A significant accomplishment for high school students is the final essay. It can affect college admissions and has a big impact on the graduation process. Students and their families ask questions about the best ways to succeed and get ready every year.
Many students are unsure about what to expect from the final essay for the 2021–2022 school year. What are the essential prerequisites? How is it assessed? What subjects will be covered? These are only a handful of the typical worries as the deadline for the essay draws near.
We’ll address 12 of the most common queries regarding the final essay in this article. This guide will help you succeed whether you’re a parent trying to support your child or a student getting ready to write. It will make the process more clear.
| Question | Answer |
| What is the purpose of the final essay? | It tests students" ability to express ideas clearly and argue a point of view. |
| How long should the essay be? | It should be at least 350 words. |
| When is the final essay held? | Usually in December. |
| What are the themes for 2021-22? | Themes are related to personal experience, literature, and moral questions. |
| Can students use books during the exam? | No, it"s a closed-book exam. |
| How much time is given for the essay? | Students have 3 hours and 55 minutes. |
| What are the grading criteria? | The essay is graded on relevance, argumentation, structure, and grammar. |
| Is the essay pass or fail? | Yes, it"s graded as pass or fail. |
| What happens if a student fails the essay? | They can retake it in February or May. |
| Can the essay affect university admission? | Yes, it can be a requirement for admission in some universities. |
| What sources can help prepare for the essay? | Reading literature and practicing writing essays can help. |
| What should students focus on in their essays? | They should focus on expressing personal opinions and backing them up with examples. |
- Who should write the essay?
- When and where to write the final essay?
- How much time is given for the final essay? Can you take a break?
- When will the essay topics be known?
- What can and cannot be used while writing the final essay?
- What happens if you are late for the final essay?
- When and where you can find out the results?
- Who and how checks the final essay?
- How the essay is assessed, and is there any point in trying to write it perfectly?
- What to do if you failed the final essay?
- Is it possible to challenge the result in case of failure?
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Who should write the essay?
Anyone planning to take the Unified State Exam should write their final essay because it is an admission to the test. This indicates that the composition was composed by eleventh graders, outside learners, and past graduates wishing to sit for the Unified State Test.
A significant component of the graduation process for the 2021–2022 academic year is the final essay, and many parents and students are unsure of what to anticipate. Families can better understand how to approach this significant task with confidence by reading this article, which provides answers to 12 frequently asked questions about the format, requirements, evaluation, and preparation advice.
When and where to write the final essay?
The exam begins locally at 10:00 a.m. Naturally, you must arrive early; by 9 a.m., the classrooms ought to be prepared for students. You must listen to the instructions and complete the registration and sign-up forms before you can begin working on the essay.
The graduate’s place of study—a school, lyceum, or gymnasium—will serve as the setting for the final essay.
How much time is given for the final essay? Can you take a break?
"Writing the final essay will take three hours and fifty-five minutes.
The work start time is noted on the board as soon as the instructions are received and the forms are completed. Please be aware that if this time does not include filling out forms, you will need to figure out how long your work will take in order to have enough time to rewrite the text to a "clean copy" on your own!
The time allotted for writing the final essay (presentation) is increased by 1.5 hours for participants with disabilities, disabled children, and disabled adults. Participants’ meals and breaks for required medical and preventive measures are arranged if the final essay (presentation) lasts four hours or longer.
When will the essay topics be known?
The final essay’s precise subjects for 2021–2022 are unknown in advance. Only right before the exam begins will they be made public. A dedicated website will feature the topics fifteen minutes prior to the start time. After being printed out and read aloud to the graduates, they will either be posted on the board or given to everyone on paper.
Take caution: the topic number must be entered into the form before the topic can be written in full on the first page.
There is no use making phone calls to friends in Kamchatka because the subjects and essay texts for the final essay are chosen specifically for each time zone! But the primary themes for this year’s final essay have been known for a while.
Eleventh graders will compose a final essay covering the following topics in the 2021–2022 school year:
- A traveling person: the road in a person"s life.
- Civilization and technology – salvation, challenge or tragedy?
- Crime and punishment – an eternal theme.
- A book (music, play, film) – about me.
- Who lives well in Rus"? – a citizen"s question.
We remind you that there is an official commentary from the Federal Institute for Pedagogical Measurements (FIPI) that contains comments on each of the open thematic areas of the final essays 2022, in case you haven’t had time to consider what can be written in the suggested areas.
What can and cannot be used while writing the final essay?
You may bring the following with you:
- Identity document;
- Pen (gel or capillary with black ink);
- Medicines and food (if necessary);
- Special technical equipment (for participants with disabilities, disabled children, disabled people, if necessary).
Furthermore, you will receive on-site:
- Spelling dictionary,
- Sheets of paper for drafts.
It is not permitted for you to bring:
- Means of communication;
- Photo, audio, video equipment;
- Reference materials;
- Written notes and other means of storing and transmitting information;
- Your own spelling and explanatory dictionaries;
- Texts of literary material for use in the essay.
