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Description of the Examination

The Analyzing and Interpreting Literature examination covers material usually taught in a general undergraduate course in literature. Although the examination does not require familiarity with specific works, it does assume that candidates have read widely and perceptively in poetry, drama, fiction and nonfiction. The questions are based on passages supplied in the test. These passages have been selected so that no previous experience with them is required to answer questions. The passages are taken primarily from American and British literature.

The examination contains approximately 80 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 98 minutes. Some of these are pretest questions that will not be scored. Any time candidates spend taking tutorials and providing personal information is additional to actual testing time.

An optional essay section can be taken in addition to the multiple-choice test. The essay section requires that two essays be written during a total time of 90 minutes. For the first essay, candidates are asked to analyze a short poem. For the second essay, candidates are asked to apply a generalization about literature (such as the function of a theme or a technique) to a novel, short story, or play that they have read.

Knowledge and Skills Required

Questions on the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature examination require candidates to demonstrate the following abilities.

 Ability to read prose, poetry, and drama with understanding

 Ability to analyze the elements of a literary passage and to respond to nuances of meaning, tone, imagery and style

 Ability to interpret metaphors, to recognize rhetorical and stylistics devices, to perceive relationships between parts and wholes, and to grasp a speaker’s or author’s attitudes

 Familiarity with the basic terminology used to discuss literary texts

The examination emphasizes comprehensions, interpretation and analysis of literary works. A specific knowledge of historical context (authors and movements) is not required, but a broad knowledge of literature gained through reading widely and a familiarity of basic literary terminology is assumed. The following outline indicates the relative emphasis given to the various types of literature and the periods from which the passages are taken. The approximate percentage of exam questions per classification is noted within each main category.

Genre

35% - 45%	Poetry
35% - 45%	Prose (fiction & nonfiction)
15% - 30%	Drama

National Tradition

50% - 65%	British Literature
30% - 45%	American Literature
5% - 15%	Works in Translation

Period

3% - 7%	Classical & pre-Renaissance
20% - 30%	Renaissance & 17th Century
35% - 45%	18th & 19th Centuries
25% - 35%	20th & 21st Centuries