<p>Hi there. As the title says it all, how difficult are the tests of U.S history and Literature and which books would you recommend?
I currently have a Princeton Review's U.S and World History Prep book and a Barron's Lit Prep book. Are they sufficient? Do I need to buy another books?
Is Lit Subject test more difficult than the reading section of the SAT reasoning test??
I only have one month to prep for them.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance :D</p>
<p>I took both of these tests in May, and scored fairly well on both of them. Are you currently taking/have taken AP Literature or AP US History? The subject tests are similar to these AP tests. The Lit subject test is most certainly more difficult than the reading part on the SAT, because you’re not just being tested on grammar or comprehension, but on literary devices and possibly drawing on outside works. I took the AP US History test and got a 5, but got a 680 on the subject test a week later, so draw your own conclusions. I used the REA AP US History Crash Course book for both the subject and AP tests, and I’m convinced that this is responsible for helping me score well. It cuts out all the useless stuff and only includes material that is actually included.
Hope that helps. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks. But our school doesn’t offer AP classes.</p>
<p>I took them last year without APs, and got in the high 700s for both. U.S. History is more based on how much you’ve learned in your history classes, whereas Literature is more based on how well you’re able to master the test format and understand the readings.</p>
<p>First off, the best resource will be the released practice tests, available in the official SAT Subject Test practice book (and the official SAT History Subject Test practice book, if you’re so inclined). Given that they’re past tests, they give you the best assessment for how well you will do and what kind of knowledge you’ll need.</p>
<p>I also used the Princeton Review guide for Literature, and it prepared me well (790). The tests are realistic, and it thoroughly teaches you all you need to take it and do well. I did slightly better on the SAT reading, and I would say Lit is a little harder, but there shouldn’t be a big difference if you’re prepared. Also, the passages were more interesting, so you’re less likely to fall asleep.</p>
<p>I had taken two US history classes already, and scored in the high 700s on practice, so I didn’t prepare much for it, so I can’t really recommend any books. I would say your best bet is taking one practice test, seeing your score, then deciding how much you need to improve. If you score highly, you may not want to study a lot, and just take a few more practice tests. If you have room for improvement, get a good study book and go through it.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I took both in May and didn’t study for either. I got a shabby 690 on US and a 740 on Lit. This was days after taking the AP US and AP Lang exams… both of which I got 5s on. Obviously we’ve all been taking reading tests for years, but Lit was so much different than anything I was used to. The writing was more dense, and ugh the poetry analysis. Whereas SAT CR is mostly analyzing concepts of a passage, Lit was more from a, well, literary basis, so more devices, themes, etc. I found US more difficult than the AP exam, but I feel like it’s just general knowledge from a US history class. Good luck!</p>