Hi! I got a 780 on the literature subject test (yes, not an 800) but since I was about two questions off from a perfect score I thought I would share some tips and recommendations about the content you need to know. There are other threads about general study hacks, but none focus on content recommendations.

1.) First and foremost, be aware that the lit subject test is one of the hardest tests (based on percentiles) and is NOTORIOUSLY the MOST difficult subject test to prepare for.

2.) Learn the structure and format of the test. There are almost always 7 passages, and the breakdown (at least for the 3 times I took it) is: 2 sonnets, 1 longer poem, 1 play, and 2 narratives/character descriptions. There is a common assumption that the test includes MOSTLY poems and sonnets and that all of the pieces are from the 17th century.

3.) Memorize literary terms and definitions. All of the prep books include literary term lists, but none of them are very comprehensive. Here are the difficult literary terms I memorized: Refrain, acrostic, aside, anaphora, foot, enjambment, litote, balanced sentence, metonymy, malapropism, elegy, aside, paean, meiosis, iamb vs. trochee, free verse, blank verse, participle phrases, aubade, antonomasia, indirect speech. Also, for more common literary terms, you need to pick up on the nuances. You probably know that hyperbole is "exaggeration," but did you know it is also present when "all" or "always" or "never" is used? Similarly, you probably know that alliteration is the repetition of the same letter at the start of a word, but did you know that alliteration can be present when just 2 words start with the same letter? These are nuances that you can only pick up by taking practice tests. Also, most people focus only on literary terms and forget that you ALSO need to know some common vocab words from the 17th century and other Old English words, such as: hark, anon, pine, ere (the test LOVES this), tempests, lark, wary, weary, sullen, impudent, fie, knave, etc.

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