The Common Core Regents Examination in English This guide ...
ELA COMMON CORE REGENTS REVIEW BOOK
The Common Core Regents Examination in English This guide will help you practice for the Common Core ELA Regents. We will go over the parts of the test, as well as how the test is scored. This guide will help you come up with a strategy for taking the test. This guide is meant to be used over several days – puling an all-nighter the night before the exam won’t work! Use this guide, along with instruction from your teacher for best results. The Exam The Common Core ELA Regents is made up of 3 parts. Part One – Multiple Choice First, there are 24 multiple choice questions based on three readings. Each reading is a little longer than 1 page. There is typically a literature reading, a poem and an informational text. Each reading has 6-10 questions, totaling 24 for all three readings. Each question is worth one point. Part Two – Argument For part two, you will write a 5-6 paragraph essay based on a given topic. You will need to read 4 texts in order to write your essay. The texts are about a page to a page and a half in length. You will need to take a position on a topic and argue its merits. You must include counterclaims, text based evidence, citations and analysis. This essay is graded on a 6 point rubric. Part Three - Analysis Finally, you will write a 2-3 paragraph analysis essay based on a given literature reading. The reading is a little longer than one page in length. You will need to identify a central idea and writing strategy. This must be supported with text based evidence and thorough analysis. This essay is graded on a 4 point rubric. In summary, 24 multiple choice, a 6 paragraph essay and a 3 paragraph essay, plus 10 to 12 pages of reading to do in 3 hours. Yes, just like every other Regents, this exam is timed. Scoring The exam is based on a raw score of 56 for all three parts. Part one = 24 points Part two = 24 points. The essay is scored out of 6, then multiplied by 4 to get 24. Part three = 8 points. This essay is scored out of 4, then multiplied by 2 to get 8. 24+24+8= 56 The raw score is then weighted to come up with a score out of 100. The specifics of this weight vary from exam to exam, but a raw score of 30 has translated to a passing grade every time the exam has been given, so we will use 30 as our baseline. 1 Overview and Part 1
ELA COMMON CORE REGENTS REVIEW BOOK
Let’s practice. If you score 3 on the analysis essay, and 3 on the argument essay, how many points do you have so far? _____________ (show your work below)
How many multiple choice questions do you need to reach 30 points? ___________ See, passing this exam is well within your reach! Obviously the goal is to score as many points as possible on the exam! We are looking at the minimum requirements in hopes of easing some of the intimidation associated with this new test. Have a plan! When you go to take the test, be sure to have a plan. You have a lot to do in only 3 hours. Think about your strengths in ELA class. Are you a strong, fast reader? Does writing come easy to you? Are you an excellent multiple choice test taker? The honest answers to these question will guide your test taking strategy. There is no single strategy that will work for everyone. Examine your strengths, then decide what is best for you. One strategy is to write the Part 2 Argument essay first. This way, you are completing the largest task first, while you have the most energy. The part 2 task never changes, so we can be prepared for it. You will ALWAYS write an argument essay. This task always requires you to read 4 texts of about 1200 words each and write a 5-6 paragraph essay. The only thing that will change is the texts. This part will likely take you an hour or more to complete. There are 24 points available on the argument essay. Score these points while you are fresh and full of energy. After the Part 2 Argument, then move on to the Part 3 Analysis essay. This is a much shorter, 23 paragraph, essay about a literature text. Again, this task never changes. You will ALWAYS be asked to identify a central idea and support it with a writing strategy. We can prepare for that. The text varies and is about 1200 words. This task is worth 8 points. It may take you 30 to 40 minutes. Now there is only one part left! The Part 1 Multiple Choice questions are based on 3 readings – a literature text, a poem and an informational text. The two texts are about 1200 words each and the poem is about a page in length. Usually, there are more questions about the first reading than the other two. Unlike the essays, we have no way to predict exactly what will be asked. We know what types of things may be asked, but the questions change with every test, unlike the essay tasks.
2 Overview and Part 1
ELA COMMON CORE REGENTS REVIEW BOOK
The writing tasks are complete and you will likely have about an hour, maybe less, left to do the Part 1 Multiple Choice questions. If you have less time, do not panic. It is much easier to quickly answer multiple choice questions than it is to write an essay. That is why we did the essays first! This is NOT the only test taking strategy. Some may take the test in order, doing part 1 first, part 2 second and part 3 last. There are more points available in part one and two, so you may want to target them first. Perhaps you want to do part 2 first, since it is a long essay. Then you tackle part 1 since there are a lot of points to be had. You save part 3 for last because there are only 8 points up for grabs. Once again, examine your strengths and have a plan. What are my strengths in ELA?
What strategy will I take on the exam? What order will I take the test? Why?
