TripWillis Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 If we're being truthful here, I think there were under 15 questions about American Literature. Do others agree?
rawera Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 I would definitely recommend studying the poetry. Prosody, literary devices, and form will DEFINITELY be tested, so those are easy points. I am also of the opinion that no novel or large work is worth reading in full. However, I am also of the opinion that practice tests are worthless (i read explanations of the Princeton practice exam just for the extra facts -- probably useless, and took the ETS one a week before the exam and looked up every name I didn't know. I instead spent my time doing flashcards (compiled from vade mecum) and reading an 180 page word document (ibid, and supplemented along the way) specifically of the poems. I read the princeton review book once. In May? I then did nothing aside from think "I need to study for the GRE" until September 1. That is when I started making the flashcards. I didn't read all the recommended poems until maybe Sep 11. I probably went through the document three times in full. One of them being the day/night before. As a result, I was able to identify 4 poems immediately from my reading. I would recommend reading at least 3 poems (or pieces of large poems) by each author. Especially when the study guides note that the recommended poem differs stylistically. For example, I only saw Carew's Eulogy to Donne listed on the various study guides, even though he was more cavalier re: celia. Same thing for Rochester. Vade Mecum only listed Upon Nothing (though it said it differed from his usual stuff) and his other work is considerably different. Read for content but also for style. Another note on style, Dryden and Pope are both pretty easy to identify based on style alone, but it's quite difficult to differentiate between the two. It may help to be more familiar with similar writers like that (same with Swift, on the one practice test I took I assumed his verses upon own death was pope or dryden) especially when it's a group of heavy-hitters like that, lake poets less so etc. I got caught on the actual exam by a cluster of important poets. There were 2 poems on the exam that I thought were perhaps too "canonical," though ets chose more obscure/less important sections. I wrote a brief "thanks mccrea" on the exam as soon as I saw one, the professor who originally assigned it to me. As for novelists, I didn't really need to know plots or characters as there were lots of passages. Still, I would recommend learning the authors and the titles at least, some plots. Dickens had lots of similar plots; same with James. I knew each Eliot novel fairly specifically. I needed none of that information on the exam. Nothing insightful I can say for theory. I wasn't exactly pleased with it, either.
Two Espressos Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 What kind of theory was on the exam? Was it the "heavy hitters," so to speak, that are (relatively) easily identifiable? Someone earlier said something about having to differentiate between poststructuralists...that sounds rather difficult, as they all seem to write in the same style.
wintergirl Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 If we're being truthful here, I think there were under 15 questions about American Literature. Do others agree? Agreed. And half of those were for one specific pre-colonial poem: I thanked the universe for my semester of TA'ing for a colonial American lit survey class last semester!
rawera Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Indeed, the american lit was rather lacking. I think there was only one major work on it. One passage seemed more like a historical document than work of lit. I don't think any American novels. Though you have to consider that you are dealing with 1000+ years of "British" "English" (though neither of those terms are correct) literary history versus 300 of American.
