Name of Exam: College Composition Modular CLEP
Number of Questions: 90
Time Limit: 90 Minutes
ACE Recommended Passing Score: 50
Practice Test Available?: Yes - Click here
Cost: $80 + 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 : 2
(One being the easiest, and five being the hardest)
Alternatives: StraighterLine English Composition I and II
Exam Description:
The College Composition Modular CLEP tests your ability in identifying errors in existing sentences and passages.
You will need to have a basic understanding of good sentence structure, but will not necessarily be asked to explain "why" you chose the answer you did.
Note that the College Composition Modular CLEP has two "optional" essays. If your school doesn't require you to take these, then you'll probably never even notice them. If your school does require you to have an essay along with the CLEP, after looking at this study guide, take a look at the College Composition CLEP Study Guide where I go into more detail about these exams.
Personal Thoughts:
Back in 2010, CollegeBoard got rid of the old English Composition CLEP, the English Composition w/ Essay CLEP, and the Freshman College Composition CLEP. They replaced those three with two new CLEP exams - the College Composition CLEP (has essays) and the College Composition Modular CLEP (no essays).
If I had to take a guess at why they did this, it's probably due to the Freshman College Composition CLEP overlapping so much with the old English Composition CLEPs. It was rare that you would find a school that would accept credit for both Freshman and English Composition. I guess someone decided it would be easier just to start with a clean slate.
The good news is that the material hasn't really changed that much. It still covers the basics of sentence structure, your ability to revise sentences to make them clearer, and even your skills at using source materials.
For the sentence structure portion, the College Composition Modular CLEP tests your knowledge of how to put together a sentence and/or paragraph. "How" is the key word there. It tests you on "How" you put the sentences and paragraphs together, not "Why" you put them together. So, first it will give you a sentence like:
"Bob and Mary, went to the mall because he wanted to buy shoes but didn't have enough money so they play video games instead."
The College Composition Modular CLEP will then give you a list of choices with various corrections made to the previous sentence. It will be your task to choose the correct choice that inserts the proper punctuation and correct any syntax errors that may have been included.
You've probably taken exams like this before. It will give you a list of sentences and paragraphs, and you must correct what's wrong. So to hit you with a bunch of grammatical terms; you'll be asked to correct errors in the following: sentence boundaries, active and passive voice, diction and idiom, clarity of expression, and verb tense.
Now here's the important part about the College Composition Modular CLEP - You won't just be asked to define those terms. You will need to understand what they are so you can use them to correct the example work you're given on the test. So it's not enough to know what they are. You have to know how they're used too. Is that explanation any clearer? I certainly hope so.
In the non-essay version of the College Composition Modular CLEP, the object is to correct someone else's writing rather than your own. You will often be asked to read a passage or paragraph written by an author. A series of questions will then test your ability to improve that work and make it more readable. If you read in your spare time, most of the errors will jump off the page. If you don't read that much, you'll probably need some brushing up.
