Intro to Sociology Study guide

[maria]

I have been studying for my into to Sociology exam for the last 5 days/ 4 hours each day. I am ready to take the exam. My only concern is not knowing whether instantcertonline.com is enough to pass me. Some of you mentioned the REA practise exam but before i go spending any money that i don't have i was wondering if any of you could share your practise exams. If you think this website is enough to help me pass let me know otherwise i will need a practise exam. Some of you also suggested Peterson's study guide but they cost $19.99 and i dont have that type of money.

Can anyone help? any suggestions? Am i good to go?
maria

[barcotta]

InstantCert is particularly effective for this exam. If you would like additional assurance, you should pick up the big blue CLEP preparation guide which contains sample exams for most, if not all, CLEP exams. Perhaps you could find a copy in a library as well. It doesn't have to be the most recent version. Good luck.

[pennyddreadful]

When I studied for the Introduction to Sociology CLEP, I used the following textbook companion website. The Sociological Perspective Under each chapter there is a section "Study Guide" which has multiple choice tests that cover much of the material that will be found on the CLEP exam. Basically it offers the same review and practice that Peterson's does...for free. Simply go through all 24 chapter multiple choice quizzes and true/false to gauge your grasp of the subject. Best of luck on your exam!

Edited to add: Don't freak out if you can't answer all the questions on the website. Some of them are textbook specific and won't be on the CLEP. If you can average about 50-60% you should do fine on the actual test.

[motownmatt]

I used nothing but instantcert and scored a 70 on my test today. It helped that there was a lot of cross-over information from other classes, but if you can answer the instantcert questions, you should have no problem.

[maria]

Thanks for being clear about how much i need to know to pass the intro to Sociology exam; everyone keeps suggesting different things and i feel sort of lost. I am very comfortable with all the material covered on InstantCert but then someone suggested the Clep intro to Sociology exam guide and i went ahead and purchased online from College Board; What a huge mistake that was. That exam did not covered even 95% of what i had studied. I was only able to answer 5 questions. Now i am freaking out because it means i don't know enough.

Someone suggested the REA which ii thought was the Clep exam guide "blue book" for individual subjects and that's why i purchased it. What a waste of money; especially finding out that i don't need it. So i guess i don't need to waste my money on Peterson's either right?

I really hope i pass this exam because if i don't it will set me back for another six months. I still have to take to more CLEP exams and two Dantes plus finish 3 courses in my university to finally get my diploma. It's been a long road. I can't wait to finish.

thanks for the suggestion.

[pennyddreadful]

Maria-

If you are only answering 10% of the official CLEP practice test questions correctly, I would suggest postponing your exam. Don't worry. I think part of your problem may be due to anxiety. Everyone on the board has a found a system that "works" for helping them retain the information, and you will too.

IC, REA, Petersons, are great resources to prepare for the exam, but perhaps you aren't maximizing their effectiveness? I would suggest that you review the questions that you answered incorrectly on the practice exam. Then go back and look at the right answers. With IC it is absolutely essential to read the explanations provided, so that you understand "why" an answer is correct.

Almost any resource you use to prepare for the test will cover much of the same material. Sometimes encountering the same question with variations in wording can help you grasp the concept. For example, this question is from the CLEP official practice test:

Sandra is female, she is African-American, and she is sixteen years old. You have just been told about three of Sandra's

(A) role sets
(B) cultural roles
© achieved statuses
(D) ascribed statuses
(E) mobility aspirations

The correct answer is D, ascribed statuses.


This example is from the book companion website:

A daughter, teenager, and Cuban are examples of

(A) achieved statuses.
(B) ascribed statuses.
© a role set.
(D)a status set.

The correct answer is B, ascribed statuses.


Notice that both questions while worded differently are asking the same thing.
Ascribed statuses are determined at birth: age, gender, race, etc; as compared to achieved statuses that people accomplish by their own choices and talents (such as being a college student, an opera singer, or a politician.)
An easy way to think of it is that ascribed statuses are things that ourside of our control- like our age. I can guarantee that these two concepts will be covered on the actual exam, although the the wording of the of actual questions will vary.

I think you will find a method that works for you and once you find your "study groove", it will finally all come together. Also you may want to check the feedback for this specific exam in the Feedback Forum. Best of luck on your exam.