
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
An ellipse is shown on a standard coordinate plane with the equation
\[
\frac{(x - h)^2}{a^2} + \frac{(y - k)^2}{b^2} = 1.
\]
The center of the ellipse is positioned at (3, -5), the length of the semi-major axis is 4, and the length of the semi-minor axis is 2. Find $h + k + a + b$.

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