Exam breakdown:
According to the College Board website, the College Composition Modular CLEP (without essay) exam is broken down as follows:
| 10% | Conventions of Standard Written English |
|---|---|
| Syntax (parallelism, coordination, subordination) | |
| Sentence boundaries (comma splice, run-ons, sentence fragments) | |
| Concord/agreement (pronoun reference, case shift, and number; subject-verb; verb tense) | |
| Diction | |
| Modifiers | |
| Idiom | |
| Punctuation | |
| Logical agreement | |
| Logical comparison | |
| Lack of subject in modifying word group | |
| Active/passive voice | |
| 40% | Revision Skills, Including Sentence-Level Skills |
| Organization | |
| Awareness of audience, tone and purpose | |
| Coherence between sentences and paragraphs | |
| Main idea, thesis statements and topic sentences | |
| Use of language | |
| Evaluation of reasoning | |
| Transitions | |
| Consistency of point of view | |
| Sentence-level errors primarily relating to the conventions of standard written English | |
| Level of detail | |
| Consistency of point of view | |
| Sentence variety and structure | |
| Rhetorical effects and emphasis | |
| Evaluation of author's authority and appeal | |
| Sentence-level errors primarily relating to the conventions of standard written English | |
| 25% | Rhetorical Analysis |
| Evaluation of evidence | |
| Rhetorical effects | |
| Tone | |
| Appeals | |
| Organization/structure | |
| Use of language | 25% | Ability To Use Source Materials |
| Chicago Manual of Style, APA, MLA (know these) | |
| Use of reference materials | |
| Evaluation of sources | |
| Integration of resource material |
Areas of Study
- Critical Reasoning
- Proper Use of Punctuation
- Proper Verb Tense
- The use of Capital Letters
- Subject/Verb Agreement
- Independent and Dependent Clauses
- Pronouns
- Active and Passive Voice
- Parallelism
- Dangling Modifiers
- Prepositions
- MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style
Free study resources
Connecticut Community College - There used to be a website hosted on Yahoo that had over 50 sample questions. I used it for my own study, and it was great. Unfortunately it vanished. The good news is that I found this one instead and it has a TON of outstanding quizzes. Literally start at "1" and work your way down.
If you can answer these backwards and forwards, you should feel ready to take the exam! I'm jealous that I didn't find it sooner. :P
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) - Some very good information here. Don't get too far down in the weeds with the reading. Stick to the more basic topics on the right side of the screen.
The Grammar and Mechanics section will probably be your best bet for the non-essay version of the College Composition Modular CLEP. Reviewing this section will make spotting the errors in the example sentences all the easier.
Citing Sources - Ah Purdue, I'm really liking what you did here. See this link for the Research and Citation Resources section of the Purdue Online Writing Lab. Has links to all of the manuals of style and you should also read up on the Conducting and Using Research sections as well.
How to Identify the Argument of an Essay - A great document that walks you through the steps of identifying an argument. (clicking the link will download the word document) A hat tip to Dr. Ron Milon for posting this on his site.
Commas, Colons, and Semicolons, Oh My! Also a good article on how to put together a decent paragraph. It deals with subject ordering, and making smooth transitions. Know this because you'll be asked to critique and fix a few paragraphs.
The Elements of Style - A book originally written in 1918, it covers most of the common mistakes people make while writing. I only used it for chapters 9 through 18, as those applied to paragraph construction. Glancing briefly through the first half of the book; it appears to be just as valuable as the latter half.
Recommended bargain-priced study resources
Always check your library first! You may be able to find some of these for free. You don't have to buy the officially recommended resources all the time. If you're the type of person that prefers to study from a textbook source however, then please see below.
Also note: I'm including some old resources here for the English and Freshman Composition CLEPs. That's because the material is basically the same and you can get them for cheap. That being said, you will need a supplemental study resource for the new exam when it comes to referencing source material. That isn't included in the old study guides. My advice would be to just read up on APA, MLA, etc. Do this and you should be fine.
CLEP College Composition & College Composition Modular w/CD-ROM (CLEP Test Preparation)
- The new REA guide for the College Composition series of CLEPs.
CLEP Freshman College Composition (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the CLEP Exam (Test Preps)
- Library on base for the win! Make sure you check your local library before laying down the money for this one, but it does a great job preparing you.
InstantCert Academy - College Composition Modular Specific Exam Feedback - This is linking to the old English Composition CLEP, but they do have a new thread for the College Composition CLEP as well. Five pages of study notes, specific topics of study, and after action reports from returning test-takers. The community has done a great job with this particular thread. Definitely check out the Flashcards! They're for the old English Composition CLEP, but much of the material still applies here.
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
Much like the old English Composition CLEP, this is not a terribly hard exam. In fact, for the last three years I've left the English Composition CLEP study guide up since they cover the exact same material. Unfortunately, I was also receiving at least five Emails a week asking where the College Composition Modular CLEP study guide was. Here you go folks, sorry it took so long.
