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Originally Posted by baker435
I am getting ready to take the Civil War & Reconstruction Dantes. I have had a lot of difficulty with the US History I & II CLEP. Any advice on this Dantes exam? I have watched the Burns series and bought the Spark notes and have been using InstaCert. Is there something I should spend more time studying? Do any of you remember what meterial is covered more on the test? I must pass this exam!!!!
Thanks!!!
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I don't know if this will help you, but here are my thoughts.
This was my only failed exam, and I used a different study approach- which I won't do again. I think my mistake (in addition to not having IC or a good practice test) was spreading myself too thin by using mostly videos. I really spent too much time "enjoying" the information, not enough time "learning" the facts. I watched the Ken Burns series, the 3 on Annenberg, and 6 or 7 more on netflix. At least 50 hours on videos and 5 on facts. Then I used sparksnotes (nice timeline) to cram some facts. My understanding was too general- and hit or miss. I needed to know more substance. I felt like I knew a lot about a few things, but not enough about all things. Example- I watched a bio on Grant and a bio on Johnson both overkill because I needed the "facts" which I lacked. Interesting, but not relevant.
Something I thought about later, is that hearing a word (like from a movie) and seeing the word (like from a study guide) do not yield the same results for my recall. I think to take a written test, it probably is better to see the study material in written form. (maybe to view the video with closed caption turned on would have helped me here).
Oddly enough, I enjoyed my "independent study" of the material. It just didn't yield me 3 college credits. I will have to decide if I want to sit the exam later, or just move on.
If I sit it again, I will focus heavy on 1 thing, and that is every aspect of the top 10 battles. Who, what, where, when, WHY, and how. Inside out- and upside down.