To Analyze or Not to Analyze, That is the Question!

[dcan]

I have the Official CLEP Study Guide and have used it for my past 4 CLEP tests. I actually began going through the Analyzing section today and haven't done too horribly so far - much better than my feeble attempts at the REA Guide. I see a tiny, tiny, tiny glimmer of hope...Any suggestions regarding a text for deciphering Old/Middle English?

I didn't study for "deciphering" anything like that, I just tried to learn to understand what literature and poetry really are. I'm a tech guy, I snorted at literature all my life. But when I started to study for this it was a big uphill battle because I knew next to nothing beyond the typical elementary school "reading analysis" drills.

Honestly? This is what did it for me. I started listening to this during my commutes. I found it very interesting, not really dry at all, and it helped tremendously. I'm a believer in immersion learning, and I think this test benefits from that technique. I have a different take on it than the typical "study flashcards / take a test" approach around here. What helped me was by listening to this an hour or so a day for a couple weeks my brain was "tuned in" to think this way. It made it much easier to figure out what was being said on the test. I started using metaphor in everyday discussions as a result. Sounds weird, but it worked for me.

Whether I scored so high because of this, or because it was a ridiculously easy test to begin with and I was artificially stressed by REA, I really don't know. But it can't hurt.