How do the two essay rubrics work, what do their shared criteria reward, and how do you use them to raise your score?
Understanding the scoring rubrics: how the two holistic essay rubrics work (Part 2 out of 6, Part 3 out of 4), the four shared criteria they both use, what holistic scoring means, and how to use the band language to lift a response.
How the two Regents ELA essay rubrics work: the Part 2 6-point and Part 3 4-point holistic rubrics, the four shared criteria (Content and Analysis, Command of Evidence, Coherence/Organization/Style, Control of Conventions), what holistic scoring means, and how to use the band language to raise a response.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this skill is asking
Both Regents ELA essays are scored on holistic rubrics that share the same four criteria, and understanding how those rubrics work lets you write toward the score on both tasks at once. This page covers the two rubrics (Part 2 out of 6, Part 3 out of 4), the four shared criteria, what holistic scoring means, and the single quality that most often lifts a response across both. The transferable skill is reading the rubric as the description of what a strong response looks like, and deliberately building those qualities in. (For criterion-by-criterion detail, see the argument rubric and the text-analysis rubric.)
Two rubrics, four shared criteria
The two essays are scored on the same dimensions at different scales.
This shared structure is good news: practicing precise claims, specific evidence, clear organization, and clean conventions improves both essays at once. The rubrics differ only in scale (6 versus 4) and in the specific task each measures (argument versus text analysis).
What "holistic" means
The rubrics are holistic, not additive, and this changes how to use them.
Because the score is holistic, the worst strategy is to over-invest in one criterion and ignore another, a dazzling claim with no evidence, or strong evidence in a chaotic structure, both land in the middle. Aim for a response that is solid on every criterion rather than spectacular on one.
The lever on both rubrics
One quality lifts both essays more than any other.
Try this
Q1. What does "holistic" scoring mean, and what is its practical consequence? [Recall]
- Cue. A rater gives one overall score reflecting the whole response across all four criteria; a weakness in one criterion drags the score down, and you cannot reach the top band by acing one criterion alone.
Q2. What single quality most often separates the top bands from the middle on both essays, and how do you build it in? [Short explanation]
- Cue. Analysis over summary. Follow every piece of evidence with the clause explaining how it supports the claim or develops the idea, and make the claim or central idea precise enough to analyze.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of NYSED exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Regents ELA (strategy)4 marksExam strategy. Name the four criteria shared by the Part 2 and Part 3 rubrics, and explain what 'holistic' scoring means. (Knowledge of the rubrics; rescoped to a 4-mark task.)Show worked answer →
The four shared criteria are Content and Analysis, Command of Evidence, Coherence/Organization/Style, and Control of Conventions. Both essays use them; Part 2 is scored out of 6 and Part 3 out of 4.
"Holistic" scoring means a rater assigns a single overall score that reflects the response as a whole across all four criteria, rather than adding separate sub-scores. A serious weakness in one criterion pulls the whole score down, and a response cannot earn the top band by excelling on one criterion while neglecting the others. Markers reward balanced strength across all four, which is why the band descriptors describe a whole response, not a checklist of points.
Regents ELA (strategy)4 marksExam strategy. Across both rubrics, the same quality most often separates the top bands from the middle. Name it and explain how to build it into a response. (Rescoped to a 4-mark conceptual question.)Show worked answer →
The quality is analysis (as opposed to summary). On both essays, the difference between the upper and middle bands is whether the response explains how (how the strategy develops the idea, how the evidence supports the claim) rather than retelling content.
To build it in, follow every piece of evidence with an explanation that links it to the claim or central idea, and make the claim or central idea precise enough to analyze. Avoid paragraphs that report what a source or text says without saying why it matters. Markers reward explanation over retelling; the reliable lever on both rubrics is to convert summary into analysis.
Related dot points
- The three-part exam format: the structure of the whole Regents ELA exam (Part 1 Reading Comprehension, Part 2 Source-Based Argument, Part 3 Text-Analysis Response), how the raw points combine, and how the total converts to a scaled score out of 100 with 65 to pass.
The shape of the whole Regents ELA exam: Part 1 Reading Comprehension (24 multiple choice), Part 2 the Source-Based Argument (out of 6), and Part 3 the Text-Analysis Response (out of 4), how the raw points combine, and how the total converts to a scaled score out of 100 with 65 to pass.
- Timing and pacing the exam: budgeting the three hours across Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, deciding an order to tackle the parts, leaving time to plan and proofread the essays, and avoiding the common timing failures.
How to budget three hours across the Regents ELA exam: a workable time plan for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, deciding an order to tackle the parts, leaving time to plan and proofread the essays, and avoiding the timing failures that cost otherwise strong students marks.
- Command words and task directions: reading the key command words on the Regents (identify, analyze, develop, distinguish) and decoding the bulleted task directions for Parts 2 and 3, so each response does exactly what is asked rather than a nearby task.
How to read the command words and task directions on the Regents: what identify, analyze, develop, and distinguish ask for, and how to decode the bulleted directions for the Part 2 argument and Part 3 response, so each answer does exactly what is asked.
- The argument rubric and scoring: the four criteria of the Part 2 6-point holistic rubric (Content and Analysis, Command of Evidence, Coherence/Organization/Style, Control of Conventions), what each rewards at the top bands, and what separates a 6 from a 4 and a 4 from a 2.
How the Regents Part 2 argument is scored: the four criteria of the 6-point holistic rubric (Content and Analysis, Command of Evidence, Coherence/Organization/Style, Control of Conventions), what each rewards at the top, and what separates a 6 from a 4 and analysis from summary.
- The text-analysis rubric and scoring: the four criteria of the Part 3 4-point holistic rubric (Content and Analysis, Command of Evidence, Coherence/Organization/Style, Control of Conventions), what each rewards at the top band, and what separates a 4 from a 2.
How the Regents Part 3 response is scored: the four criteria of the 4-point holistic rubric (Content and Analysis, Command of Evidence, Coherence/Organization/Style, Control of Conventions), what each rewards at the top band, and what separates a 4 from a 2, with analysis the deciding factor.
Sources & how we know this
- Educator Guide to the Regents Examination in English Language Arts — NYSED (2025)
- Regents Examinations in English Language Arts — NYSED (2025)