English Exit Exam
Exit Exam workshops
Will start again in April
The Basic Task
The Exit Exam requires you to write a 750-word essay in which you “explore a main idea” from an essay or a short story. To do this properly, you must:
- identify a main idea from your reading
- explain this idea and how it is expressed
- respond to it in any way that you choose
Your essay must have a thesis based on your response to the writer’s idea. As usual, your thesis statement defines the overall point of your essay, so consider it carefully.
Click here for a printer-ready version of these notes in Microsoft Word format
| Some thesis possibilities: Responses to the Writer’s Point | ||
| Support it: | X’s point is valid because… | X is correct in suggesting that… |
| Challenge it: | X’s point is questionable because… | I disagree with X because… |
| Evaluate it: | X’s point is important because… | X shows meaningful insight into… |
| Criticize it: | X’s point seems illogical because… | X seems only partly correct because… |
| Analyze it: | X’s point represents a _______ view… | X’s idea shows his faith in _______… |
| Compare it to another viewpoint: | X’s point contradicts _______’s ideas because… | |
| Relate it to current issues: | X’s point relates to a major issue facing ___________… | |
| Relate it to your own experiences: | X’s point helps me to make sense of my own experience… | |
To support your thesis effectively in your essay, follow this general pattern:
In your opening paragraph:
- Identify the reading (mentioning title, genre, and author)
- State a main idea from the reading (the point that you have decided to focus on)
- State your thesis, indicating your response
- Give a brief preview of the points that will be developed in the body of the essay
In the body of your essay:
- Explain the writer’s main idea in detail
- Mention ways in which the writer expressed this idea (including key techniques and devices used)
- Proceed by developing your response regarding the writer’s idea
- Support what you have said in your thesis statement and explain your views
- Refer back to the reading often (mention specific statements or details, or quote from the reading)
In your closing paragraph:
- Conclude by briefly summarizing the major points raised in the body of your essay
- Give your final thoughts on the writer’s idea and on the issues you have raised in response to it
Recommended procedure
Step 1: Selection, reading, and analysis of the text:
- Skim all three readings and choose the one that you can respond to most effectively
- Read it carefully, with attention to the issues that it raises, the main ideas that are conveyed, the attitudes of the writer, etc. If necessary, pause to look up important words.
- As you recognize a main idea that you could discuss, take notes and underline key points. Highlight phrases that you might quote, and note examples of the writer’s techniques and devices.
- If time permits, reread the text with special attention to the main idea that you are focusing on.
Step 2: Planning your essay
- Brainstorm about your essay: How will you explain and analyze the writer’s idea? In what ways is it meaningful or important? How will you respond to it?
- Decide on a thesis for your essay, and write it down.
- Outline your essay, paragraph by paragraph, making sure that your points are in logical order. (You might actually write a topic sentence for each body paragraph as you prepare your outline.)
Step 3: Writing, editing, and proofreading
- If time permits, write a rough draft of your essay and edit it carefully before preparing your final copy.
- If there is not enough time to draft and edit your essay, proceed with the good copy. Work slowly and carefully, checking the grammar and clarity of each sentence as you write. Pause to look up words and to check spellings.
- Check your essay carefully before submitting it, with special attention to punctuation and grammar.
Reminders:
- Budget your time carefully; make sure that you have time to complete your essay and proofread it.
- Make sure that your essay is at least 750 words in length.
- No citations, page references, footnoting, or bibliography are required.
- You may write in a personal voice, using “I” (or you might decide to maintain a more formal tone).
Evaluation Criteria
The essays are graded by a team of teachers from English departments and by external examiners from across the province. They are graded, on each of the three criteria explained below, on a scale from A (very good) to F (unacceptable). Students pass the exam if they have grades of C or better on each of the three criteria; the grade D is a failing grade.
| Criterion | Details |
|---|---|
| 1. Comprehension and Insight |
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| 2. Organization of Response |
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| 3. Expression |
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After the papers are graded, students are informed of the results in a grade report which indicates the grade earned on each of the three criteria, as well as the outcome, Pass or Fail. The procedures for appealing the grade are explained in the back of the grade report. Should the student fail, the exam must be rewritten, and passed, before a D.E.C. can be issued. There is no limit to the number of times a failed exam may be rewritten, but students can only write on the authorized test dates. There is no fee charged for writing, or rewriting the English Exit Test.
Other Resources
- Davis, Fran and Susan Woodruff. Exit with Success: A Manual for Students Preparing to Write the Ministerial Examination of College English. Sainte-Foy: d’argile, 2001.
(*Copies are available in the Dawson Bookstore. You may also consult reserve copies in the Academic Skills Centre.) - Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 7th ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1999.
- Cambridge International Dictionary of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
- Collins Cobuild English Dictionary. London: Harper Collins Publishers Ltd., 1995.
- Hodges, John C. et al. Harbrace Handbook for Canadians. 5th ed. Toronto: Harcourt Brace Canada, 1999.
- Langan, John, and Sharon Winstanley. College Writing Skills with Readings. 2nd Canadian ed. Toronto: McGraw Hill, 2000.
- Norton, Sarah, Brian Green, and Neil Waldman. The Bare Essentials Plus. 2nd ed. Toronto: Nelson, 2002.
