Check out the CLEP site http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/ex_al.html Buy the exam guide for $10 http://store.collegeboard.com/productdetail.do?Itemkey=080062595&category=298&categoryName=CLEP%AE&secondCategory=&secondCatName=&thirdLevelCategory=&thirdLevelCatName=
>> The Idiot's Guide to American Literature will take you from soup-to-nuts and cover all the general info on the test. It will also probably spark a need to go read a bunch of books that you otherwise would have ignored! LOL. I took the exam last year, focus strongly on period literature- especially periods like the Civil War, Civil Rights, etc (book outlines these). Also, if they are famous, they will be on the test. Count on that. Lastly, I don't remember more than 1 or 2 questions on anything modern- of course test questions can change, but I felt that the book was excellent preparation. The back of that book has an excellent timeline, and the info is presented in a timeline format- so you start early and come into modern time. You need to be able to match major works with their author (including poets). The book does a great job of teaching this, and adding fun stories to keep it all tied together. I'd estimate I spent 2 weeks going through the book before the exam.
American Literature clep Thanks for the advice. The 2009 official Clep study guide is of no help with preperation