Make sure you know the rules for punctuation. I found the questions dealing with verb tense, point of views, and coherence pretty simple. If you've ever thought to yourself, "This isn't written very well" while reading a book (or this study guide), then you'll probably be fine on this exam as well. In the end, it's about identifying what's wrong, and making it right again. Also, remember that the new exam has a section on source materials and how to reference them. Know how to reference your source material before taking this test and you'll score some free points.
One of the downsides of typing this study guide is that it forced me to review all the writing resources I had copied down from last year. Now I'm counting how long my sentences are and making careful use of commas again. /grumble.. See how I suffer for you? ;)
This exam is worth six credits, though many schools will only award the full amount if you've completed the essay portion. See the College Composition CLEP Study Guide if you plan on going that route.
Best of luck!
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FAQs
How hard is the college composition modular CLEP? ›
The easiest CLEP exam for one person is potentially the most difficult for another. For example, College Composition Modular and Analyzing & Interpreting Literature both have reputations for being among the easiest CLEP exams, but non-native English speakers might find them difficult.
How do I pass my college composition CLEP? ›- Earn the Modern States voucher. Besides getting to take the exam for free, you'll get a good prep course that really helps with the multiple choice portion! ...
- Master the 5 paragraph essay. ...
- Get a copy of the CLEP Official Study Guide. ...
- ESSAYS.
...
What is the difference between the College Composition and College Composition Modular exams?
| College Composition | College Composition Modular | |
|---|---|---|
| Timing | 120 minutes (multiple choice, 50 minutes; essays, 70 minutes) | 90 minutes (multiple choice only) |
| Multiple choice | Yes | Yes |
Knowledge and skills required
If you are planning to take the CLEP College Composition Modular exam, you will want to brush up on your skills related to analysis, argumentation, synthesis, usage, ability to recognize logical development, and research.
The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends a credit-granting score of 50 for each CLEP exam. This is a scaled score, equivalent to earning a C in the relevant course.
What is the easiest CLEP test to pass? ›- Spanish Language. Pass Rate: 91% Out of all the CLEP exams, the Spanish Language test has the highest pass rate. ...
- College Composition Modular. Pass Rate: 83% ...
- College Composition. Pass Rate: 81% ...
- Introductory Sociology. Pass Rate: 80% ...
- Principles of Marketing. Pass Rate: 79%
- Practice Questions and Study Guides. College Board study guides contain official CLEP practice questions to help you prepare for your exam.
- Online Resources. ...
- Test-Taking Tips. ...
- Warning About Third-Party Study Materials. ...
- Get Familiar with the Testing Platform.
There are no penalties if a student fails a CLEP exam. It should be noted, however, the CLEP Retest Policy states that “test takers may not repeat an exam of the same title within three months of the initial testing date.
How many questions do you need to get right to pass the CLEP exam? ›Generally, only 50 out of 80 is needed to pass a CLEP exam, which comes out to a grade of 63%. The catch is that a CLEP test will appear as a “P” for “pass” on your transcript whether you get a 50 or an 80.
Does the college composition Modular CLEP have an essay? ›In addition to the multiple-choice section, the College Composition exam includes a mandatory essay section that tests skills of argumentation, analysis, and synthesis. This section of the exam consists of two essays, both of which measure a test taker's ability to write clearly and effectively.
Which college student would most likely be awarded for a CLEP exam? ›
CLEP Students Are More Likely to Graduate
Students in the military. Students age 25 or older. First-generation college-going students. Underrepresented students.
The College Composition Modular exam contains approximately 90 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 95 minutes. It is designed for colleges that want a valid, reliable multiple-choice assessment, and most colleges award credit based on the College Composition Modular exam alone.
Do colleges prefer CLEP or AP? ›Generally, AP scores are more widely accepted by colleges than CLEP scores when it comes to placing out of courses. Even so, a high CLEP exam on your student's resume may still boost their chances of acceptance into a college.
