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Test Prep CLEP Composition and Literature Exam
CLEP Composition and Literature: American Literature, English Literature, Humanities (Page 4 )

Updated On: 30-Jan-2026
Page 4 of 44
PDF with 213 Questions

(1) Education long been viewed as a tool for solving social problems.
(2) Many people consider a school to be responsible for taking young people from diverse backgrounds and turning them into law-abiding citizens.
(3) An important question arises.
(4) If education is the answer to social problems, how can schools themselves be a social problem?
(5) According to many critics, the answer is that schools are not performing their job good enough.
(6) The above notion is tied to the belief that there is a serious problem with America’s education system.
(7) According to noted scholars, schooling in the United States lacks one essential ingredient for success.
(8) This key factor is the involvement of the community.
(9) Many are familiar with the old African proverb: “It takes a whole village to raise a single child.”
(10) Hence, one is surprised that education in America survives at all without it.
(11) Education is considered a cure for societal problems, schools are often blamed for those same problems.
(12) Yet the roots of failure start not in the classrooms but in the broader fabric of society; the workplace, city streets, and the home.
(13) This was made evident by dramatic changes in American society over the last few decades. (14) First, economic growth has come at a tremendous cost to the nation’s most disadvantaged citizens.
(15) Second, the number of people who vote has declined.

(16) Finally, there has been a noticeable rise in single parent homes, and there has been a noticeable rise in homes in which both parents have entered the workforce.

Which of the following is the best revision of sentence 12?

  1. Change the semicolon to a comma
  2. Change the semicolon to a colon
  3. Change the word “yet” to “but”
  4. Change “broader” to “broadest”
  5. Add “such as” before the semicolon

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

The original sentence incorrectly uses a semicolon to set up a series. (The author intends to list the workplace, city streets, and the home as elements of the broader fabric of society.) The punctuation mark that serves this function is a colon, B. A only confuses the sentence by turning the “broader fabric of society” into the first item of the series. C and D do not fix the semicolon problem, and E. only makes that problem worse.



(1) If your favorite rock star asked you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?
(2) Of course not; no way!
(3) You would tell the rock star to take his money.
(4) Then go back to his mansion, and stuff it.
(5) You make your own decisions; the idea of risking your life on the whim of a famous singer is just plain nonsense.
(6) Even if you truly adore music, it is not a factor that dictates your every move.
(7) Some young people would do anything for a particular music performer.
(8) They would flock to jump off the bridge if their favorite music icon asked them to do so.
(9) Because popular music, more than any other aspect of youth culture, holds an extremely powerful clutch on its very impressionable audience.
(10) Occasionally that clutch can have a positive effect.
(11) For example, some artists put forth positive messages.
(12) More often, however, the messages in popular songs are destructive.
(13) Children require guidance, and they are easily fooled by music that provides either false hope or hopelessness.
(14) Adults need to learn about popular music to know which performers preach a positive (or at least harmless) message and those that can be truly destructive to a young person’s life.
(15) This is a tough job.
(16) But it is an important job.

Which of the following inserted at the beginning of sentence 7 would best link the second paragraph to the first?

  1. Moreover,
  2. However,
  3. The thing is,
  4. Whereas,
  5. Therefore,

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

The first paragraph puts forth the idea that a sensible person would not listen to the absurd commands of a rock star. Sentence 7, which begins the second paragraph, contradicts that idea by saying that some young people would listen to anything a rock star says. Therefore, a contrast word would be the best to insert at the beginning of sentence 7. The only contrast word is B.
A and E. do not establish a contrast. C is colloquial and inappropriate. “Whereas” in D is used to start a dependent clause and cannot stand by itself.



(1) Education long been viewed as a tool for solving social problems.
(2) Many people consider a school to be responsible for taking young people from diverse backgrounds and turning them into law-abiding citizens.
(3) An important question arises.
(4) If education is the answer to social problems, how can schools themselves be a social problem?
(5) According to many critics, the answer is that schools are not performing their job good enough.
(6) The above notion is tied to the belief that there is a serious problem with America’s education system.
(7) According to noted scholars, schooling in the United States lacks one essential ingredient for success.
(8) This key factor is the involvement of the community.
(9) Many are familiar with the old African proverb: “It takes a whole village to raise a single child.”
(10) Hence, one is surprised that education in America survives at all without it.
(11) Education is considered a cure for societal problems, schools are often blamed for those same problems.
(12) Yet the roots of failure start not in the classrooms but in the broader fabric of society; the workplace, city streets, and the home.
(13) This was made evident by dramatic changes in American society over the last few decades. (14) First, economic growth has come at a tremendous cost to the nation’s most disadvantaged citizens.
(15) Second, the number of people who vote has declined.
(16) Finally, there has been a noticeable rise in single parent homes, and there has been a noticeable rise in homes in which both parents have entered the workforce.

