Chapter 10
Extended Response Overview
If any part of the Reasoning Through Language Arts (RLA) Test could make prospective test takers gasp and rethink their plan, it would be the Extended Response section.
You can relax, though. No, really—relax. With the strategies you'll discover in this book, you'll have a process and a plan for tackling the Extended Response, so you won't have to waste time figuring out your approach on test day. You'll know exactly what to write about and where to start, and you'll gain some good tips for improving your writing, too.
WHAT IS THE EXTENDED RESPONSE TASK?
First we're going to look at what you're doing for the Extended Response section. Then, in the next chapter, we'll look at some strategies for how to do it.
You'll tackle the 45-minute Extended Response question right after the 10-minute break that follows the first reading and language section. The prompt will include two passages arguing opposite sides of a real-world "hot button" issue such as oil pipelines or the minimum wage. The passages could come in different formats (for example, an employee memo and a magazine article). The authors might also be quite different—a professional teacher and a concerned parent, for instance.