How do you write a strong Research Simulation Task essay that synthesizes several sources into one evidence-based response?
The Research Simulation Task on LEAP English I and II: reading several related sources (often informational, sometimes with charts or other media), answering text-dependent questions, and writing an essay that analyzes or explains ideas across the sources using evidence from more than one, scored on combined Reading Comprehension and Written Expression plus Knowledge of Language and Conventions.
How to write a strong Research Simulation Task essay on LEAP English I and II: reading several related sources, then writing an evidence-based essay that synthesizes ideas across them using evidence from more than one source. The Research Simulation Task is required for every student and scored on combined reading and writing plus conventions.
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What this skill is asking
The Research Simulation Task (RST) is the prose constructed response every LEAP English I and II student must complete, and it is the highest-stakes writing task because it is universal. You read several related sources, usually informational, sometimes including a chart or other media, answer text-dependent questions about them, and then write an essay that analyzes or explains ideas across the sources, using evidence from more than one. It simulates real research: reading multiple sources and synthesizing them. It is scored on the combined Reading Comprehension and Written Expression dimension (holistic 0 to 4, weighted times 4, up to 16 points) plus Knowledge of Language and Conventions (0 to 3), for up to 19 points. This page covers reading the source set, building a controlling idea, and synthesizing evidence into an essay. The transferable skill is writing from multiple sources, the heart of academic research.
Reading the sources and building a controlling idea
The essay starts with reading across the set.
Reading the source set well is the foundation: find each source's central idea, notice how the sources relate, and look for the strongest evidence in each. These are the informational-reading skills, central idea, evaluating arguments, comparing and synthesizing, applied to writing. The controlling idea then frames the essay: it is your answer to the prompt, broad enough to draw on multiple sources. A controlling idea that only one source supports defeats the purpose of the task, so build one that invites synthesis across the set.
Synthesizing into an essay
Synthesis is what separates a strong Research Simulation response from a weak one.
This is the direct payoff of the comparing-and-synthesizing reading skill: the reading habit becomes the writing task. Using text evidence well, choosing strong, relevant evidence and explaining it, is the engine of the development, and the writing rubric defines what the combined dimension and the conventions dimension reward. The essay should read as one coherent argument drawing on the whole source set, in your own words, which is exactly what real research writing looks like.
Writing the Research Simulation essay
Try this
Q1. What does the Research Simulation Task require that a single-source essay cannot provide? [Recall]
- Cue. It requires synthesis: drawing evidence from more than one source and combining the sources' ideas into one developed point. A single-source essay cannot demonstrate the cross-source reading the dimension measures, so it scores lower.
Q2. A student reads three sources on a topic, then writes three paragraphs, one summarizing each source. Why will this score below a synthesized essay, and how should they rewrite it? [Short explanation]
- Cue. Three separate summaries are not synthesis; they do not develop a single controlling idea or connect the sources, so they sit low on the dimension. They should rewrite around one controlling idea, weaving evidence from all three sources together and explaining how each piece supports the point.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of LDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
LEAP 2025 English II (RST)16 marksSample Research Simulation Task: After reading three sources about the effects of a four-day school week, write an essay explaining its main benefits and drawbacks, using evidence from at least two of the sources. (Scored on combined Reading Comprehension and Written Expression, a holistic 0 to 4 times 4, up to 16, plus conventions 0 to 3, for up to 19 total; capped here at 16.)Show worked answer →
A strong response builds a clear controlling idea (for example, that a four-day week offers real benefits but carries trade-offs that depend on a district's resources) and develops it by synthesizing evidence from more than one source, explaining how each piece supports the point. It does not summarize each source in turn; it integrates them.
The combined Reading Comprehension and Written Expression dimension rewards understanding the sources and expressing that understanding through synthesis, evidence, explanation, and organization. The true tariff is this dimension scored 0 to 4 and weighted times 4 (up to 16), plus conventions 0 to 3, for up to 19; the marks field is capped at 16. Using only one source, or listing facts without explanation, keeps the score low.
