In an effort to limit the amount of class time dedicated to explicit Regents Exam prep, we’re going to finish writing the practice exam this week. You should already have Part 1 and Part 2 in your folders. By Friday, finish Part 3, recording your response in the same essay booklet you used for Part 2. If you haven’t written Part 2 yet, do that, too. Printed copies of everything you need are available in our classroom, most likely on the bookshelves by the door.
Part 3: Text-Analysis Response
Part 3 of the exam is an abbreviated kind of analysis. The directions are clear enough, so you should be able to build the necessary writing out of the task and guidelines provided by the state. For reference, here are those expectations, which are the same on each exam:
Your Task: Closely read the text provided on pages 19 through 21 and write a well-developed, text-based response of two to three paragraphs. In your response, identify a central idea in the text and analyze how the author’s use of one writing strategy (literary element or literary technique or rhetorical device) develops this central idea. Use strong and thorough evidence from the text to support your analysis. Do not simply summarize the text. You may use the margins to take notes as you read and scrap paper to plan your response. Write your response in the spaces provided on pages 7 through 9 of your essay booklet.
Guidelines:
Be sure to:
• Identify a central idea in the text
• Analyze how the author’s use of one writing strategy (literary element or literary technique or rhetorical device) develops this central idea. Examples include: characterization, conflict, denotation/connotation, metaphor, simile, irony, language use, point-of-view, setting, structure, symbolism, theme, tone, etc.
• Use strong and thorough evidence from the text to support your analysi
• Organize your ideas in a cohesive and coherent manner
• Maintain a formal style of writing
• Follow the conventions of standard written English
Write your response in the appropriate section of the essay booklet. You should eventually have a booklet with Part 2 and Part 3 in it; if you need to stitch this together by separating and stapling pages, be sure to do that. Finish Part 3 by Friday. You’ll see why in a moment.
Assignment: Transcription and Revision
Your next assignment, due Monday the 1st, is to type both responses from this practice Regents. You can edit the text as you go or keep it as-is. If you make edits and revisions, you will be able to account for those when you complete the required metacognition and reflection next week; if you copy your writing verbatim, you will be able to talk about possible revisions when you delve into the scoring guides next week.
Typing this handwritten work invites you to grapple with your choices in a different way from our usual metacognitive approach. That will benefit our test prep, and it also creates critical evidence for GAP scoring. My intention is to see if Hunter S. Thompson’s idea about copying writing down works on ourselves. If it doesn’t, we might try typing up the exemplar essays.
Regardless, you are being asked to complete two separate tasks by Monday:
- Type up your handwritten essay response for Part 2 of the practice exam.
- Type up your handwritten analysis response for Part 3 of the practice exam.
Attach those typed versions to the appropriate Google Classroom assignment. I suggest making a copy of them, first, so that you keep one for the metacognitive work we’ll be doing next week.
Ask any clarifying questions about this below.