
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Formulate and solve the following application problem:

In a "My Chinese Dream" essay contest at a certain middle school, a total of 118 essays were received from seventh and eighth graders. It was found that the number of essays received from seventh graders was 2 less than half the number of essays received from eighth graders. Find out how many essays were received from seventh graders.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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