How to Write Great Essays

HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS
87
REGENTS’ AND OTHER EXIT EXAMS
More than twenty-five states, including California, Alaska, North Carolina, and Texas, require
a passing grade on an exit exam to be eligible for high school graduation. These tests vary,
so it is important to get specific information about the test you are preparing to take. How-
ever, most exit exams allow 60 minutes to develop an essay based on one of a choice of top-
ics. A list of topics for Georgia’s Regents’ exam, for example, may be found at:
www.gsu.edu/~wwwrtp/topics.htm (but remember to check with your school regarding the
test you will be given).
A typical exit essay is approximately 1,500 words, and is either expository or persuasive.
Other possible topics include responses to literature, biographical narratives, and even busi-
ness letters. Those who grade exit essay exams ask:
■
How well did you address the topic?
■
Were your ideas organized?
■
Did you develop major points and support them with details and examples?
■
Were your word choices and sentence structure effective and varied?
■
How consistent was your style (paragraphing), grammar, spelling, and
punctuation?
■
Did you express yourself freshly and uniquely?
T
Y P E S O F
E
S S AY S
You have been assigned dozens of essays during high school. They might have been a response
to something you read, an argument about a particular topic, or an explanation of an event
or other subject of study. In fact, there are countless types of essays. However, almost all
timed essay exams fall into one of two major categories: expository or persuasive. In fact,
the SAT I essay exclusively calls for persuasive essays.
EXPOSITORY
An expository essay gives directions, instructions, or explanations. It informs by present-
ing the writer’s knowledge about the topic to the reader. You might be asked to 
define
,
com-
pare 
and/or 
contrast
, or 
explain
cause and effect. In fact, think of the verbs used in your topic
as 
key words
that clue you in to the fact that you are being asked to write an expository essay.
These key words include:
■