College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) Composition and Literature Syllabus

Composition and Literature syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Composition and Literature in College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   College Composition

   5 topics

   • Conventions of Standard Written English
     • Grammar and usage
     • Sentence structure and punctuation
   • Revision and Editing
     • Improving clarity and coherence
     • Word choice and tone
   • The Writing Process
     • Audience and purpose
     • Organization and development
   • Research and Source Use
     • Evaluating sources
     • Integrating and citing evidence
     • Avoiding plagiarism
   • Argumentative and Analytical Essays
     • Thesis development
     • Supporting claims with evidence
2. 2

   Analyzing and Interpreting Literature

   5 topics

   • Poetry
     • Meter, rhyme, and form
     • Imagery and figurative language
     • Tone and theme
   • Prose Fiction
     • Plot, character, and setting
     • Point of view and narration
   • Drama
     • Dramatic structure
     • Dialogue and stagecraft
   • Literary Devices and Techniques
     • Symbolism and allusion
     • Irony and metaphor
   • Literary History and Context
     • Major periods and movements
     • Historical and cultural context
3. 3

   American Literature

   4 topics

   • Colonial and Early National Writing
     • Puritan and Enlightenment writers
   • Romanticism and Transcendentalism
     • Emerson, Thoreau, and Poe
     • Hawthorne and Melville
   • Realism and Naturalism
     • Twain and regional writers
     • Late 19th-century fiction
   • Modern and Contemporary Literature
     • Modernist poetry and prose
     • Harlem Renaissance
     • Postwar and contemporary voices
4. 4

   English Literature

   4 topics

   • Medieval and Renaissance Periods
     • Chaucer and medieval works
     • Shakespeare and Elizabethan drama
   • Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
     • Metaphysical poets and Milton
     • Neoclassical and Augustan writers
   • Romantic and Victorian Periods
     • Romantic poets
     • Victorian novelists and poets
   • Twentieth Century and Beyond
     • Modernism
     • Contemporary British literature
5. 5

   Humanities

   4 topics

   • Visual Arts
     • Painting, sculpture, and architecture
     • Artistic styles and periods
   • Music
     • Elements and forms of music
     • Major composers and eras
   • Literature and Philosophy
     • Literary genres
     • Major philosophical ideas
   • Performing Arts
     • Theater and dance
     • Film as an art form

Composition and Literature flashcards for College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

21 of 51 cards from the Composition and Literature deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is a comma splice, and how can it be corrected?

   A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma. Fix it by using a period, a semicolon, a coordinating conjunction with the comma, or by subordinating one clause.

2. What is subject-verb agreement, and what rule governs it with indefinite pronouns like 'each' and 'everyone'?

   Subject-verb agreement requires a verb to match its subject in number. Indefinite pronouns such as 'each,' 'everyone,' 'either,' and 'neither' are singular and take singular verbs.

3. What is a dangling modifier?

   A modifier that does not clearly or logically attach to the word it is meant to describe, often because the intended subject is missing from the sentence (e.g., 'Walking home, the rain began').

4. When should a semicolon be used between two independent clauses?

   A semicolon links two closely related independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction, or before a conjunctive adverb (e.g., 'however,' 'therefore') that joins them.

5. What is the difference between 'who' and 'whom'?

   'Who' is a subject pronoun (performs the action); 'whom' is an object pronoun (receives the action or follows a preposition).

6. In the revision process, what is the difference between revising and editing?

   Revising addresses large-scale content: ideas, organization, thesis, and development. Editing addresses surface-level issues: grammar, punctuation, spelling, and word choice.

7. What are the main stages of the writing process?

   Prewriting (brainstorming/invention), drafting, revising, editing, and publishing/proofreading.

8. What is a thesis statement, and where is it typically placed?

   A thesis statement is a concise sentence expressing the main argument or central claim of an essay, usually placed at the end of the introduction.

9. What is the purpose of a topic sentence in a paragraph?

   It states the paragraph's main idea and connects that idea to the thesis, guiding the reader through the paragraph's supporting details.

10. What is a primary source versus a secondary source in research?

    A primary source is original, firsthand material (e.g., a novel, diary, or experiment data). A secondary source analyzes or interprets primary sources (e.g., a critical essay or review).

11. What is plagiarism, and how is it avoided?

    Plagiarism is presenting another's words or ideas as your own. It is avoided by quoting, paraphrasing properly, and citing all borrowed material.

12. In an argumentative essay, what is a counterargument and why include one?

    A counterargument is an opposing viewpoint. Including and refuting it (rebuttal) strengthens credibility by showing the writer has considered other perspectives.

13. What are Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals?

    Ethos (appeal to credibility/character), pathos (appeal to emotion), and logos (appeal to logic and reason).

14. What is the difference between an analytical and an argumentative essay?

    An analytical essay breaks a subject into parts to explain how it works or what it means; an argumentative essay takes a position and persuades the reader to accept a claim.

15. What is iambic pentameter?

    A poetic meter of five iambs per line, each iamb being an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (ten syllables total).

16. What distinguishes a Shakespearean (English) sonnet from a Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet?

    A Shakespearean sonnet has three quatrains and a couplet (rhyme ABABCDCDEFEFGG); a Petrarchan sonnet has an octave and a sestet (rhyme ABBAABBA + CDECDE or variants).

17. What is the difference between a metaphor and a simile?

    A simile compares using 'like' or 'as'; a metaphor states one thing is another directly, without those words.

18. What is enjambment in poetry?

    The continuation of a sentence or phrase past the end of a line of verse without a terminal pause, running into the next line.

19. What is the difference between the protagonist and the antagonist in fiction?

    The protagonist is the central character driving the story; the antagonist is the character or force opposing the protagonist.

20. What are the typical components of Freytag's Pyramid of plot structure?

    Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution (denouement).

21. What is the difference between first-person and third-person omniscient point of view?

    First-person uses 'I' and is limited to one character's perspective; third-person omniscient uses 'he/she/they' and knows the thoughts of all characters.

See more Composition and Literature flashcards →

Planning Composition and Literature for College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

Composition and Literature (College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)) FAQ