What This Exam Covers
The American Literature CLEP tests your knowledge of American writing across five historical periods. It is equivalent to a two-semester undergraduate course. Questions mix memorization (authors, works, literary movements) with passage analysis. This exam used to have an essay section, but that is no longer available.
Exam at a Glance
| Questions | ~100 multiple choice |
| Time | 90 minutes |
| Passing score | 50 (most schools) |
| College credits | 3 semester hours (typical) |
| Exam fee | $97 |
What's on the American Literature CLEP*?
The College Board measures four skill types — interpretation of passages (35–40%), literary knowledge (25–30%), critical terminology (15–20%), and historical/contextual knowledge (15–20%). That content is drawn from five chronological periods:
| Period | Weight | Authors and Topics |
|---|---|---|
| Contemporary Period (1945–Present) | 25% | Postwar fiction and poetry, Beat Generation, civil rights and multicultural voices, postmodernism — Ellison, Ginsberg, O'Connor, Plath, Morrison, Roth, and others |
| Romantic Period (1800–1865) | 20% | Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Poe, Whitman, Dickinson — transcendentalism, dark romanticism, early American identity |
| Realism and Naturalism (1865–1910) | 20% | Mark Twain, Henry James, Stephen Crane, Kate Chopin, Jack London, Theodore Dreiser — social realism, determinism, regional writing |
| Modernist Period (1910–1945) | 20% | Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, O'Neill, T.S. Eliot, Frost, Hughes, Steinbeck — alienation, experimentation, the Harlem Renaissance |
| Precolonial through Early National (Beginnings–1800) | 15% | Puritan writing, colonial narratives, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, early American poetry — identity, religion, and founding ideals |
Source: For a full breakdown of what is on the exam, see the College Board American Literature CLEP page.
How hard is the American Literature CLEP*?
This can be a difficult exam, especially for those who haven't read a lot of literature. Starting from scratch, plan 5 to 7 weeks of consistent study. Those who took literature or read a lot can usually study in as little as a week or two.
How to study for the American Literature CLEP*
- Work through the InstantCert flashcards, noting any periods that give you problems. For each major author, know at least one key work, its general themes, and what movement or period they belong to. Depth on a few authors beats surface familiarity with many.
- Practice passage analysis with the College Board's free American Literature sample questions. The exam mixes timed reading with content recall, and those two skills develop separately.
- If you have time and love to read, check out the actual texts and authors covered on the exam. Short stories, poems, and essays by Poe, Whitman, Chopin, and Hemingway are freely available online and take 15–30 minutes each.
What score do you need to pass?
50 is the standard passing threshold at most schools, but some require 60. American Literature typically awards 3 semester hours toward an English or humanities degree.
Pass and you receive a PASS with no letter grade and no GPA impact. Fail and the attempt does NOT appear on your transcript at all. You can retake after 3 months, but you pay the $97 fee again.
Can you pass American Literature CLEP* with just flashcards?
Yes, but reading some of the material really goes a long way to get a better understanding of the material. We can't ask questions on every passage and reading a short story by each author will do you a lot of good.
Which colleges accept the American Literature CLEP*?
Most U.S. colleges and universities accept the American Literature CLEP for credit, typically awarding 3 semester hours.
Use the College Board's CLEP credit-granting policy search tool to look up exactly what your school awards. It can occasionally be out of date, but it will give you a solid starting point.
American Literature CLEP* vs. taking the class
One semester of introductory American literature at a public university runs anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. The CLEP costs $97 so cost wise it's a no brainer.
| Exam fee | $97 one-time |
| Typical tuition equivalent | $500–$3,000+ (one semester) |
| Credits earned | 3 semester hours (typical) |
| Time to prepare | 5–7 weeks self-study |
| GPA impact | None, pass/fail only |
The exam makes strong sense if you have a reading background or took AP English in high school. If you're starting cold with little interest in literature, the class may serve you better as you'll spend real time with the material instead of memorizing it at a distance.
Happy testing!