wintergirl Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Indeed, the american lit was rather lacking. I think there was only one major work on it. One passage seemed more like a historical document than work of lit. I don't think any American novels. Though you have to consider that you are dealing with 1000+ years of "British" "English" (though neither of those terms are correct) literary history versus 300 of American. Well, the American poem was from the 1600s, but I get what you're saying. And thanks for reminding me of the long prose passage, which I just Googled and (phew) got right. : )
truckbasket Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 What kind of theory was on the exam? Was it the "heavy hitters," so to speak, that are (relatively) easily identifiable? Someone earlier said something about having to differentiate between poststructuralists...that sounds rather difficult, as they all seem to write in the same style. When I took it last year, the theory was pretty extensive. Both the ETS and the study guides made it seem like it would just be "spot the term and link to the writer" type stuff (very easy), but the kind of questions I got was more like "Who is such and such responding to in such and such argument" or "what is the primary argument of such and such's essay on topic z." I had a ton of theory (four semesters, both historical and contemporary) under my belt when I took the test, but it still kicked my ass. And no, it's not all C20 either -- they hit you with a good chunk of C18 and C19 theory as well. But that stuff's generally easier, and more along the lines of "spot the phrase." Ie. You'll need to know Arnold, Pater, Eliot, Coleridge's theory stuff. I can't remember the specific question, but there was a nasty one about Baudrillard's Simulacra. Grim. Indeed, the american lit was rather lacking. I think there was only one major work on it. One passage seemed more like a historical document than work of lit. I don't think any American novels. Though you have to consider that you are dealing with 1000+ years of "British" "English" (though neither of those terms are correct) literary history versus 300 of American. I had a ton of US on mine, but I don't remember it being more or less than British. There was a surprising amount of US contemporary poetry (something I generally don't touch) and a good chunk of international stuff too. Also, a lot of really contemporary US fiction (meaning like 1980s>)
TripWillis Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 When I took it last year, the theory was pretty extensive. Both the ETS and the study guides made it seem like it would just be "spot the term and link to the writer" type stuff (very easy), but the kind of questions I got was more like "Who is such and such responding to in such and such argument" or "what is the primary argument of such and such's essay on topic z." I had a ton of theory (four semesters, both historical and contemporary) under my belt when I took the test, but it still kicked my ass. And no, it's not all C20 either -- they hit you with a good chunk of C18 and C19 theory as well. But that stuff's generally easier, and more along the lines of "spot the phrase." Ie. You'll need to know Arnold, Pater, Eliot, Coleridge's theory stuff. I can't remember the specific question, but there was a nasty one about Baudrillard's Simulacra. Grim. I had a ton of US on mine, but I don't remember it being more or less than British. There was a surprising amount of US contemporary poetry (something I generally don't touch) and a good chunk of international stuff too. Also, a lot of really contemporary US fiction (meaning like 1980s>) Wow, that's weird. Not as much world lit on mine as I expected. GG Marquez made an appearance.
truckbasket Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) Wow, that's weird. Not as much world lit on mine as I expected. GG Marquez made an appearance. The international contemporary was pretty easy -- Marquez and Borges, some Calvino, Coetzee etc. It was easy to spot -- famous passages and whatnot. I had a passage that drove me batshit for months as I tried to figure it out. All I could remember was that passage had the word "dance" repeated over and over in various forms. It was pretty broken up, so it seemed modernist (and I thought I remembered the answer options as some high-mod folks). Anyhow, I just read Reed's Mumbo Jumbo for seminar a couple of weeks back, and sure enough, there it was. Never thought that would make the test! Edited October 17, 2011 by truckbasket
rawera Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Anyone interested in trying to re-assemble the exam via PM? Timshel 1
Timshel Posted October 17, 2011 Author Posted October 17, 2011 Anyone interested in trying to re-assemble the exam via PM? Well, being that we signed multiple times on the test that we wouldn't reveal anything that was on the test, I don't think that's a good idea.
TripWillis Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Well, being that we signed multiple times on the test that we wouldn't reveal anything that was on the test, I don't think that's a good idea. Okay, but you guys gotta keep this secret... It's almost all Lord of the Rings trivia. Probably about 40% Silmarillion and Hobbit and 60% on LOTR, split between the three books. wreckofthehope and Timshel 1 1
Rupert Pupkin Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 Well, being that we signed multiple times on the test that we wouldn't reveal anything that was on the test, I don't think that's a good idea. You think ETS SWAT agents are gonna bust down your door after they've hacked your gradcafe PM's? Timshel 1
bdon19 Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 I didn't find TripWillis's joke very funny. Mainly because there may have been a question on the exam that could have been Lord of the Rings trivia. And at one point I interpreted it as such.
