American Literature
American Literature covers writing from the colonial period to the present, testing both knowledge of authors and the ability to read a passage closely. It is a standard literature elective at many colleges.
Start practice testAbout this exam
The exam moves through five periods: the colonial and early national era, Romanticism, realism and naturalism, modernism, and contemporary writing. Modernism and realism together account for a large share of the questions.
Roughly half the exam gives you a passage and asks about its author, period, technique or meaning. The other half tests knowledge of writers, works and movements directly.
Wide reading helps, but structured familiarity with the canon helps more. Knowing what a period sounds like lets you place an unfamiliar passage.
Topic breakdown
Topic weights published by College Board.
How to study for this exam
- Learn the periods by their characteristic voice, not just their dates, so unfamiliar passages are still placeable.
- Build a list of the most frequently examined authors and one work each.
- Practise reading short passages cold and naming the period before checking.
- Review basic literary terminology, which appears throughout the exam.
How the practice test works
- Choose all units or a single unit to focus on.
- Set the number of questions and a time limit, or practise untimed.
- Filter by difficulty to warm up or push yourself.
- Retake as many times as you like — every attempt is free.
- Your recent sessions stay on this device so you can review them.
Common questions
Do I need to have read the books?
Not all of them. Recognising style and period gets you through most passage questions, though reading widely certainly helps.
How does this differ from Analyzing and Interpreting Literature?
This exam is about American writers specifically. The other tests reading skill across all traditions and needs less factual recall.
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