<p>I'm taking SAT Subject test in Literature this follow November along with my Chemistry and Math retakes. Recently I looked into the test and the prep book and there are soo much stuff I don't know where to begin.
Did you just analyze passages and poems until you could completely understand in the beginning? I really didn't have any formal Lit classes yet (AP Lit next year) and I would like to know more about effective studying methods for Lit.
I only have Barron's right now, but do I need more books to study with? (PR or Kaplan)
Thank YOUUU</p>
<p>Don't get more prep books. I don't think they will be that helpful. I honestly didn't do any prep except take 2 practice tests. I took AP lit this year, and that class was enough prep in itself. Lit is different (in my eyes) to other subject tests like math and chemistry where you can study study study and do great. My advice: read challenging books and poems, read A LOT, and work hard in AP lit.</p>
<p>Uhh I'm not that great of a reader but I'll try to read more during this summer. I'm aiming for 700+ and any other suggestions?</p>
<p>i just did a practice test a day for a week before the test out of kaplan</p>
<p>I did absolutely nothing to prepare except take AP English Language. At the end of the year I took this test, and I got a 790.</p>
<p>Manofthehoff, what did you get on CR?</p>
<p>I'm seeing a lot of "700+ with no prep". Most of you I'm assuming are probably "born with it"...........
Can I get some testimonies from those of you who actually did prep for the test and increased your score significantly?</p>
<p>... 720, didn't really prep...</p>
<p>My IB English teacher gave us lots of practice question in preparation for the AP exam, and those really helped I thought.</p>
<p>Practice makes 700+. Just find as many practice exams as you can and figure out what works for you, reading wise, and figure out what a typical answer is and what they're looking for.</p>
<p>I don't see how one could really "prep" for this test-- it's just a skill that you should pick up through analyzing what you read. I figured it would just be a beefed-up CR (and I was right in that assumption) so I took it and got an 800.</p>
<p>I think that it does have a natural component to it. I didn't prepare (save taking 2 practice tests) and I did fine (750).</p>
<p>Uhhh if I were to prep more though, I would probably take more practice tests and get faster. Time is essential.</p>
<p>I got a 780. I only did two practice tests, but I do think that practice is the best preparation. (I mean, besides being an active reader, which is a given.) I think most of the posters in this thread are underestimating the usefulness of practicing these types of questions. </p>
<p>Practicing the actual questions is helpful in that it teaches you to think in the way that the test-makers want you to think. The questions are generally 'types' and when you get used to them, you won't feel lost -- "wait, WHAT are they asking me here? Where can I find it?" I think that the reason I didn't need to practice too much was because the types of questions were similar to those on the AP Language test. </p>
<p>Barron's has wayyyy too much info. I skimmed the instructional material looking for words I didn't know, but none of that stuff was on it. I mean, make sure you know the figurative language -- similes and metaphors and stuff. But you don't need to know about the parts of a stage or every obscure type of poetry and song. So, yeah, be familiar with that stuff if it makes you more comfortable, but about .001% of it will actually show up on the test. xP The best thing to do is get used to the things they ask you and, if it's a problem, how to work quickly and efficiently.</p>
<p>Are the practice questions on College Board's website representative of the questions on the real Literature subject test?</p>
<p>i received a 770.
i don't think it's similar to critical reading.
my preparation was having a great AP language class and doing a few practice tests. i did 2 out of kaplan, 2 from princeton review, and 2 from barron's probably. practice tests are great to control your timing and to review just basic literary devices you should be familiar with. the literature test is hard because you can't actually "study" for the material. it really depends on the passages you get. for example, may test....i had to cancel m score because i KNEW i got probably a 500, i didn't even finish all the questions.
for june, i just got a good night of sleep and relaxed a LOT more (score: 770). i honestly thought i got a 600 on the test, though. i think if you are good at analyzing texts, even older one, take the test. if not, stay away. i have plenty of friends who've taken it twice and never gotten past 700.</p>
<p>Got a 770. This is one test where taking an actual course is probably superior in all respects to self-studying. It's good to have a lot of experience w/ a wide range of literary works and insight into what makes them what they are. </p>
<p>Read lots of poetry, learn to do poetry analysis. It's an acquired skill.</p>
<p>i think i'm a little different than all the above posters.</p>
<p>i take really crappy english at a school focused on science--nothing close to AP Lit. I had the barron's prep book last fall, and I went through all of it, took 3-4 practice tests in it, and voila--750+. </p>
<p>I do read a lot though, so that probably helped. But I really disagree with the people who said you "can't study" for this one....i didn't know how to analyze weird poems and stuff before prepping with the Barron's book.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your inputs :P
tnb19, I hope I can "study" for Lit and end up with a decent score in November. I'm not a native English speaker and I hardly read at all nowadays so I really need to get some work done before school starts.
I'll start reading through Barron's then. Sounds good :)
And about the part about Barron's having superfluous contents, I think it'd be better to be overprepared than unprepared especially for something like Lit.</p>
<p>for lit...it's not that barron's is superfluous...the tests are just too hard to be similar to the real test. that's what i found at least....</p>
<p>Ok ... another real life example. My D took the test sophomore year w/o prep or a thought and got a 690. This time she used Princeton Review book, studied for 2 days, took 3 practice tests and raised her score to 740. </p>
<p>This is her subject ... but she is not good at taking standardized tests. She needs a chance to get used to the test. She tends to over think everything. Taking the test three times helped her realize her silly mistakes and the book gave her techniques to avoid common pitfalls</p>
<p>It helped her focus.</p>