Online Workshop for Regents Test Preparation

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Online Workshop for Regents Test Preparation

• Essay and Reading Tests

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Contents of This Presentation

• This presentation provides students with
  information about preparing for both the Regents
  Essay Test and the Regents Reading Test.
• Information on the Essay Test comes first. Much
  of the content comes from How to Pass the
  Georgia Regents Essay Examination, a booklet
  available on Clayton States site at
• http//a-s.clayton.edu/walkup/howtopassrev2.pdf.
• Information on the Reading Test derives from the
  Board of Regents site at http//www2.gsu.edu/www
  rtp/.

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Regents Test Information Available at Clayton
State University

• Please go to http//adminservices.clayton.edu/reg
  ents/.
• This site includes Regents Test information
  from the University System of Georgia and from
  Clayton State University. In addition, it
  provides the following
• Specific information about registration and
  administration of the Regents Test during the
  current semester.
• Recommendations about preparing for and taking
  the Regents Test.
• Information about Regents Reading Skills (RGTR
  0198) and Regents Writing Skills (RGTE 0199).
  

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General Information about the Regents Essay Test

• Students have one hour to complete the essay.
• The test booklet has two pages, front and back.
  Students read the directions and choose one of
  four topics on the first page. They write the
  essay on the three remaining lined pages.
• Students are required to write with black ink.
  They are not allowed to do the following
• Use erasable ink.
• Rewrite over penciled drafts.
• Use white-out.

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Scoring the Regents Essay Test

• The following rating scale is used to score
  Regents Essay Tests
• 3 (superior)
• 2 (passing)
• 1 (failing).
• Three raters blind score each essay. They do not
  know the students identity and his or her
  college or university.
• To pass the Regents Essay Test, a student must
  receive two scores of at least 2 from the raters.
  

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A Few Recommendations about the Regents Essay
Test

• Skip lines On the three lined pages provided for
  writing the essay, students should leave a blank
  line after each line of written text. Doing so
  has two advantages
• Students can more easily proofread and correct
  their essays.
• Raters can more easily read the essays.
• Write neatly Students may write in cursive or
  may print, but their handwriting should help
  raters get through their essays quickly. If
  raters have difficulty deciphering words and
  understanding content, an essay is less likely to
  pass.

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More Recommendations about the Regents Essay Test

• Read directions and the four topics carefully
  Students should make sure that they are following
  directions. While writing, they should reread
  the chosen topic to make sure that their essays
  remain on track.
• Spend time planning the essay In the space
  provided on the test booklet, students can
  prewrite (for example, prepare a skeleton outline
  with a thesis and topic sentences) during the
  first 5 minutes or so.
• Spend time proofreading the essay Students
  should set aside 10 minutes or so to reread and
  correct their essays. They may use dictionaries
  during the last 15 minutes.

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A Few Recommendations about Point of View

• Use 1st person (I), when appropriate With
  personal experiences, students should use 1st
  person. They should, however, limit the use of
  I think, I feel, and other filler.
• Avoid using 2nd person (you) The words you
  and your usually refer to the reader. Regents
  Essay topics do not call for the writer to give
  instructions, directions, or commands to the
  reader.
• Use 3rd person Writers most frequently use 3rd
  person (for example, a freshman, George,
  she, it, they, corporations, people).

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The Importance of Organization and Development

• According to the USG Board of Regents, a passing
  essay has a central idea directly related to the
  assigned topic, has a clear organizational plan,
  and develops points with evidence and details in
  a coherent, logical, and non-repetitious way.
• Students should consider the following in
  planning the structure and content of their
  Regents Essay Tests
• an introductory paragraph with a thesis,
• two or three well-developed body paragraphs, and
  
• a short concluding paragraph.

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Recommendations about Writing an Introductory
Paragraph

• Attempt to open the introduction by arousing
  interest in the topic Pages 21-26 in How to
  Pass the Georgia Regents Essay Examination
  provide nine ways to begin an introductory
  paragraph effectively.
• State the central idea, or thesis, at the endnot
  the beginningof the introductory paragraph
  Writers should first arouse interest in the
  topic. An opening paragraph that states the
  thesis first has nowhere to go the rest of the
  paragraph will become repetitious or digressive.

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More Recommendations about the Introduction

• Do not attempt to state the thesis as an
  announcement A statement such as In this essay,
  I will tell about . . . merely announces the
  topic and gives little insight into the essays
  main idea.
• Write between three and five sentences in the
  introductory paragraph Writers should arouse
  interest in the topic in a few sentences and lead
  into the thesis statement. An introductory
  paragraph shorter than three sentences does not
  arouse interest. An introductory paragraph
  longer than five sentences may keep a writer from
  spending enough time developing the body
  paragraphs.

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Recommendations about Writing Body Paragraphs

• Write two or three well-developed body
  paragraphs Since students have only one hour to
  plan, write, and proofread the essay, they should
  limit the number of body paragraphs.
• Begin each body paragraph with a topic sentence
  that follows logically from the thesis and tells
  what the body paragraph covers A clear opening
  topic sentence helps a writer stay focused on the
  topic of the paragraph, and it helps the reader
  understand the topic.

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More Recommendations about Body Paragraphs

• Develop topic sentences with specific detail
  examples, reasons, and other evidence. Pages
  26-38 in How to Pass the Georgia Regents Essay
  Examination present good advice and models for
  developing body paragraphs.
• Maintain unity. Body paragraphs should not
  digress into content unrelated to the topic
  sentence. A well-stated topic sentence limits
  the body paragraphs content to one clear main
  idea.

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Recommendations about Writing the Conclusion

• Re-emphasize the thesis from the first paragraph
  Writers should not, however, repeat the thesis
  word for word.
• Keep the conclusion short Two or three
  appropriate sentences are sufficient. The
  conclusion is the least important paragraph in
  the essay. Writers should spend less time on the
  conclusion and more time on development in their
  body paragraphs.