LEAP 2025 English II (RST)2 marksWhy does the Research Simulation Task require evidence from more than one source, and what happens if a response uses only one? (2 points: the reason and the consequence.)Show worked answer →
The task is designed to measure synthesis: the ability to read across related sources and bring their ideas together, which mirrors real research. So the prompt requires drawing evidence from more than one of the provided sources.
A response that uses only one source misses the synthesis the task is built to reward and ignores evidence the other sources offer, which lowers the Reading Comprehension and Written Expression score, the response cannot demonstrate the cross-source reading the dimension measures. Plan to use all the sources, connecting their ideas rather than summarizing each separately.
Related dot points
- Understanding the written response tasks on LEAP English I and II: the three prose constructed-response (PCR) tasks (Literary Analysis Task, Research Simulation Task, Narrative Writing Task), the rule that every student does the Research Simulation Task plus either the Literary Analysis Task or the Narrative Writing Task, and what all text-based responses share: a response built from the provided passages, not a free-topic essay.
An overview of the LEAP English I and II prose constructed-response tasks: the Literary Analysis Task, Research Simulation Task, and Narrative Writing Task, and the rule that every student does the Research Simulation Task plus one of the other two. What every text-based response shares and why none is a free-topic essay.
- The Literary Analysis Task on LEAP English I and II: reading one or more literary texts, building an analytic claim about how the author develops theme, character, or structure, and writing an essay that supports the claim with specific text evidence and explanation, scored on the combined Reading Comprehension and Written Expression dimension plus Knowledge of Language and Conventions.
How to write a strong Literary Analysis Task essay on LEAP English I and II: reading the literary text or texts, making an analytic claim about how the author develops theme, character, or structure, and supporting it with specific evidence and explanation. Scored on combined Reading Comprehension and Written Expression plus conventions.
- Using text evidence in the written response: selecting relevant and specific evidence from the provided passages, integrating it smoothly (quoting or paraphrasing), and explaining how each piece supports the claim or controlling idea, with attention to drawing on more than one source on the Research Simulation Task, for the LEAP English I and II analytic prose constructed responses.
How to use text evidence in a LEAP English I or II written response: choosing relevant, specific evidence, integrating it by quoting or paraphrasing, and explaining how each piece supports the claim. The point-evidence-explanation habit drives the Reading Comprehension and Written Expression score on the analytic tasks.
- The LEAP writing rubric and scoring: how the two prose constructed-response rubrics work, the analytic rubric for the Literary Analysis and Research Simulation tasks (Reading Comprehension and Written Expression, holistic 0 to 4 times 4, plus Knowledge of Language and Conventions 0 to 3, up to 19) and the narrative rubric for the Narrative Writing Task (Written Expression 0 to 4 times 3, plus conventions 0 to 3, up to 15), the rule that an unscorable response earns 0, and how to write toward the top of each, for LEAP English I and II.
How the LEAP English I and II prose responses are scored: the analytic rubric (Reading Comprehension and Written Expression 0 to 4 times 4, plus conventions 0 to 3, up to 19) for the Literary Analysis and Research Simulation tasks, and the narrative rubric (Written Expression 0 to 4 times 3, plus conventions, up to 15). What each dimension rewards and how to write toward the top.
- Comparing and synthesizing paired texts: analyzing how two or more texts treat the same topic, theme, or question (agreeing, disagreeing, or emphasizing different aspects), comparing their central ideas, evidence, and craft, and synthesizing them into a single response, the reading move at the heart of the LEAP English I or II Research Simulation Task.
How to compare and synthesize paired texts on LEAP English I and II: analyzing how two or more sources treat the same topic, comparing their central ideas and evidence, and combining them into one response. This is the reading move at the heart of the Research Simulation Task, which draws on more than one source.
Sources & how we know this
- LEAP 2025 Assessment Guide for English I and English II — LDOE (2025)
- Louisiana Student Standards for English Language Arts — LDOE (2025)