struggling with west civ II clep study

[shelbaline4]

I am studying every day for my Western Civ II CLEP exam that I will be taking next week Feb 8th and I feel like I am getting sunk. I am studying the IC flashcards, the REA book and the peterson's free exams and I feel like I am getting nowhere. There just seems to be so much material. I am wondering if I would be better off taking the rise and fall of the soviet union and western europe since 1945 first and then western civ II. Any thoughts??? I feel like the flashcards are confusing me more since they are fill in formats and I often am required to fill in a word that doesn't seem to be the most important point of the topic. Any help would be most appreciated...

[creative]

I understand , I have felt like that many times. Unfortunately, part of this degree path is finding what works for YOU through trial and error. What works for one person might not work for you. I am not a flashcard person because I need to see the information in context. So REA books, Sparknotes, or used textbooks are better for me. I only use the flashcards as reinforcement before the exam. If you feel the information is overwhelming you might need to scale back and take smaller pieces to digest or go at a slower pace over a longer period of time.

[burbuja0512]

While I can't answer the question you have about the tests, I can provide some comments on how I use IC.

The fill-in-the-blanks don't matter as much as the topic discussed on each card. Filling the blank helps some people memorize easier in the sense that you are participating rather than just reading, but what's in the blank isn't always as relevant as the other content on the card.

IC for most tests that I've taken so far has been pretty much right on. I also rely heavily on the forum feedback, so if people recommend supplementing with a certain book or website, I'll do that as well, but IC is my base.

My study looks something like this: Read through the IC cards, as I go through each card, if there is a topic that I don't understand, look up the topic on google or wikipedia. Get bored, come to the forum to post, go to Facebook, go back to IC cards, keep looking up topics, find a youtube lecture, etc.. (lol I am being totally honest about how I study, no I am not the type of person that can do it all at once. Must have my forum/facebook breaks!)

You don't have to do this and no single learning style is for everyone, but this is what has worked for me so far. I also find that I like using other people's study guides, but I ALWAYS create my own. The reason for this is that typing in the material I need to learn helps me memorize. Again, YMMV, but this is what's worked for me.

HTH!