity.

Multiplying benefits
One of the most wonderful discoveries about learning is how closely interconnected are the various disciplines. As you study for one subject, you inevitably pick up information useful in other areas. You can benefit from this when you begin studying at the college level, because each bit of knowledge you gain makes it easier to acquire and remember related facts. If you study for the "Introductory Psychology" exam, you will have much of the foundation and vocabulary you will need to make the studying for "Educational Psychology" simpler. And after that, it's just a step or two to "Human Growth and Development."
The same principle works when studying American History. You already have a head start on the concepts in American Government or American Literature, so you may as well go ahead and earn credit there, also. And as I pointed out earlier, skill-related exams test some of the very same skills you are using to acquire knowledge for the knowledge-based exams. Once you begin to accumulate credit by independent study, you can go as far as you choose. Good luck!

How to study a textbook
1) Skim
2) Read and mark
3) Re-skim