CLEP College Composition and College Composition Modular w/ TW

Passing the CLEP College Composition/College Composition Modular Exams

ABOUT THIS BOOK AND TestWare®

This book will provide you with complete preparation for the CLEP College
Composition and College Composition Modular exams. Inside you will find a
targeted review of the subject matter, as well as tips and strategies throughout
for doing well on either test. In addition we offer you two full-length tests for
each of the specific exams. These tests are based on the official CLEP requirements.

By answering all of the questions—both multiple-choice and essay
questions—you will benefit from the basic rule of test preparation success: the
more questions you answer before you take the test, the better your chances are
for improving your score on the actual exam.

The practice exams in this book and software package are included in
two formats: in printed format in this book, and in TestWare® format on the
enclosed CD. We strongly suggest that when you begin your preparation
for the tests, that you start with the TestWare® practice exams. The software
provides the added benefits of instant scoring and enforced time conditions.

All CLEP exams are computer-based. As you can see, the practice tests in
our book are presented as paper-and-pencil exams. However, the content and
format of these exams faithfully mirror the actual subject tests.

ABOUT THE EXAM
Who takes CLEP exams and what are they used for?
CLEP examinations are typically taken by people who have acquired
knowledge outside the classroom and wish to bypass certain college courses and earn college credit. The CLEP is designed to reward students for learning—
no matter where or how that knowledge was acquired. The CLEP is the
most widely accepted credit-by-examination program in North America, with
almost 3,000 colleges and universities granting credit for satisfactory scores on
CLEP exams.

Although most CLEP examinees are adults returning to college, many
graduating high school seniors, enrolled college students, military personnel,
veterans, and international students also take the exams to earn college
credit or to demonstrate their ability to perform at the college level. There are
no prerequisites, such as age or educational status, for taking CLEP examinations.
However, because policies on granting credits vary among colleges,
you should contact the particular institution from which you wish to receive
CLEP credit.

There are two categories of CLEP examinations:
1. CLEP General Examinations, which are six separate tests that cover
material usually taken as requirements during the first two years of
college. CLEP General Examinations are available for College Composition
and College Composition Modular, Humanities, College
Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences and History.

2. CLEP Subject Examinations include material usually covered in an
undergraduate course with a similar title. For a complete list of the subject
examinations offered, visit the College Board website.

Who administers the exam?
The CLEP exams are developed by the College Board, administered by
Educational Testing Service (ETS), and involve the assistance of educators
throughout the United States. The test development process is designed and
implemented to ensure that the content and difficulty level of the test are
appropriate.

When and where is the exam given?
CLEP exams are administered each month throughout the year at more
than 1,700 test centers in the United States and can be arranged for candidates
abroad on request. To find the test center nearest you and to register for the
exam, you should obtain a copy of the free booklets CLEP Colleges and CLEP
Information for Candidates and Registration Form. They are available at most
colleges where CLEP credit is granted or by contacting:

CLEP Services
P.O. Box 6600
Princeton, NJ 08541-6600
Phone: (800) 257-9558 (8 A.M. to 6 P.M. ET)
Fax: (609) 771-7088
Website: www.collegeboard.com/clep

CLEP Options for Military Personnel and Veterans
CLEP exams are available free of charge to eligible military personnel and
eligible civilian employees. All the CLEP exams are available at test centers
on college campuses and military bases. In addition, the College Board has
developed a paper-based version of 14 high-volume/high-pass-rate CLEP tests
for DANTES Test Centers. Contact the Educational Services Officer or Navy
College Education Specialist for more information. Visit the College Board
website for details about CLEP opportunities for military personnel.

Eligible U.S. veterans can claim reimbursement for CLEP exams and administration
fees pursuant to provisions of the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act
of 2004. For details on eligibility and submitting a claim for reimbursement,
visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website at www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/testing.htm.

CLEP marks a special spot with reference to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which
applies to veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of operation.
Because the GI Bill provides tuition for up to 36 months, racking up college
credits by testing out of general introductory courses with CLEP exams expedites
academic progress and degree completion within the funded timeframe.

SSD Accommodations for Candidates with Disabilities
Many test candidates qualify for extra time to take the CLEP College Composition
and College Composition Modular exams, but you must make these
arrangements in advance. For information, contact:

College Board Services for Students with Disabilities
P.O. Box 6226
Princeton, NJ 08541-6226
Phone: (609) 771-7137 (Monday through Friday, 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. ET)
TTY: (609) 882-4118
Fax: (609) 771-7944
E-mail: ssd@info.collegeboard.org

FORMAT AND CONTENT OF THE COLLEGE COMPOSITION
AND COLLEGE COMPOSITION MODULAR EXAMS
These exams are new, and were first administered in July 2010. These exams
replaced three exams that have been discontinued:

• English Composition has been replaced by College Composition Modular.
• English Composition with Essay has been replaced by College Composition.
• Freshman College Composition has been replaced by College Composition Modular.

