Comprehensive Examination in English – Session Two, Part A

Plan of Action for Writing the Essay

Step 1. Identify the topic. The Regents instructions will give you the topic, in three places: under Your Task, the text reads: “write a unified essay about…” and later, “develop a controlling idea about…” Whatever word or phrase comes after “about” in each place is the topic. The topic appears again in the first bullet point under Guidelines. While the instructions are always the same, the topic will be different on each Regents exam.

Step 2. Read the passages with the topic in mind.

Step 3. Ask yourself: What do these two passages tell us about the topic? Your answer to this question will become your controlling idea.

Step 4. Write the Introduction (first ¶).

a. Begin by introducing and discussing the topic in a broad, general sense.

b. Narrow the topic down to your single controlling idea.

c. The next-to-last sentence should contain the controlling idea.

d. End the paragraph with your thesis statement:

[TAG, Passage I] and [TAG, Passage II] both reveal [controlling idea about topic].

Step 5. Write the first Discussion ¶ (second ¶ of essay).

a. Begin with a brief identification and summary of one passage; explain what it is and what it’s basically about in 1-2 sentences.

b. Make a general statement of how the passage supports your thesis.

c. Discuss, in detail, how the piece is written, identifying at least two specific literary devices (techniques or elements) that help prove your thesis. In other words, explain how the author’s writing reveals the controlling idea about the topic which is defined in your thesis. Show how the piece does what your thesis says it does. You can quote directly from the text, but do so sparingly. Don’t quote too much at once, and don’t rely on direct quotes to illustrate your point. In addition, when discussing direct quotes, don’t merely repeat what the text says; illustrate its significance (why did you choose to quote those particular words?).

d. The concluding sentence should make a direct, explicit connection between the passage and your thesis.

Step 6. Write the second Discussion ¶ (third ¶ of essay).

Repeat Step 5, writing about the other passage.

Step 7. Write the Conclusion (fourth ¶ of essay). Read everything you’ve written up to now, and ask yourself: “So?” Your answer becomes your conclusion. In other words, try to find some real-world significance to your discussion of the topic and passages, something the reader can learn from your essay.

Step 8. Read your essay carefully; revise and edit. Most of the time, on these essays, students score at least a point lower than they might have by neglecting to read what they’ve written and improve upon it by adding ideas, eliminating irrelevancies and correcting language errors. Reading, revising and editing can add at least a full point to your score (one full letter grade), so it’s worth it to take the time and effort to do it.