clairecate Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 LOL at that test. Seriously. Unlike most of y'all, time was not an issue for me. I was the 2nd person out the door out of 40ish people in the room (10 of which were fellow lit. takers). I left 25 blank that I absolutely positively could not eliminate any of the answers for. I was actually thrilled about the fact that it was basically a reading comp test. It gave me chances to get points where ID questions would have left me stumped. I knew going in to it that I wasn't going to do well (I never scored above 40th percentile on a practice test), so I was just relieved that I finished with time to spare and that it's all over now. Honestly, though - I feel like this test is such a joke. It just isn't indicative of anything other than the ability to cram mass amounts of useless information into one's head. It has no correlation to how one will fare in an English graduate program. End of story. If this score is what keeps me from being accepted into any program, then so be it - I wouldn't want to be there anyway.
bdon19 Posted October 18, 2011 Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) Ohhhhh, man. This is getting ridiculous. I'm finding answers to things EVERYWHERE lately. I'm reading Bakhtin for a class, and I just happened upon an answer to a question I didn't even look at because I'd never seen the name before. Figures. At least I'm learning...? ETA: I JUST FOUND TWO PASSAGES THAT I IDENTIFIED CORRECTLY. I need to stop obsessing about this test, but guys, really, this makes me feel so much better about my life. And a little bit smarter. Hahaha. Oh, well, at least it's keeping me motivated to make my writing sample even stronger! Edited October 18, 2011 by bdon19 wreckofthehope and Phil Sparrow 1 1
Timshel Posted October 18, 2011 Author Posted October 18, 2011 Ohhhhh, man. This is getting ridiculous. I'm finding answers to things EVERYWHERE lately. I'm reading Bakhtin for a class, and I just happened upon an answer to a question I didn't even look at because I'd never seen the name before. Figures. At least I'm learning...? ETA: I JUST FOUND TWO PASSAGES THAT I IDENTIFIED CORRECTLY. I need to stop obsessing about this test, but guys, really, this makes me feel so much better about my life. And a little bit smarter. Hahaha. Oh, well, at least it's keeping me motivated to make my writing sample even stronger! I promised myself I would not look up anything because it will just make me feel worse. There is nothing I can do about it now, so I need to just move on and focus elsewhere. Timshel 1
rawera Posted October 18, 2011 Posted October 18, 2011 You think ETS SWAT agents are gonna bust down your door after they've hacked your gradcafe PM's? Actually my entire gradcafe forum profile is part of an ETS honey pot. Good show, timshel, you outed me. Phil Sparrow, and...and...and... and Timshel 2 1
TripWillis Posted October 18, 2011 Posted October 18, 2011 I didn't find TripWillis's joke very funny. Mainly because there may have been a question on the exam that could have been Lord of the Rings trivia. And at one point I interpreted it as such. I think I answered Seamus Heaney for that question. wreckofthehope 1
TripWillis Posted October 18, 2011 Posted October 18, 2011 I promised myself I would not look up anything because it will just make me feel worse. There is nothing I can do about it now, so I need to just move on and focus elsewhere. Amen to this BTW...
wintergirl Posted October 18, 2011 Posted October 18, 2011 I think I answered Seamus Heaney for that question. If this is the question I'm thinking of, then WOOHOO! I just Googled what I remembered of it and that's at least TWO questions I actually got right. Thank you, TripWillis. \O/ (Yes. Am still pissed about this exam. Had a strange reaction every time someone asked me today about my weekend. Wanted to answer, "Yes, crap weekend, got beaten up by the ETS on Saturday morning. They took my money, my confidence, and all my #2 pencils.")
rems Posted October 19, 2011 Posted October 19, 2011 I think I answered Seamus Heaney for that question. If it's the same test, then the answer was Seamus Heaney. So there's one right at least... Ek.
Jbarks Posted October 19, 2011 Posted October 19, 2011 If it's the same test, then the answer was Seamus Heaney. So there's one right at least... Ek. Success. Ha ha! That's probably the only one.
bdon19 Posted October 19, 2011 Posted October 19, 2011 Haha...I answered that question (interpreting the entire passage based on the identification), three different ways, finally giving up. I sure as hell hope I remembered to ultimately leave it blank.
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