Which of the following is the best revision of sentence 16 (reproduced below)?

Finally, there has been a noticeable rise in single parent homes, and there has been a noticeable rise in homes in which both parents have entered the workforce.

  1. Finally, a noticeable rise in single parent homes has been seen, and there has also been a noticeable rise in homes in which both parents have entered the workforce.
  2. Finally, there has been a noticeable rise in two things; these are single parent homes and a noticeable rise in homes in which both parents have entered the workforce.
  3. Finally, there has been a noticeable rise in single parent homes as well as homes in which both parents have entered the workforce.
  4. Finally, there has been a noticeable rise in single parent homes, plus a noticeable rise in homes in which both parents have entered the workforce.
  5. Finally, there has been a noticeable rise in single parent homes, homes in which both parents have entered the workforce.

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

The original sentence contains redundancy with the repetition of “a noticeable rise.” That redundancy remains in A, B, and D, making these three choices incorrect. E removes the redundant phrase, but it removes too much. The result is a dependent clause describing “single parent homes,” which is not the author’s intent. C is the best choice because it eliminates the redundancy while maintaining the integrity of the sentence.



(1) I always thought trips to my grandmother’s house were boring.
(2) They were boring until I started to find out about my family’s past.
(3) As it turns out, I have some interesting relatives, including a professional dancer, a magician, and an entrepreneur.
(4) Even my grandmother never consider them to be interesting until we began to have our discussions.
(5) I remember her saying one time, “Hmm, I guess we’re related to some pretty unique people.”
(6) Everyone has to admit that the most interesting relative was grandmother’s cousin Jerry.
(7) Jerry was involved in more business schemes than you could imagine.
(8) He started a laundry service, a publishing company, a hat shop.
(9) He owned a minor league baseball team, a circus tent, and one of the country’s first motorcycle shops.
(10) Cousin Jerry had his hands in everything!
(11) None of his ventures turned a profit until he opened his famous ice cream shop.
(12) Jerry’s Ice Cream weren’t no ordinary ice cream store.
(13) He made some of the strangest flavors in the world: including tomato vanilla, chocolate watermelon, and even potato strawberry.
(14) As weird as those flavors may sound, people flocked to the store, perhaps just to try something so strange.
(15) Grandmother remembers how excited Jerry was when his shop became a success.

In context, the best phrase to replace “them” in sentence 4 is

  1. my visits
  2. our relatives
  3. the discussions
  4. the dancer, magician, and entrepreneur
  5. my parents

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

The first paragraph highlights the uniqueness of the relatives; it follows logically that the grandmother did not realize how interesting the family was until the discussions began. A is unlikely – it is the author, not the grandmother, who considered the visits uninteresting. C. does not make sense since the discussions are already mentioned in sentence 4. E is off-base because the parents are not mentioned anywhere in the essay.



(1) I always thought trips to my grandmother’s house were boring.
(2) They were boring until I started to find out about my family’s past.
(3) As it turns out, I have some interesting relatives, including a professional dancer, a magician, and an entrepreneur.
(4) Even my grandmother never consider them to be interesting until we began to have our discussions.
(5) I remember her saying one time, “Hmm, I guess we’re related to some pretty unique people.”
(6) Everyone has to admit that the most interesting relative was grandmother’s cousin Jerry.
(7) Jerry was involved in more business schemes than you could imagine.
(8) He started a laundry service, a publishing company, a hat shop.
(9) He owned a minor league baseball team, a circus tent, and one of the country’s first motorcycle shops.
(10) Cousin Jerry had his hands in everything!
(11) None of his ventures turned a profit until he opened his famous ice cream shop.
(12) Jerry’s Ice Cream weren’t no ordinary ice cream store.
(13) He made some of the strangest flavors in the world: including tomato vanilla, chocolate watermelon, and even potato strawberry.
(14) As weird as those flavors may sound, people flocked to the store, perhaps just to try something so strange.
(15) Grandmother remembers how excited Jerry was when his shop became a success.

Which of the following phrases would be the most appropriate to insert at the beginning of sentence 6?

  1. Despite all the fascinating people in the family,
  2. Although my father was interested in the magician,
  3. Even with grandmother’s failing memory,
  4. Because we all like ice cream,
  5. Even though the trips seemed boring,

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

The preceding sentences describe how interesting the family is, but sentence 6 features the most interesting relative. Therefore, an appropriate insert would somehow summarize the preceding sentences, but also establish a contrast to feature cousin Jerry. A. does just that. B is off-base in mentioning the father for the first time. C misinterprets the quote in sentence 5 – the grandmother’s memory is not failing; she just never considered how interesting her relatives are. D inappropriately foreshadows the third paragraph, and E. is misguided in returning to the theme of the first sentence.



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