The two new College Composition examinations are designed to measure
your writing skills that are taught in most first-year college composition courses.
They consist of Conventions of Standard Written English, Revision Skills, Ability
to Use Source Materials, and Rhetorical Analysis. In addition there are two
essays on the College Composition and one or two on the College Composition
Modular. (The number of essay questions in this test is determined by the
institution.)
 
 

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK AND TestWare®
What do I study first?
To begin your studies, read over this introduction and our suggestions for test
taking. Take Practice Exam 1 for the CLEP College Composition or CLEP College
Composition Modular exam on CD-ROM to determine your strengths and
weaknesses. Then study the course review material, focusing on your specific
problem areas. The course review includes the information you need to know
when taking the exam. Make sure to follow up your diagnostic work by taking
the remaining practice exam printed in this book to become familiar with
the format and feel of the CLEP College Composition or the CLEP College
Composition Modular exam.
 

To best utilize your study time, follow our Independent Study Schedule,
which you’ll find in the front of this book. The schedule is based on a six-week
program, but can be condensed to three weeks if necessary by collapsing each
two-week period into one.
 

HOW THE EXAMS ARE SCORED
College English professors selected by the College Board score the essays
for the CLEP College Composition exams. Each essay is read and graded by
two or more faculty consultants and the grade is combined with the multiple-choice
score. The result is reported as a scaled score of 20 to 80. You will
receive your scaled score for the CLEP College Composition or College Composition
Modular exam within three to four weeks of taking the exam.

The American Council on Education’s (ACE) College Credit Recommendation
Service recommends the awarding of six credit hours for a score of 50 on
the CLEP College Composition examination. ACE recommends awarding of
three credit hours for a score of 50 on the 90-minute multiple-choice College
Composition Modular exam. If colleges elect to supplement the Modular version
of the examination with an essay available from CLEP or with a writing
assessment of their own, the credit recommendation is six credit hours for a
score of 50.

TEST-TAKING TIPS
Although you may not be familiar with computer-based standardized tests
such as the CLEP College Composition or College Composition Modular
exams, there are many ways to acquaint you with the type of examination and
to help alleviate your test-taking anxieties. Following are some ways to help
you become accustomed to the CLEP, and some tips to get you through the
multiple-choice section.

Know the format of the test. CLEP computer-based tests are not adaptive
but rather fixed-length tests. In a sense, this makes them similar to the familiar
paper-and-pencil exam, in that you have the same flexibility to go back
and review your work in each section. Moreover, the format isn’t a great deal
different from the paper-and-pencil CLEP. The TestWare® CD enclosed with
this book should help you acclimate to the style and format.
 
Read all directions, questions, and response options carefully. For example,
the Conventions of Standard Written English section will be described as a
test of your knowledge of grammar, usage, diction, and idiom. You will not be
asked to evaluate the accuracy or relevance of details given in the sentences of
this section.

Use the process of elimination. As you prepare to answer each question,
start by eliminating options you know to be incorrect. Often, you will be asked
to choose the “best” option, or the one that is “most clear,” or “most likely,”
and so on. These superlatives hint that that some of the options for a particular
question may be partially correct, but that one particular option will be preferable.
 

Acquaint yourself with the computer screen. Familiarize yourself with
the CLEP computer screen beforehand by logging on the College Board
website. Waiting until test day to see what it looks like in the pretest tutorial
risks injecting needless anxiety into your testing experience. Also, familiarizing
yourself with the directions and format of the exam will save you
valuable time on the day of the actual test. You will have only one minute to
answer each multiple-choice question. Don’t waste time trying to figure out
what they’re asking of you.

Be sure that your answer registers before you go to the next item. Look
at the screen to see that your mouse-click causes the pointer to darken the proper
oval. This takes less effort than darkening an oval on paper, but just be careful.
 
 

THE DAY OF THE EXAM
On the day of the test you should wake up early. Make sure you’ve had a
decent night’s sleep, and then eat a good breakfast. Check the weather and dress
appropriately, but remember that you’ll be taking the test indoors, so keep that
in mind as you select your clothing. Try to arrive early at the test center. This
will allow you to collect your thoughts and relax before the test. Keep in mind
that no one will be allowed into the test session after the test has begun.

Before you leave for the test center, make sure that you have your admission
form and another form of identification, which must contain a recent photograph,
your name, and signature. Acceptable forms of identification are a driver’s
license, student identification card, or current alien registration card. If you
do not have the proper identification, you will not be admitted to the test center.

You are permitted to wear a watch, but it should not make noise. Also, turn
off your cell phone and put it away. You are not permitted to bring dictionaries,
textbooks, notebooks, briefcases, or packages, and drinking, smoking, and eating
are prohibited.

If you have spent your time working with this book, reading through the
review chapters, answering the questions in the chapters and taking the tests,
you should not have a lot of trouble with the exam. The more questions you
answer before you take the test, the better your chances are for greatly improving
your scores on the actual exam.

Good luck on the test!