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A Sample Thesis from How to Pass the Georgia
Regents Essay Examination

• My favorite vacation spot in the world is
  definitely London I love it for its theaters,
  its restaurants, and even its weather.
• The writer here has chosen to write on this
  topic What is your idea of a perfect vacation?
  Explain.
• The thesis contains a plan of development, or
  blueprint, for the topic ideas in three body
  paragraphs. A thesis statement does not
  necessarily have a plan of development for its
  two or three body paragraphs, but many students
  use this approach on the Regents Essay Test .

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Sample Thesis with a Plan of Development and
Three Topic Ideas

• Thesis My favorite vacation spot in the world
  is definitely London I love it for its theaters,
  its restaurants, and even its weather.
• Topic 1 Nothing is as exciting as seeing a play
  or musical in Londons theater district.
• Topic 2 I also enjoy the variety of cuisines
  available in Londons restaurants.
• Topic 3 Most of all, I like the cold, drizzly
  weather London is famous for.

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A Word about Paragraph Development

• On the Regents Essay Test, students should
  provide specific supporting detail in their body
  paragraphs. For example, the first topic
  sentence on the vacation topic has good
  possibilities Nothing is as exciting as seeing
  a play or musical in Londons theater district.
• A writer can tell about attending a particular
  play or musical (Cats) at a particular theater
  (the Old Vic) in a particular section of London
  (the West End). Writers are more likely to
  impress the raters if each body paragraph
  contains several pieces of credible and specific
  detail.

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A Sample Thesis (without a Developmental Plan)

• Thesis Good parents demonstrate three essential
  characteristics.
• On the Regents Essay Test, a thesis with a
  plan of development is not required. A thesis
  may imply, rather than explicitly state, the
  topic ideas in the two or three body paragraphs.
• However, if the thesis has no developmental
  plan, a writer should state a clear topic
  sentence, preferably at the beginning of each
  body paragraph.

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A Thesis without a Developmental Plan and Three
Topic Sentences

• Good parents demonstrate three essential
  characteristics.
• Topic 1 Parents who employ effective discipline
  help their children become more responsible.
• Topic 2 Furthermore, good parents encourage
  their childrens curiosity.
• Topic 3 Good parents also willing sacrifice so
  that they provide financial security for their
  children.
• Again, each body paragraph should develop its
  topic sentence with specific detail. Here,
  examples from a writers personal experiences and
  observations can help support each body
  paragraphs main idea.

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The Importance of Proofreading the Essay

• According to the USG Board of Regents, passing
  essays avoid frequent or serious errors in
  grammar, mechanics, word choice and sentence
  structure.
• To reduce these types of errors, students should
  remember to do the following
• Spend the last 10 minutes or so rereading and
  correcting the essay.
• Use a dictionary to double check spelling in the
  last 15 minutes.

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More Information on Proofreading the Essay

• Before taking the Regents Essay Test, students
  should review how to avoid the following major
  errors
• fragments,
• comma splices and run-ons,
• subject-verb agreement and other verb problems,
• pronoun agreement errors, and
• incorrect use or omission of endings (-s and
  ed).
• Online help with these errors is available at
• http//a-s.clayton.edu/walkup/linksonlinesites.do
  c.

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Regents Reading Test An Important Source of
Information

• The University System of Georgias Board of
  Regents has a website with information about the
  Regents Test.
• The information about the Regents Reading Test
  is excellent. It includes practice tests,
  feedback on answers, and analysis of correct
  responses.
• The link for this site is http//www2.gsu.edu/ww
  wrtp/.

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General Information about the Regents Reading
Test

• Students have one hour to complete the test.
• The test contains 54 multiple choice questions
  about nine reading passages.
• To pass, a student must obtain a minimum scaled
  score of 61.
• To score a 61, a student must have approximately
  72 correct answers (about 39 of the 54
  questions).
• There is no penalty for guessing, so students
  should answer all questions.

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Types of Questions on the Regents Reading Test

• The Regents Reading Test contains four types of
  questions
• Literal Questions (about 18-24 of the questions
  on the test).
• Inferential Questions (about 33-41).
• Vocabulary Questions (about 18-24).
• Analytical Questions (about 18-24).

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Literal Questions

• Literal questions deal with explicit (stated)
  ideas and information. To answer these questions
  correctly, readers must recognize details and
  facts, relationships, and references.
• Please review the Regents Reading Test section
  on the USG Board of Regents site
  http//www2.gsu.edu/wwwrtp/.

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Inferential Questions

• Inferential questions deal with implicit
  information, involving synthesizing and
  interpreting material in a passage. Answering
  these types of questions often involves
  identifying main ideas, reasoning based on
  evidence, and interpreting figurative language.
• Please review the Regents Reading Test section
  on the USG Board of Regents site
  http//www2.gsu.edu/wwwrtp/.

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Vocabulary Questions

• Vocabulary questions deal with word meanings
  identified in a passage through context clues and
  other types of analysis. A reader should
  identify the meaning of the word as used in this
  particular passage.
• Please review the Regents Reading Test section
  on the USG Board of Regents site
  http//www2.gsu.edu/wwwrtp/.

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Analytical Questions

• Analytical questions go beyond content to ask
  about the purpose, style, or structure in a
  passage.
• Please review the Regents Reading Test section
  on the USG Board of Regents site
  http//www2.gsu.edu/wwwrtp/.

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A Few Closing Recommendations about the Regents
Reading Test

• Use time well so that you can get through all
  nine passages.
• If you do not know an answer, move along to other
  questions, and then come back to that item later.
• Answer all questions.
• If you do not know the answer, guess.