1. **State the problem:** Find the area of the shaded kite-shaped region with vertical diagonal length 8 and horizontal diagonal length 8 (since two half-segments of 4 each sum to 8). 2. **Formula for kite area:** The area $A$ of a kite is given by $$A = \frac{d_1 \times d_2}{2}$$ where $d_1$ and $d_2$ are the lengths of the diagonals. 3. **Identify diagonals:** Here, the vertical diagonal $d_1 = 8$ and the horizontal diagonal $d_2 = 4 + 4 = 8$. 4. **Calculate area:** Substitute the values into the formula: $$A = \frac{8 \times 8}{2}$$ 5. **Simplify:** $$A = \frac{64}{2}$$ 6. **Final answer:** $$A = 32$$ The area of the shaded region is 32.