Comprehensive Exam starting this spring-summer - tips?

[adel9216]

Yes I did talk with older grad students and they've said exactly the same thing !

I've also read the comps exam from an older student in my cohort, and it really looked like the theory chapter of my master's thesis with a bit more pages. In the way it was being presented and structured. But I got a clearer sense of what was actually expected. 

[adel9216]

It sounds like you've prepared the best you can. It will be impossible for people who don't know your program to give you advice any more concrete than "talk to people who've taken the exams before you." I know that the advice I received for my comp exams would be terrible advice (at a practical level) for the students in the department where I now teach, despite the fact it's the same field. And advice for the department where I did my PhD would have been useless for people in other departments at the same university. (Holy crap, but did comp lit people have a lot to read! I was glad I wasn't in comp lit.)

Good luck!

Yeah there are very big differences across programs, departments, universities... I find my comps is actually doable in my opinion. But some people have TWO comps (?!), etc. Yeah, there is a lot of stress and anxiety around the whole exercice. But I feel like my master's program and experiences have prepared me well so I feel quite confident and am excited to show what I am capable of! I'll work hard, but yes, I don't think I need to retain every single detail of every book. It's mostly just understanding the big debates, constrasting them, main definitions, what are the similarities, differences. And obviously, taking a "stance" in regards to it all and in regards to my doctoral research topic. That's my understanding of my exam.