Comprehensive exams or general exams for the most part are different for everyone. Here is a collection of my thoughts and notes as I worked through preparations and reading lists. My exam questions and answers are included on the site under the PDFs heading under 2017. I hope this may help anyone on their own road to comps.
The Road to Comps Part 1: 19th Century Natural History in Comparative Perspective
The Road to Comps Part 3: Emergent Specializations: Paleontology
The Road to Comps Part 4: Emergent Specializations-Anthropology/Paleoanthropology
The Road to Comps Part 10: Literary and Print Culture Part 2
The Road to Comps part 15: Art and the American West in the 19th Century: General Background
The Road to Comps Part 17: Art and the American West in the 19th Century: Photography
The Road to Comps Part 18: Art in the American West in the 19th Century: Art and other Visual Arts
THE ROAD TO COMPS PART 19: ART IN THE AMERICAN WEST IN THE 19TH CENTURY: Scientific Visualization
The Road to Comps Part 20: Staying in the Car until the audiobook finishes
Bonus: The Aftermath