The Anatomy of an Open Response

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The Anatomy of an Open Response

• Piece by piece, and step by step.

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Pieces Parts

• A Good Open Response Must
• Show an understanding of the text.
• Begin with a strong topic sentence that clearly
  states your answer.
• Use specific, concrete details from the text to
  support that answer.
• Offer commentary that explains those details.
• End with a concluding sentence that restates your
  answer.

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Understanding the Text

• Any well written open response must begin with a
  good understanding of the passage you are
  responding to.
• SO
• If you arent sure you know the passage and
  know it well...

4
READ
IT
AGAIN!!!
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The Topic Sentence (TS)

• A well organized open response supports one
  important main idea.
• This main idea is written as a sentence known as
• The Topic Sentence!

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What a Topic Sentence Does

• A topic sentence serves two very important
  functions
• It gives the reader an idea of what the rest of
  the paragraph is going to be about.
• More importantly, it answers the open response
  question clearly.

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Creating a Topic Sentence

• In order to create a good topic sentence, you
  have to find the topic of the passage.

• In other words, you have to find the main idea or
  theme of the passage.
• This will give you the information you need to
  answer the question and create a topic sentence.
  For example...

HUH?!?
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The Princess the Tin Box

• The open response question from MCAS Module 3
  asks
• In this story, what does the author seem to be
  saying about people?
• Good question. Knowing the theme of the story can
  help you create a topic sentence that answers it.
• This is where concrete details come in.

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Concrete Details (CD)

• Concrete details are the facts the characters,
  events, and actions that make up a story. You
  should be specific when using concrete details
  even use quotes!
• Analyzing and interpreting a storys concrete
  details helps us do things like find the theme.
• If we can explain why things happened, we can
  make meaning of the story.

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CDs from The Princess the Tin Box

• When the princess was a baby, her nursery looked
  like Cartiers window.
• When the princess was seven, she went to her
  brothers wedding, where she threw real pearls
  at the bride instead of rice.
• The princess chose the expensive box because she
  expected to get gifts of precious gems with
  which to fill it to the top later on.
• SO WHAT?!?
• How can we use this information to make meaning
  and answer the open response question?

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Commentary (CM)

• Thats where you come in... Concrete details can
  only tell us the who, what, when, where, and how
  of a story.
• You have to use your knowledge and experience to
  fill in the why.
• You make inferences...
• You draw conclusions...
• You interpret and explain...
• You look at each CD and explain its significance.
  This is called...

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CD 1

• When the princess was a baby, her nursery looked
  like Cartiers window.
• CM This is important because people begin to
  learn how to act when they are babies.
• CM This shows that the princess learned to like
  only the most expensive things.

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CD 2

• When the princess was seven, she went to her
  brothers wedding, where she threw real pearls
  at the bride instead of rice.
• CM Older brothers and sisters influence how
  younger children act.
• CM Her brothers wedding influenced what the
  princess thought weddings should be.

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CD 3

• The princess chose the expensive box because she
  expected to get gifts of precious gems with
  which to fill it to the top later on.
• CM The princess valued things more than people
  because her choice focused on the gift, not the
  person who brought it.
• CM This is because the princess was always got
  gifts, so she chose the present that would be the
  most useful.

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CDs CMs TS!

• Taken together, the commentary lets us figure out
  the storys theme
• People are influenced by the way they are raised.
• And this gives us the information we need to
  write our topic sentence
• In the story The Princess and the Tin Box,
  James Thurber is saying that people are
  influenced by the way they are raised.

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TS CDs CMs CS OR!!!

• Seem like a lot of work for just one topic
  sentence?
• OF COURSE NOT!
• While you were looking for your topic sentence,
  you also found the rest of your open response!

• You just need to add your concluding sentence.
• Simply restate your topic sentence and you are...

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Good
to
GO!!!
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In the story The Princess and the Tin Box,
James Thurber is saying that people are
influenced by the way they are raised. (TS)

• For example, when the princess was a baby, her
  nursery looked like Cartiers window. (CD)
• This is important because people begin to learn
  how to act when they are babies. (CM)
• This shows that the princess learned to like only
  the most expensive things. (CM)
• Also, when the princess was seven, she went to
  her brothers wedding, where she threw real
  pearls at the bride instead of rice. (CD)
• Older brothers and sisters influence how younger
  children act. (CM)

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Thurber makes it clear that the princess was
acting how she was raised to act. (CS)

• Her brothers expensive wedding influenced what
  the princess thought weddings should be. (CM)
• Finally, the princess chose the expensive box
  because she expected to get gifts of precious
  gems with which to fill it to the top. (CD)
• The princess valued things more than people
  because her choice focused on the gift, not the
  person who brought it. (CM)
• This is because the princess was always got
  gifts, so she chose the present that would be the
  most useful. (CM)