World Religion

[CCNurse2015]

I'm a real dummy in this subject. Anybody taken it lately? How did the info on Instacert compare to the real test?

[passit1]

If I did it, anyone can! Here's my post about it - make sure you read the whole forum. It's really helpful.

http://www.degreeforum.net/specific-exam...post180076

[TinHead]

I did it a couple months ago. I found that InstantCert covered around 60% of the stuff that was on the exam. 20% I had a little bit of external knowledge (raised religious) and 20% was literally guessing. Go through the feedback forum and make sure you study all the religions. Some people have said it is OK to neglect certain religions. Don't do that. Make sure you cover them all

[SuZQ2]

I'm a real dummy in this subject. Anybody taken it lately? How did the info on Instacert compare to the real test?

I'm studying for this exam also and feel quite bogged down by the amount of material needed to be covered - I just can't seem to make the info "stick" in my mind (specifically the endless list of similarly sounding names related to Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc.).

I've been using IC, Idiots Guide, and the Specific Feedback study guides, but am planning on signing up for the study.com World Religions course - it's not for credit, but I'm hoping a more structured atmosphere will help me out...
Religion 101: Intro to World Religions Course - Online Video Lessons | Study.com

Feeling very, very tired, and very, very banghead...

[Leherself]

Honestly, I always highly recommend the quick prep sheets from free-clep-prep. He doesn't have them available for very many exams, but for the few that are they're amazingly helpful. Introduction to World Religions DSST Quick Prep Sheet - Free-Clep-Prep.com Totally worth $9. I've passed exams using his quick prep sheets as sole resources.

I honestly didn't really like the IC flashcards for this one - they just felt too scattered for me. Religions are easier to understand, at least for me, if I take a more systematic approach to learning about them.

The World Religions exam can be really intimidating - there's a *lot* of material there, potentially, but it's not as bad as it looks.

The fact sheet is actually really helpful for this exam. The breakdown they list is as follows (reordered from largest percentage to smallest).

18% Christianity
16% Islam
16% Judaism
10% Hinduism
10% Buddhism
8% Religious Movements
6% Indigenous Religions
6% Definition and Origins of Religion
6% Confucianism
4% Taoism

That gives you a rough idea of what your priorities are. I would study all of those categories, of course, but you probably want to narrow it down to about one page of key facts about Taoism, but know quite a bit more about the Abrahamic faiths. Honestly, this is a great exam to study for using wikipedia - just search for each faith, and read the main pages.

I remember that there were several questions that seemed very similar to things I'd seen on the General Anthropology exam.

One thing to pay particular attention to is the vocabulary. Karma and dharma, for Hinduism and Buddhism, for instance. Know the words for the five pillars of Islam in Arabic as well as their English translations. That sort of thing.

[SuZQ2]

Honestly, I always highly recommend the quick prep sheets from free-clep-prep. He doesn't have them available for very many exams, but for the few that are they're amazingly helpful. Introduction to World Religions DSST Quick Prep Sheet - Free-Clep-Prep.com Totally worth $9. I've passed exams using his quick prep sheets as sole resources.

I honestly didn't really like the IC flashcards for this one - they just felt too scattered for me. Religions are easier to understand, at least for me, if I take a more systematic approach to learning about them.

The World Religions exam can be really intimidating - there's a *lot* of material there, potentially, but it's not as bad as it looks.

The fact sheet is actually really helpful for this exam. The breakdown they list is as follows (reordered from largest percentage to smallest).

18% Christianity
16% Islam
16% Judaism
10% Hinduism
10% Buddhism
8% Religious Movements
6% Indigenous Religions
6% Definition and Origins of Religion
6% Confucianism
4% Taoism

That gives you a rough idea of what your priorities are. I would study all of those categories, of course, but you probably want to narrow it down to about one page of key facts about Taoism, but know quite a bit more about the Abrahamic faiths. Honestly, this is a great exam to study for using wikipedia - just search for each faith, and read the main pages.

I remember that there were several questions that seemed very similar to things I'd seen on the General Anthropology exam.

One thing to pay particular attention to is the vocabulary. Karma and dharma, for Hinduism and Buddhism, for instance. Know the words for the five pillars of Islam in Arabic as well as their English translations. That sort of thing.

Thanks so much Leherself - I looked into the free-clep prep study guide, but didn't know if it was worthwhile - as per your recommendation, I'll definitely get a copy...

Will also utilize Wikipedia - as you said, IC seems a bit disjointed...it's especially intimidating when you're forcing yourself to study a subject in which you have very little prior knowledge and that subject contains numerous foreign language references...:ack:

Again, many thanks for the helpful advice!

[CCNurse2015]

Thanks for all the comments, greatly appreciated! Good luck out there

[West78]

I passed this test last week with a 462 in about 30 minutes (compared to two hours for technical writing!). I studied the IC by writing down every question for the top 3 religions then read through them a couple times. I then read the MFU study guide and the free clep prep notes ($8). I would say the MFU study guide was most helpful. The % break down is very accurate and can help you focus your studies if you are short on time. Read through Taoism, Confucius, and Sikhism at least once. There are several questions that will be easy to answer if you read the material at least once.

I was worried about dates and was happy to not have any questions (or maybe only one or two) about dates (e.g. what year did XYZ happen)
Know the Jewish holidays
Know the types of Buddhism
Know the ages of Buddha and Mohammed
Know what Buddha saw on his journey


Good luck!

[SuZQ2]

I passed this test yesterday with a score of 481. Very, very happy this exam is over as traveling to my closest DSST test center is an all-day nightmare. :willynilly: (Hence, I employ a fanatical study process - I do not want to take any repeat journeys, so I overcompensate for my trip anxiety/test anxiety by extreme over-preparation.)

I studied for two months using IC (I use IC like a textbook, not as flashcards), Idiots Guide to World Religions, Peterson's tests, MFU Study guide from the Feedback Section, DSST practice tests, Free-Clep Prep Study Guide and free practice tests, various Quizlets, Wikipedia, and listened to the free portions of study.com's World Religions lectures.

Biggest help - MFU Study Guide - Whoa!!! Read it, read it again, and again, and again - then MEMORIZE IT...Pay special attention to the highlighted key words.
Free-Clep Prep's Study Guide + the practice tests were also extremely useful.
IC is very helpful, but the MFU Guide really hones in on the needed info.

As an aside, someone posted on the Specific Feedback section that they only studied Christianity, Islam and Judaism as these three religions make up (percentage-wise) 50% of the test. My advice - DO NOT do this. My particular exam focused heavily on the Eastern religions (which of course, is the OTHER 50% of the exam) - study EVERYTHING, leave nothing to chance, you will be much happier...

Good Luck!

[pric3less]

What and where is the MFU study guide? Thanks