My Degree Plan @ TESC and Progress

[donkeykong05]

I was accepted to an accelerated nursing program but they did not accept my AP credits for English 101 and 102 which I had several years ago. I need to take the test in the next few weeks to month because classes start for the program on July 22nd. I already downloaded the peterson exams, the official study guide from clep, and this ic site. I was just curious if someone could give me an idea of what is the best way for me to approach studying for the exam in a short time. I have to pass the clep or I cannot go to the program. I am very nervous.

[Westerner]

I was accepted to an accelerated nursing program but they did not accept my AP credits for English 101 and 102 which I had several years ago. I need to take the test in the next few weeks to month because classes start for the program on July 22nd. I already downloaded the peterson exams, the official study guide from clep, and this ic site. I was just curious if someone could give me an idea of what is the best way for me to approach studying for the exam in a short time. I have to pass the clep or I cannot go to the program. I am very nervous.

Try a practice test and see how you do with the Multiple Choice section; if you score well, stop studying for that part and PRACTICE WRITING ESSAYS!! Preferably 5-paragraph, well organized and well supported

[donkeykong05]

I am going to take one of the practice exams I purchased on Thursday. Thanks for the information.

[Westerner]

No problem!

[Lady Grace of Pemberley]

I was accepted to an accelerated nursing program but they did not accept my AP credits for English 101 and 102 which I had several years ago. I need to take the test in the next few weeks to month because classes start for the program on July 22nd. I already downloaded the peterson exams, the official study guide from clep, and this ic site. I was just curious if someone could give me an idea of what is the best way for me to approach studying for the exam in a short time. I have to pass the clep or I cannot go to the program. I am very nervous.

I posted some of my feedback for College Composition near the bottom of this post: http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...post136709 Also, here are some more tips that I've collected since I posted that...

It took just under 4 weeks for me to get my score back. I found this document that has a chart showing the grading dates for the College Composition essays. The chart is just past half-way down the document.

Try to make your essays as long as is reasonably possible - I've heard that the longer the essay, the higher the score. I used examples heavily in my essays -- making up impressive facts to beef it up a bit. You may want to invent some statistics from a fictional (and long-named) organization (i.e. According to the National Institution for the Civil Rights of North-American Experimental Animals, only 10% of all experimental animals are actually placed into an experimental environment where their lives are seriously threatened). The graders are not necessarily looking for truth in your essays, but rather structure, cohesion, and an interesting view on the subject. In fact, you may even wish to include "interviews" from imaginary people (perhaps a "well known" movie star that you actually made up) in both of your essays. Sounds silly, I know, but it may make your work more interesting to the CollegeBoard graders.

If you are looking for a way to finish up your essays without sounding incomplete, try adding a catchy phrase to the end of your essay (i.e. We need to stand up against the unfairness that making performance-enhancing drugs legal would create today!), something that creates an emotional appeal and moves your reader to action. I had a hard time figuring out how to finish my essays without the essays sounding incomplete, and so that phrase (and ones like it) were helpful to have, since they are easily modified to fit the subject.

One thing about the format of the test: once you finish your multiple-choice section, it will bring you to a page (similar to the one that you always see when you begin any CLEP) where you will select "Dismiss Directions" to begin the countdown for the first essay after you have read the directions. After you are done with the first essay, you will be brought to a second screen that will give you the directions for the second essay. Again, once you are done reading the directions, click the "Dismiss Directions" button. There is not time limit between them -- it's a great place to breathe for once in the exam! One other thing: don't skip the tutorial at the beginning of the test (as I usually do now). There will be a place for you to play around with the software you will use on the essay section (cut, paste, and undo are the only buttons available -- no copy!). Hope that made sense.

[rawalians2001]

Thanks, please email me list of specific thing I need to learn for introductry socialogy with bundle of thanks.

[Lady Grace of Pemberley]

Thanks, please email me list of specific thing I need to learn for introductry socialogy with bundle of thanks.

I sent you a Personal Message containing the list.

[Lady Grace of Pemberley]

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Public Relations Thought and Practice TECEP
Score: Pass

I found out that I passed this test after 9 days.

In order to study for this test, I first read the textbook cover-to-cover, watched a video on Edward Bernays that I'll link below, reviewed some of the multiple-choice quizzes posted below, and then made a study guide based on topics mentioned below and on the fact sheet.

The test was a bit easier than I expected. As the fact sheet mentioned, it is 100 questions long, and you will have two hours to complete it. Personally, there were one or two questions from the practice test that were also on the real TECEP. I got five questions wrong on the practice test and felt somewhat nervous, but when I saw the kind of questions being asked, I felt much more comfortable.