Does CLEP improve GPA? ›CLEP isn't graded credit, so technically it doesn't help or hurt your GPA…but, resourceful parents can use this strategy to help their teen's GPA remain strong. CLEP (College Level Exam Program) allows a student to test out of a class.
Are CLEP exams worth taking? ›Taking CLEP exams can save you time and money because you'll earn college credit and move through your bachelor's degree program faster. However, not every school accepts them, so it's a good idea to double-check availability first.
Is 43 a good CLEP score? ›Most colleges consider a scaled score of 50 or higher to be passing and will grant credit to you for the CLEP test.
Is 44 a good CLEP score? ›The CLEP exams are accepted in over 2,900 higher education institutions nationwide. Exam scores range from 20 to 80, and the American Council on Education (ACE) recommends a credit-granting score of 50, often referred to as the “C level” because it corresponds to earning a grade of C in the equivalent course.
Can you CLEP out of a class you failed? ›Most schools will not allow you to CLEP out of a class you failed at their institution, forcing you to retake the entire class again.
Is 59 a good CLEP score? ›“The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends a credit-granting score of 50 for each CLEP exam. This is a scaled score, equivalent to earning a C in the relevant course.” Sometimes this guideline causes panic instead of reassurance.
Is 70 a good CLEP score? ›The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends that colleges grant credit for a score of 50 or higher, but individual institutions can set their own CLEP credit policies.
How long should you study for a CLEP exam? ›
Depending on your learning style, studying for a CLEP exam could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. As a general rule, the more time you have to study, the better. Keep a calendar and block out an hour or two every day or every other day to devote to studying for your exam.
What is the college composition CLEP like? ›Overview. The College Composition exam uses multiple-choice questions and essays to assess writing skills taught in most first-year college composition courses. Those skills include analysis, argumentation, synthesis, usage, ability to recognize logical development, and research.
What percent is needed to pass a CLEP? ›Generally, only 50 out of 80 is needed to pass a CLEP exam, which comes out to a grade of 63%. The catch is that a CLEP test will appear as a “P” for “pass” on your transcript whether you get a 50 or an 80.
Is the college Math CLEP test hard? ›Is the math CLEP test hard? Math is generally considered the most difficult of the CLEP test topics.
Is CLEP as good as AP? ›That choice is up to you. Both CLEP and AP programs help students master introductory college-level coursework. The main difference is that you prepare for CLEP exams on your own time, while AP exams are taken after completing an AP course.
Does college composition modular have an essay? ›College Composition Modular CLEP also does not require written essays in its exam while the College Composition CLEP includes two mandatory written essays as part of its exam.
How long should you study for CLEP? ›Depending on your learning style, studying for a CLEP exam could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. As a general rule, the more time you have to study, the better. Keep a calendar and block out an hour or two every day or every other day to devote to studying for your exam.
Do you get CLEP results immediately? ›Your official scores will be available in your CLEP account within one business day of your test date. Scores for exams with writing sections will be available on the My Account Portal within two to three weeks after your test date.
How many times can you take a CLEP exam? ›12. Can you retake a CLEP test? You can take CLEP tests as many times as you want (though you'll have to pay the $87 fee each time).
What happens if you fail a CLEP exam? ›What Happens if You Fail a CLEP Exam? There are no penalties if a student fails a CLEP exam. It should be noted, however, the CLEP Retest Policy states that “test takers may not repeat an exam of the same title within three months of the initial testing date.
Which CLEP math is easiest? ›
College Mathematics
This is the most basic of the math CLEP exams, covering Algebra and Functions (20%), Financial Mathematics (20%), Data Analysis and Statistics (15%), Logic and Sets (15%), Counting and Probability (10%), Geometry (10%), and Numbers (10%).
The Algebra CLEP has a low pass rate compared to the Math CLEP. So, keep that in mind. It is not impossible to pass, but it's something to consider. Algebra can be difficult for many people.