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The below is outrageously FALSE. I have spent a lot of time reading the exam specific feedback threads at InstantCert. Almost EVERY post in every thread was about what was on the exam and the specific materials that were used to prepare for and pass the exam. There was NOT an emphasis on InstantCert flashcards. The emphasis was on the contents of the exam and which materials were used to prepare for the exam.

Below is a sample from the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP exam thread:

Check out some of the other threads on what to focus on. At this point I don't remember too much of the specifics of the questions. I do recall that there were at least a few on Thoureau, Emerson, and the Transcendalists, also Jonathan Edwards, and the characters of the Great Gatsby and of the Sound and the Fury, what the Yellow Wallpaper was about, the Puritans, Walt Whitman, TS Eliot's Wasteland and Prufrock, Mark Twain, and the Harlem Renaissnance. Pay attention to the excerpts in the Idiots Guide that give you the actual text of novels, poems and sermons.

78 questions. 1 grammar question. 3 literary device questions. The rest was interpretation.

Websites: Literary Devices and Literary Terms

A list of a few other things that just came to mind:

• hyperbole
• personification
• anthropomorphism (NOT same as personification)
• allusion
• colloquial
• irony, sarcasm, satire, parody, allegory
• metaphor & simile
• oxymoron, paradox
• epic

DLer is a shill. Read his posts with caution.

 

SOWAK777 it would be unfair to that forum owner to suggest that I am in any way associated with him (I'm assuming that is why you used the term shill). I am simply giving observations as someone who paid and used the flashcards to pass exams.

I understand that you do not understand the benefits of the flashcard system since you never used them. But that doesn't mean that you should attribute ulterior motives to others simply to justify your position.

I wish you much success with your new forum and your degree pursuits.

 

I will say this one time ONLY. This issue HAS NOTHING to do with the flashcards! The flashcards are a good idea and a good business. The exam specific feedback forum was not about the flashcards. I spent plenty of time on that forum; it explained exams and users freely shared which materials they used to prepare for and pass exams for credit. Stop trying to make this about the flashcards. This is about information that we provided that IC is now charging people for. One way or another, we will begin a new forum where information is freely provided, freely offered, and freely shared.

 

>>

I think this is where there might be a false notion.... I would argue that the specific exam feedback is NOT flash card specific. IC Flash cards only cover a handful of exams- the folders in the specific exam feedback section of the IC board covers all CLEP, DSST, GRE, TECEP, and EC exams.

 

Bingo Jen!

The only significant tie-in that the Specific Exam Forum has to the flashcards is that they are both owned by IC. IC is asserting its ownership of that forum (I'm not going to beat the dead horse anymore about the ethics of charging for information that many people contributed for free). IC has made a decision - and many people are stating that there needs to be a "for free" alternative to obtain the info that IC is now charging for.

I also am going to dispel the notion that DLer and ShotoJuku has stated...that the information is on the other discussion fourms that IC runs that are free. While there is some validity to that statement - many people who request information on how to prep for an exam are sent to the specific feedback forum.

The IC Specific Exam Feedback Forum is now a subscription service - and there is interest for a free service to be hosted here (hopefully). I guess we'll see what happens.

Shawn

 

I think they copied what was DegreeForum.com's board format, but it's not a "true" successor as I never approved anything nor provided any content.

When I initially set up DegreeForum it was both to help myself as well as others with specific exams, and for a couple of years it was a good solution and practically ran/moderated itself with minimal cost. Unfortunately it got to the point where spammers started to flood the board and it took too much time to administer.

It's a double-edged sword - those who don't have any commercial aspirations are content to have everyone access the site but only if it's not a burden. Those who want to make money will eventually restrict access to paid subscriptions but will keep the material up-to-date.

 

Hmm. So, what happened to the original degreeforum of which I, as heikstheo, was once a member?

 

There are 55 subjects covered by InstaCert flashcards...one persons handful is anothers bushel basket. The GRE feedback is non-existent, meaning there is no feedback just the subject categories by Old Rusty Pipe. There is plenty of info on the regular discussion board about the subject GRE's. I added to a couple of the TECEP business sections that weren't covered by IC and I'm sure that there were a couple of other subjects, but the lion's share of useful information is centered around the 55 flashcard subjects. If a person did not actively use the flashcards or know which subjects were covered, then obviously they would not completely understand the tie-in.

If three posters commented that the flashcards were all that you need to pass Intro to Supervision, and the fourth poster recommended the book outlined in the DANTES guide, then the person who wasn't enrolled with InstaCert would certainly find the fourth recommendation more valuable than the 1st, while the person enrolled with InstaCert would take and pass the test and would be moving on to the next subject.

It's all perspective.

 

I took it down over a year ago. I couldn't remember exactly, but web.archive.org shows it was up from January 2004 to February 2007.

 

I miscounted there are 44 flashcard titles.

 

Amen.

Well, while I respect the site owner's right to make a buck, that move could certainly limit his readership. It could affect later sign-ups as well.

 

I am going to have to somewhat defend IC. I used IC for all 18 of my exams over a 4 month period and I passed them all. Their flashcards are an incredibly inexpensive and easy way to get the information that you need to pass an exam without having to read several books or watch a bunch of videos. Like DLer, I was surprised when I canceled my subscription, that I was still able to access the specific exam feedback forum. I always saw that forum as inisght from IC users. I used that forum to find out if the IC flashcards were sufficient for me to pass the exam and if it was not, then I used it to find out what might be good alternatives for supplemental study materials. The information that I provided on the specific feedback forum was all related to how the flashcards did or did not help me with the exam.

All of my feedback on exams were similar to this:

The flashcards are plenty enough to pass this exam. Go through them twice and you will be fine.

or

The flashcards may not get you all the way there for this exam...you may want to supplement your study with xxxx...

In that respect, I always saw the "Specific Exam Forum" as being very "specific" to the IC flashcards. I know that everyone did not use that forum the same way that I did, but I do believe that was the original intent of the forum.

Also, from IC's perspective, what advantage does it give them to give this information away for free? As far as I can see, they do not have any advertising on thier forum, so all of their income is made from subscriptions to their flashcards. If IC was making money off of the forum, then I could understand the argument, but IC is gearing their business toward the product that they are selling. This makes sense to me. Maybe I am missing something?

I am happy that degreeinfo has chosen to start a specific exam forum, but if I were going to take exams again and wanted to find study information and insight for as cheaply as possible, I would go back to IC for that info to find out if the flashcards that they provide would be enough to pass the exam.

As an aside, the flashcards were always enough to pass the test for me. I never really came close to failing one of them. I also never took longer than 2 weeks of study or about 8 hours of total study time to pass a test using only the flashcards.