1. CAHSEE PREP English Language Arts 1

2. What is the CAHSEE? CAHSEE stands for California High School Exit Examination. To graduate from high school in California, you MUST pass both parts of the CAHSEE. There are two parts to the CAHSEE: English and Math. 10 th graders will take the CAHSEE for the first time in February 2012. 2

3. To Pass You Need 66% Out of every three questions you need to get two right. 3

4. ELA CAHSEE Breakdown 45 points = Reading w/questions 15 points = Writing Conventions 12 points = Writing Strategies 18 points = Writing an Essay 4

5. Stay Calm, Stay Focused … Take Your Time … Take Extra Time! As long as you make the effort to prepare yourself ahead of time… You WILL pass! 5

6. The CAHSEE Essay Essay is 20% of your English score. It will be one of these five types of essay: Expository Persuasive Biographical Narrative Response to Literature Business Letter 6a

7. The Essay Types Expository: Focus is on information. Persuasive: Convinces someone of something. Biographical Narrative: Tells a story about someone. Response to Literature: Analyzes something that you have read. Business Letter: Formal letter. Must use proper format. 6b

8. The CAHSEE Essay Prompt The actual writing prompt – which tells you what to write – looks like this: 7

9. What is all that stuff ??? Reminders The Task Checklist 8

10. The Reminders… …never change. Learn what they mean before the test. 9

11. The Checklist… …never changes either! Learn how to use it. It tells you what the people grading your essay will be looking for. 10

12. The Writing Task… …is the most important part. It tells you what you have to write. 11

13. The Writing Task… what’s in it? 12

14. The Writing Task… what do I do with it? In order to help you write a good essay, you will learn how to “break down” the Writing Task using the 4 T’s. Topic – What’s it about? Type – What kind of essay do I have to write? Task – What specifically do I have to do? Thesis – What will my thesis (topic + opinion + reasons why) be? 13

15. The 4 T’s essay planner The 4 T’s Your three points (topic sentences) Your evidence 14

16. First, the 4 T’s This is where you break down the prompt: 15

17. The Task… takes practice! Now, let’s get some practice breaking down a CAHSEE Writing Task. Use the 4T’s sheet in your packet on: 16