Here are some things you should know for the tests:
•Smoky Bear
•Symbols/generalization
•The Johnson & Johnson Tylenol Crisis
•Direct/indirect/unobtrusive research/behavior monitoring
•Effects of research on PR careers
•Charitable donation percentages
•PR in non-profits
•Impact measuring
•Development
•Confusion as to what PR is
•What research methods are most often used
•Nothing on payment methods for PR services
•What external PR firms do once hired
•PR theory
•General PR Techniques
•Mission statements, tactics, objectives
•Nothing on libel/invasion of privacy
•AC Nielson ratings
•Know your history (Edward Bernays, Ivy Lee, John D. Rockefeller)
•Who opened the first PR department
•Terminology: audits, tactics, opinions, objectives, attitudes, mission statements, communication, action
•Aspects of each PR role (communication technician, expert prescriber, communication facilitator, etc.)
•Differences between words such as demographics, psychographics, sociographics, etc.
•PRSA
•The role of research in the four step process. Know what research occurs when.
•Understand Bernays' and Lee's views, positions, etc.

Here are some resources in addition to the required textbook that you may find to be helpful:
Quizzes: Introduction to Contemporary Public Relations
Flashcards: Public relations study sets and study tools | Quizlet
Video on Edward Bernays (more than needed for the test, but interesting stuff!): YouTube
Fact Sheet: http://www2.tesc.edu/tecep_desc/COM-210.pdf

[Lady Grace of Pemberley]

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Argumentation & Debate @ LSU
Grade: A

Independent Study Course: CMST 2063
Professor: Joni Butcher

This was my first and only course at LSU, and I was a bit surprised as far as the layout of the course. It is old-fashioned; snail mail is the primary mode of completing coursework. You register online and you can check your grades and the day your assignments were received/mailed back online, but everything else requires a stamp.

For the last 3-4 assignments, you will be writing a brief, an advocate's argument, and opponent's argument, and a response to the opponent's argument based on a proposition that you will choose earlier in the course. Mine was "all life on earth was created by a Master Designer without the use of macroevolution." Just be sure to correctly and fairly argue your topic and don't worry about what subject you choose - she seemed fine with mine, and even though it had a slightly "religious" overtone to it (as you might say), I still got really good grades on all four lessons. So don't be afraid to go for a topic you're interested in, but are concerned she might not approve of.

The midterm consisted of five definition questions (worth four points each), maybe about 22 true or false questions (worth one point each), about 22 multiple-choice questions (also worth one point each), and two discussion questions (worth 18 points each). For the discussion questions, there were four options, from which I had to choose two to answer. They were quite similar to the types of questions you wrote your papers on. Know the questions on the provided practice test - they were quite similar to the real test. In fact, one of the multiple-choice questions from the practice test was actually on the real thing. The definition questions were harder than I expected, as there were some really random terms they threw out there. I know I got at least one of those wrong. You will be instructed to write the definition questions and the discussion questions in a blue notebook with wide-ruled paper. For the discussion questions, I tried to fill up two sheets of paper. There was a lot about generalizations on the test, as well as types of reasoning and fallacies. It looks like the midterm was actually harder than the final exam will be, as it covers nine chapters of the textbook and eight lessons, while the final exam covers about four chapters in the textbook and (for all intents and purposes, since four of the lessons are based only on the topic you are arguing) three lessons worth of work.

For the final, I prepared a study guide that covers the lessons/book chapters that the final exams covers to help me absorb the material.

The final exam consisted of ~21 true/false questions worth one point each, two discussion questions worth 18 points each, five definition questions worth four points each, and ~23 multiple-choice questions worth one point each. The neat part about my version of the exam was that all but one of the definition questions had already been provided word for word in other parts of the exam. So, for instance, if one of the words I was supposed to be "debate" (which it was not!!), the true/false section would have asked if to debate was to engage in argument by discussing opposing points. So all I really had to do was copy the definition from earlier in the test! One of the discussion questions, too, covered a topic that was also included in the multiple-choice section.

I took the final exam's practice test right before I took the test and didn't do so amazingly. :| Needless to say, I was very nervous for the real test, but the Lord gave me calm and peace, and the topics that I had JUST THEN reviewed were the ones on the test! PTL! So I would say that the final exam was slightly easier than its practice test.

Things to know for the final exam:
•Values, value criteria, value hierarchies
•How to actually present an argument
•Inference, significance, effect
•Counterarguments
•Formats of policy arguments
•Credibility
•Audiences
•Nothing on fallacies (the practice test really threw me off!)

Would I recommend this course? Yeah, sure. It was more technical that I was expecting, and the reading was slightly more intense than I was anticipating (although the chapters were relatively short). But it was interesting to get to know about an area of communications that I had never explored before. I don't think I learned a lot of "practical" knowledge - stuff that I'll use everyday - but the course was interesting and I liked the format (minus the turtle-paced processing and grading of assignments and exams - I guess I'm just spoiled from being used to submitting lessons online like from TESC ).

Would I recommend this professor? Well, I don't think you get to choose your professor at LSU, but if you did, I would 1,000.01% recommend her. She was a very lenient grader - she wasn't picky about writing, format, etc. at all. The only reason she didn't give me perfect marks on a few lessons is because there was clearly a right or wrong answer to the question, and I just plain got it wrong. She didn't provide a lot of feedback, but considering that I was content with my grades, I was fine with that. The only bone I could possibly pick with her was that she was a slow grader, but I think the whole snail mail thing was probably the reason.

[DigitalSam]

That Humanities portion is going to help me so much for my exam in a couple weeks.