Western Civilization II CLEP - Free Study Guide!

Name of Exam: Western Civilization II CLEP : 1648 to the Present

Number of Questions: 120

Time Limit: 90 Minutes

ACE Recommended Passing Score: 50

Practice Test Available?: Yes - Click here

Cost: $72 (Starting July 1st 2009) + Sitting Fee (Usually no more than $20) at your testing site. Military can take CLEPs for free with Tuition Assistance. Check with your Educational Officer!

Difficulty 1-5 : 3
(One being the easiest, and five being the hardest)

Exam Description:

The Western Civilization II CLEP covers European history from the end of the 17th century to the present day. It includes The Enlightenment, The Industrial Revolution, The French Revolution, The Russian Revolution, and the two World Wars. You may be required to show understanding of the causes, as well as the impacts of these historic events.

Personal Thoughts:

The Western Civilization II CLEP picks up where the Western Civilization I CLEP left off. The real challenge with this exam is to keep track of everything that was going on. The period covered by this test was an extremely busy time in Europe. New continents were getting settled, and fought over. Revolutions of the political, religious, or scientific sort were popping up all over the place, and it wasn't all that great of a time to be the ruler of a country. Europe went through some serious regime changes, and you need to understand who took center stage, who exited stage left, and whether they left in one piece.

Exam breakdown:

According to the College Board website, the Western Civilization II CLEP exam is broken down as follows:

• 10%-13% Revolution and Napoleonic Europe
• 10%-12% The First World War and the Russian Revolution
• 08%-10% Politics and diplomacy in the Age of Nationalism, 1850-1914
• 08%-10% The Second World War and contemporary Europe
• 07%-09% Absolutism and Constitutionalism, 1648-1715
• 07%-09% Period of Enlightenment
• 07%-09% The Industrial Revolution
• 07%-09% Economy, Culture, and Imperialism, 1850-1914
• 07%-09% Europe between the wars
• 06%-08% Political and cultural developments
• 05%-07% The scientific view of the world
• 04%-06% Competition for empire and economic expansion

Areas of Study

• The Revolution in France
• The Revolution and Europe
• The French Empire
• Congress of Vienna
• The causes of the First World War
• The economic and social impact of the war
• The peace settlements
• The Revolution of 1917 and its effects
• The unification of Italy and Germany
• Political dynamics of Austria-Hungary, Russia, and France during the Age of Nationalism
• Socialism and labor unions
• The causes and course of the Second World War
• Postwar Europe (1940's - Present)
• The Dutch Republic
• The English Revolution
• France under Louis XIV
• Formation of Austria and Prussia
• The "westernization" of Russia
• Enlightenment thought
• Enlightened despotism
• Partition of Poland
• Agricultural and industrial revolution
• Causes of Industrial revolution
• Urbanization
• British reform movement
• World economy of the nineteenth century
• Technological developments
• Science, philosophy, and the arts
• Imperialism in Africa and Asia
• The Great Depression (impacts on Europe, especially Germany)
• International politics, 1919 -1939
• Stalin's five-year plans and purges
• Italy and Germany between the wars
• Interwar cultural developments
• Conservatism, Liberalism, Nationalism, and Socialism
• The Revolutions of 1830 and 1848
• Major figures of the scientific revolution
• New knowledge of man and society
• Global economy of the eighteenth century
• Europe after Utrecht, 1713-1740
• Demographic change in the eighteenth century

This is not a comprehensive list. I've tried to list the topics you will most likely need to study. It should be obvious looking at the above that the bulk of the test is going to be on History. So really hit those history resources hard!

I would highly recommend you see the Instant Cert Exam Specific forum for a further breakdown of study topics. They've spent years accumulating their lists, which goes into much greater detail. You'll learn about Instant Cert below if you haven't heard of it already.

Free study resources
Click on the titles to go to the study resource

Wiliam Patterson University Study Resources - Part two of the excellent resource included in the Western Civ I CLEP. Once again, if you know this back to front, you'll almost certainly pass the Western Civilization II CLEP

Western Civ II Questions from University of South Dakota - No answers to these, but they cover the same material that the Western Civilization II CLEP does. You can use these with the William Patterson study guides above to quiz yourself.

Recommended bargain-priced study resources

CLEP Western Civilization II (REA): 1648 to the Present (REA Test Preps) - Same logic as the Western Civ I exam. Use this targeted study if you don't have the time to go through all of the William Patterson study guides. If you're an Instant Cert subscriber, you can use the forums and flashcards in conjunction with this to virtually guarantee a pass.

InstantCert Academy - Western Civilization II Specific Exam Feedback - Three pages of study notes, specific topics of study, and after action reports. Be sure to check out the Flashcards for the Western Civilization II CLEP.

If you don't know what InstantCert is, then click here for the scoop as well as a discount code: **InstantCert Academy**

You'll find an InstantCert link for every exam here if that gives you an idea of the amount of information they have available. It's an outstanding resource.

Closing Thoughts

Many people will find the Western Civilization II CLEP more difficult than the Western Civilization I exam. It all boils down to memorization, and whatever your own personal method is for putting that into action.

This is another exam where the Specific Feedback forum at Instant Cert truly comes in handy. If you're having too much trouble trying to memorize everything in the William Patterson study guides, you may want to try a more targeted approach with the feedback found in the Instant Cert forums. Either way, the exam will fall in the end and you'll pick up another three credits. It's just a matter of time.

Best of luck!