Regents' Test Information
Georgia requires all students to take the Regents' Test to determine if they have the minimal reading and writing skills to succeed in college. All students must pass this test to graduate. UWG requires its students to take the test during their first semester.
The test is divided into two parts:
The Reading section, which contains 54 multiple choice questions based on brief passages. You have one hour to complete this section.
The Writing section, during which you write a three-page essay based on one of four prompts. You have one hour to complete this section.
Regents' Reading
- The Regents' Reading passages range from 175 to 325 words. The selections can be literary (short fiction or poetry), informative (such as text book explanations), or argumentative (such as editorials).
- The exam evaluates your ability in four different areas: Literal, Vocabulary, Inference, and Analysis.
- Literal: tests your ability to recognize and understand what actually happens in the passage (ex. details, facts, plot, cause and effect, etc).
- Vocabulary: tests your knowledge of college-level vocabulary, which tends to affect your ability to understand the passage.
- Inference: tests your ability to identify the main idea, use inductive or deductive reasoning, or interpret figurative or other language.
- Analysis: tests your ability to address how or why a passage is written and examine its style, purpose, or organization.
- For examples of the Reading section, go to Practice Test or to Test with Feedback.
Regents' Writing
- The Regents' Essay is a two to three-page, handwritten essay based on one of four prompts. The essay is evaluated on structure, organization, development, and sentence style.
- Sample essay topics may be found here, at the Georgia State University website.
Can I exempt?
For exemption rules, please visit Regents FAQ.
How can I prepare?
The Writing Center, in conjunction with the EXCEL Center, has developed several ways for you to prepare.
You may make an appointment in the Writing Center for help. If you need writing help, we recommend that you write an essay using a sample topic under the test conditions. You can then bring the essay to the Writing Center for evaluation and recommendations for improvement.
For Reading help, you can go to the above websites for practice tests. If you have questions about the reasoning behind certain answers, you can make an appointment. Furthermore, the Writing Center has its own sample reading test that you can work on with a tutor.
If you have been signed up for the Writing Center Regents' -- Fall 2008 WebCT course, you can write practice essays and complete practice reading quizzes online on WebCT Vista. Come in to the UWC for an appointment for your essay to be evaluated.
Finally, beginning Tuesday, September 9, the Writing Center will conduct a workshop twice each week on Regents-specific topics until the beginning of the testing period. For more information on the workshops, please click on the Workshops tab to the left.