Georgia Milestones American Literature and Composition EOC: complete guide to the reading, language, and writing assessment, item types, and the writing rubric

The End-of-Course (EOC) assessment in American Literature and Composition is the high school English Language Arts exam most Georgia students take, administered by the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) as part of the Georgia Milestones Assessment System. It is the final exam for the American Literature and Composition course and counts 20 percent of the course grade. It is a single online assessment that combines reading, language, and writing, testing transferable skills on unseen American and informational texts: close reading, source-based writing, command of vocabulary, and control of conventions. This page is the index for our American Literature EOC content: a map of the assessment, the item types, the writing rubric, the Georgia Standards of Excellence behind it, and the study approach, with links to every dot point.

The assessment at a glance

The American Literature and Composition EOC is delivered online in three sections and combines reading, language, and writing into one test.

• Section 1 (writing). You read two passages, answer selected-response and constructed-response items about them, then write one source-based extended writing response (an essay) using evidence from the passages.
• Sections 2 and 3 (reading and language). More passages, literary and informational, with selected-response and technology-enhanced items on reading comprehension, analysis, vocabulary, and language.
• Item types. Selected-response (four choices, one correct), technology-enhanced (multiselect, drag-and-drop, hot text, ordering), constructed-response (short typed answers), and the extended writing response.
• Two reporting domains. Reading and Vocabulary (53 percent) and Writing and Language (47 percent). Reading literary, reading informational, and vocabulary are reported under Reading and Vocabulary; the writing response, constructed responses, and language items under Writing and Language.

Raw points from all sections convert to a scale score and an achievement level (Beginning, Developing, Proficient, or Distinguished Learner) using GaDOE's conversion for that administration.

Reading literary texts (American literature focus)

The EOC presents unseen literary texts, with an American literature emphasis (fiction, drama, poetry, and literary nonfiction from American writers and movements), and asks you to analyze them. Questions test theme, central idea, plot and structure, character, point of view, figurative language, and the conventions of poetry and drama. The reliable approach is to read actively, then answer with the text in front of you.

• Analyzing theme in literary texts
• Plot, structure, and author's choices
• Character and point of view
• Figurative language and literary devices
• Reading poetry on the EOC
• American literature in context

Reading informational and argumentative texts

Informational passages on the EOC include essays, speeches, historical and functional documents, often from the American tradition. You analyze central ideas, the structure of an argument, an author's purpose and rhetoric, and how two texts relate.

• Central ideas in informational texts
• Analyzing argument and claims
• Author's purpose and rhetoric
• Text evidence and inference
• Comparing and synthesizing paired texts

Vocabulary and language

Vocabulary is its own reported strand on the EOC (it shares the Reading and Vocabulary domain). Questions test word meaning in context, word parts (roots, prefixes, suffixes), figurative and connotative meaning, and the language choices a writer makes for tone and effect.

• Vocabulary in context
• Word parts and word relationships
• Figurative and connotative meaning
• Language, tone, and word choice

The extended writing response (essay)

The extended writing response is the essay in Section 1: one source-based response written from two passages, scored on the seven-point two-trait rubric. You establish a controlling idea or claim, develop it with specific evidence from the passages, organize it coherently, and (in an argument) address a counterclaim.

• Understanding the extended writing response
• Writing a claim or controlling idea
• Using evidence from the passages
• Organizing and elaborating ideas
• Argumentative and informational modes
• The seven-point writing rubric

Narrative writing and constructed responses

The course standards include narrative writing, and short constructed responses appear throughout the test. A constructed response is a short typed answer; the signature move is answer plus evidence.

• Narrative writing techniques
• Structuring a narrative
• The constructed response: answer plus evidence
• Common constructed-response mistakes

Revising, editing, and exam strategy

Revising and editing items present a draft and ask you to improve it: revising targets clarity, development, and organization; editing targets grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling. The same conventions are scored on the essay. Knowing the online format, item types, timing, and rubric is its own skill.

• Revising for clarity and organization
• Editing for grammar and conventions
• The online format and item types
• Pacing the three sections
• Reading the task and rubric

The writing rubric

The extended writing response uses a seven-point two-trait rubric, and learning it is one of the highest-leverage things you can do.

• Trait 1: Idea Development, Organization, and Coherence (0 to 4). Worth 4 of the 7 points. Rewards a clear claim or controlling idea, evidence drawn from the passages, elaboration with examples and details, logical organization, and (on an argument) addressing a counterclaim.
• Trait 2: Language Usage and Conventions (0 to 3). Worth 3 of the 7 points. Rewards control of sentence formation, usage, grammar, and mechanics at the grade-level standard.

The two trait scores add to a total out of 7. Because Trait 1 is worth more, ideas come first; clean grammar alone cannot lift an essay that does not develop ideas from the passages.

The standards behind the assessment

The American Literature and Composition EOC is aligned to the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) for English Language Arts, grades 11 to 12. The relevant strands are Reading Literary (RL) (cite evidence, determine theme, analyze structure and author's choices), Reading Informational (RI) (central ideas, evaluate argument and reasoning), Writing (W) (argument and informative/explanatory writing, draw evidence from texts), and Language (L) (grammar and usage, mechanics, vocabulary and figurative language). Reading items assess RL and RI; the writing response and language items assess W and L.

How to study American Literature and Composition

1. Treat reading and writing as one connected skill, because the test integrates them and the essay is source-based.
2. Read American literary texts widely (fiction, drama, poetry, literary nonfiction) plus informational and argumentative texts, practicing close analysis and inference.
3. Write toward the rubric. Know the seven-point two-trait rubric so your controlling idea is clear, your evidence is drawn from the passages, and your conventions are clean.
4. Drill the answer-plus-evidence move on short constructed responses; it is the difference between full and partial credit.
5. Practice the online item types (multiselect, drag-and-drop, hot text) and use released Georgia Milestones materials to rehearse the format, the sections, and pacing.

For the official exam materials

GaDOE publishes the American Literature and Composition EOC Assessment Guide, content weights, writing rubrics, and study/resource guides on the Georgia Milestones Assessment System page, with rubrics and resources hosted in GaDOE Inspire. The Georgia Standards of Excellence for English Language Arts are published on the Georgia Standards of Excellence page. Always study from the current rubric and released materials, because the item types, sections, and scoring are set by GaDOE.