Yes, you are also not allowed to use the texts of works! The organizers think that merely drawing conclusions from the books you have read is sufficient; you are welcome to use free quotes.
Any participants in the final essay (presentation) who have disregarded the rules will not be allowed to continue as members of the commission responsible for conducting the final essay.
What happens if you are late for the final essay?
The commission will decide whether to allow a latecomer to take the exam, but we do not yet have a precise answer for this question.
That being said, there is no doubt that a tardy will not receive extra time or instructions. Try your luck if you are certain that you will have the time and the ability to complete the forms on your own. Naturally, it is preferable to avoid taking a chance and make an effort to depart early!
When and where you can find out the results?
A city commission is established to review the completed essays.
It is necessary to check the final essay (presentation) within seven calendar days of the essay’s date. The school where you wrote the protocol publishes the final version on official documents.
You will be able to view the results in your personal account on the official portal later, by the end of December. There, a work scan accompanied by expert commentary will be viewable, along with the criteria that determined which schoolboy received a "plus" and which a "minus" for. The State Services portal also provides access to essay grades.
Who and how checks the final essay?
It is well known that a knowledgeable municipal commission checks students’ work, not the teachers themselves.
Once the essays are turned in, copies are made in the classroom and the original essays and copies are placed into two large envelopes. Experts only receive copies, so they are essentially unable to alter or fix anything in the work.
How the essay is assessed, and is there any point in trying to write it perfectly?
The final essay is graded using a pass/fail methodology. Nonetheless, a lot of colleges, particularly those that emphasize the humanities, reevaluate essays and, at the university’s discretion, may grant up to 10 extra points for exceptionally well-written essays that fall under the purview of the so-called individual achievements. So, giving it a shot makes sense!
How do they assess the finished piece, then?
It must first fulfill two fundamental requirements: an adequate volume and autonomous writing.
- The recommended volume of the final essay is from 350 words, including service words. More is possible, there are no restrictions here. But if the essay is less than 250 words, then a "fail" is given.
- Independence in writing the final essay implies the absence of copying or reproducing from memory even a small fragment of someone else"s text.
Quoting directly or indirectly is permitted as long as the source is cited (a free-form link is required). The participant’s own text should not be louder than the quotation.
The final essay is evaluated only if requirements No. 1 and No. 2 are satisfied. Five criteria are used to guide this process.
You must unquestionably receive a "pass" for the final essay based on criteria Nos. 1 and 2, in addition to an extra "pass" for one of the other criteria.
1. Adherence to the subject. Everything is obvious in this instance: you don’t have to stray from the subject in order to effectively communicate its meaning and reasoning, which should be understood from the outset.
2. Debate. utilizing literary works. Important: the essay must include at least one literary argument (example) from literature, whether it be foreign or Russian, in order to be accepted.
We have examples of eleventh graders quoting Riordan, Pratchett, and even the Frog Princess fairy tale. The crucial aspect is that this turns into an argument that validates your viewpoint.
3. Reasoning’s structure and logic. We hope that after all those long years of school, everyone has mastered the traditional essay format, which consists of an introduction (thesis), a personal opinion, supporting evidence, and a conclusion. In any case, ensure that your ideas are clear and easy to follow and that the text is logically divided into paragraphs.
4. Quality of written speech. The last essay is composed in proper Russian. Speech mistakes shouldn’t be so prevalent that they make it impossible to comprehend what is being said.
5. Knowledge of literature. There shouldn’t be more than five grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors in every 100 words. But we would like to remind you that a dictionary will be available!
What to do if you failed the final essay?
This is actually a very uncommon occurrence—less than 2% of students typically receive a "fail"—that is, practically anyone can compose an essay "at least somehow" and pass the Unified State Exam.
However, you have two more revisions to the essay before the Unified State Exam begins if you don’t pass.
- February 2, 2021 – the first additional day for those who could not come for a good reason, and retake.
- May 4, 2022 – the second additional day.
The final essay may be retaken by the graduate if they:
- did not come for a good reason, confirming the absence with an official document;
- could not complete the work due to health reasons (feeling worsened sharply while working on the essay);
- received a "fail".
Is it possible to challenge the result in case of failure?
Only after two failures is it possible to challenge a "fail." In this situation, you have the option to submit a written application to have the written essay (presentation) reviewed by a commission from a different educational establishment.
The educational institution decides how to submit such an application and schedule a re-evaluation of the final essay (presentation).
Students should take note of this as the final essay for 2021–2022 is a crucial opportunity for them to demonstrate their critical thinking and idea expression skills. It’s an essential step in the graduation process that helps students develop transferable skills for higher education and beyond.
Comprehending the principal prerequisites, motifs, and standards is imperative for achievement. Through thorough preparation and practice writing various essay formats, students can boost their confidence on test day.
Ultimately, the culminating essay focuses on personal development as well as standards compliance. It’s a chance to delve deeper into subjects, hone writing abilities, and present unique viewpoints.