3 Overview and Part 1
ELA COMMON CORE REGENTS REVIEW BOOK
Part 1 Multiple Choice Part 1 is not as predictable as parts 2 and 3, we can only give some guidelines in this section. Part one consists of 24 multiple choice questions based on 3 texts. The first text is a reading from literature. The reading is about 1200 words in length. It is followed by 9 or 10 multiple choice questions. The next reading is a poem, followed by 6-8 questions. Finally there is an informational text of about 1200 words. Topics often covered include, but are not limited to: Central idea
Word Choice
Tone
Inference
Words in context
Figurative Language
Perspective
Author’s Purpose
Characterization
Rhetorical Devices/Writing Strategies
Structure
Questions often refer to specific line numbers from the text. Be sure to look the lines before and after the line numbers. For example, if the questions references lines 32-36, you may need to read lines 26-40 to fully grasp the question. If you just read the given lines, you may get the answer incorrect. The test writers try to trick you by including “almost right” answer choices. Many questions will have choices that will seem correct, but there is a choice that is more correct. Be sure to read the questions fully. 4 Overview and Part 1
The Common Core Regents Examination in English This guide will help you practice for the Common Core ELA Regents. We will go over the parts of the test, as well as how the test is scored. This guide will help you come up with a strategy for taking the test. This guide is meant to be used over several days – puling an all-nighter the night before the exam won’t work! Use this guide, along with instruction from your teacher for best results. The Exam The Common Core ELA Regents is made up of 3 parts. Part One – Multiple Choice First, there are 24 multiple choice questions based on three readings. Each reading is a little longer than 1 page. There is typically a literature reading, a poem and an informational text. Each reading has 6-10 questions, totaling 24 for all three readings. Each question is worth one point. Part Two – Argument For part two, you will write a 5-6 paragraph essay based on a given topic. You will need to read 4 texts in order to write your essay. The texts are about a page to a page and a half in length. You will need to take a position on a topic and argue its merits. You must include counterclaims, text based evidence, citations and analysis. This essay is graded on a 6 point rubric. Part Three - Analysis Finally, you will write a 2-3 paragraph analysis essay based on a given literature reading. The reading is a little longer than one page in length. You will need to identify a central idea and writing strategy. This must be supported with text based evidence and thorough analysis. This essay is graded on a 4 point rubric. In summary, 24 multiple choice, a 6 paragraph essay and a 3 paragraph essay, plus 10 to 12 pages of reading to do in 3 hours. Yes, just like every other Regents, this exam is timed. Scoring The exam is based on a raw score of 56 for all three parts. Part one = 24 points Part two = 24 points. The essay is scored out of 6, then multiplied by 4 to get 24. Part three = 8 points. This essay is scored out of 4, then multiplied by 2 to get 8. 24+24+8= 56 The raw score is then weighted to come up with a score out of 100. The specifics of this weight vary from exam to exam, but a raw score of 30 has translated to a passing grade every time the exam has been given, so we will use 30 as our baseline. 1 Overview and Part 1
ELA COMMON CORE REGENTS REVIEW BOOK
Let’s practice. If you score 3 on the analysis essay, and 3 on the argument essay, how many points do you have so far? _____________ (show your work below)
How many multiple choice questions do you need to reach 30 points? ___________ See, passing this exam is well within your reach! Obviously the goal is to score as many points as possible on the exam! We are looking at the minimum requirements in hopes of easing some of the intimidation associated with this new test. Have a plan! When you go to take the test, be sure to have a plan. You have a lot to do in only 3 hours. Think about your strengths in ELA class. Are you a strong, fast reader? Does writing come easy to you? Are you an excellent multiple choice test taker? The honest answers to these question will guide your test taking strategy. There is no single strategy that will work for everyone. Examine your strengths, then decide what is best for you. One strategy is to write the Part 2 Argument essay first. This way, you are completing the largest task first, while you have the most energy. The part 2 task never changes, so we can be prepared for it. You will ALWAYS write an argument essay. This task always requires you to read 4 texts of about 1200 words each and write a 5-6 paragraph essay. The only thing that will change is the texts. This part will likely take you an hour or more to complete. There are 24 points available on the argument essay. Score these points while you are fresh and full of energy. After the Part 2 Argument, then move on to the Part 3 Analysis essay. This is a much shorter, 23 paragraph, essay about a literature text. Again, this task never changes. You will ALWAYS be asked to identify a central idea and support it with a writing strategy. We can prepare for that. The text varies and is about 1200 words. This task is worth 8 points. It may take you 30 to 40 minutes. Now there is only one part left! The Part 1 Multiple Choice questions are based on 3 readings – a literature text, a poem and an informational text. The two texts are about 1200 words each and the poem is about a page in length. Usually, there are more questions about the first reading than the other two. Unlike the essays, we have no way to predict exactly what will be asked. We know what types of things may be asked, but the questions change with every test, unlike the essay tasks.
2 Overview and Part 1
ELA COMMON CORE REGENTS REVIEW BOOK
The writing tasks are complete and you will likely have about an hour, maybe less, left to do the Part 1 Multiple Choice questions. If you have less time, do not panic. It is much easier to quickly answer multiple choice questions than it is to write an essay. That is why we did the essays first! This is NOT the only test taking strategy. Some may take the test in order, doing part 1 first, part 2 second and part 3 last. There are more points available in part one and two, so you may want to target them first. Perhaps you want to do part 2 first, since it is a long essay. Then you tackle part 1 since there are a lot of points to be had. You save part 3 for last because there are only 8 points up for grabs. Once again, examine your strengths and have a plan. What are my strengths in ELA?
What strategy will I take on the exam? What order will I take the test? Why?
3 Overview and Part 1
ELA COMMON CORE REGENTS REVIEW BOOK
Part 1 Multiple Choice Part 1 is not as predictable as parts 2 and 3, we can only give some guidelines in this section. Part one consists of 24 multiple choice questions based on 3 texts. The first text is a reading from literature. The reading is about 1200 words in length. It is followed by 9 or 10 multiple choice questions. The next reading is a poem, followed by 6-8 questions. Finally there is an informational text of about 1200 words. Topics often covered include, but are not limited to: Central idea
Word Choice
Tone
Inference
Words in context
Figurative Language
Perspective
Author’s Purpose
Characterization
Rhetorical Devices/Writing Strategies
Structure
Questions often refer to specific line numbers from the text. Be sure to look the lines before and after the line numbers. For example, if the questions references lines 32-36, you may need to read lines 26-40 to fully grasp the question. If you just read the given lines, you may get the answer incorrect. The test writers try to trick you by including “almost right” answer choices. Many questions will have choices that will seem correct, but there is a choice that is more correct. Be sure to read the questions fully. 4 Overview and Part 1
