A. C. E. the Short answer on STAAR

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A. C. E. the Short answer on STAAR
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• To answer the Short Answer questions on the new
  STAAR test well enough to get a passing score of
  2, you will need to do the following things.

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Answer the Question

• Answer directly using the same wording from the
  question this will form your topic sentence.

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Cite evidence

• Cite evidence from the selection to support your
  answer. This needs to be a blended or embedded
  quotation (concrete detail). Do not just
  paraphrase this too often turns into just a plot
  summary.

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Explain and expand your evidence

• Explain and expand your evidence to support your
  answer (add commentary).

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Sample Question

• How does the narrators attitude toward his
  grandfather change over the course of the summer?

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• Notice how this is a two part question, and
  therefore you will need to provide a two part
  answer.
• What was the narrators initial attitude toward
  his grandfather?
• What change occurs in the attitude of the
  narrator?

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Answer the question directly

• Incorporate the question into your answer.
• Use strong word choice and be specific.
• Answer the question that has been stated

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Sample Answer
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• The narrators attitude changes toward the
  grandfather over the course of the summer from
  his being ungrateful to be able to spend time
  with his grandfather to his being appreciative
  of this family member.

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This sentence provides the A part of A. C. E.

• The question has been restated.
• A direct answer has been given to the question.
• This is the topic sentence of your paragraph.

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• In the beginning of the story, the narrator says,
  I hate having to take care of my Grandpa
  indicating a dislike for being around him.
  However, when the summer is over, he excitedly
  writes in his journal, Grandpa used to be a
  basketball star! Thats so cool that he can teach
  me.

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These two sentences provide the C part of A. C.
E.

• A quote is provided to show how the narrator
  feels both in the beginning of the story and
  another is provided to show how his attitude
  changes.

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• This demonstrates the narrators attitude change
  as he learns new aspects of his grandfathers
  life. By the end of the summer, the narrator
  realizes that his grandfather is not just a
  burden he actually has the ability to affect the
  narrators life in a positive way.

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These sentences provide the E part of A. C. E.

• Directly tell your reader how the evidence you
  have just provided proves your answer.
• You can begin our E with phrases such as
  This emphasizes, This demonstrates, This
  signifies that
• This sentence explains how the quotes supports
  the answer to better prove the answer.

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Putting it all together

• The narrators attitude changes toward the
  grandfather over the course of the summer from
  his being ungrateful to be able to spend time
  with his grandfather to his being appreciative
  of this family member. In the beginning of the
  story, the narrator says, I hate having to take
  care of my Grandpa indicating a dislike for
  being around him. However, when the summer is
  over, he excitedly writes in his journal,
  Grandpa used to be a basketball star! Thats so
  cool that he can teach me. This demonstrates the
  narrators attitude change as he learns new
  aspects of his grandfathers life. By the end of
  the summer, the narrator realizes that his
  grandfather is not just a burden he actually has
  the ability to affect the narrators life in a
  positive way.

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Looking at another example

• In this excerpt from Anne of Green Gables, do you
  think the stage directions enhance your
  understanding of the scene? Explain your answer
  and support it with evidence from the selection.

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3 Point Answer

• The stage directions most definitely help to
  present an image of the scene in the play. In a
  short story or novel, authors use words to
  describe the setting that the characters are in,
  which helps to paint a visual image in the
  readers mind. When the stage directions offer
  descriptions like a small figure, a child, sits
  on a battered suitcase, directions as to who a
  character is turned talking to as in to Anne,
  and directions as to how a line should be
  delivered as in Puzzled, these help the reader
  see what is happening, like descriptions in a
  novel or a short story. With these directions,
  the reader can definitely see the play being
  acted out in their minds, which helps them to
  understand the scenes better and connect with the
  characters just by reading.

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Short Answer for Paired Selections

• How are the themes of Those Winter Sundays and
  All My Babies are Gone Now similar? Support
  your answer with evidence from both selections.

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Look at what the question is asking exactly

• You must first figure out what the theme is of
  these two selections. What controlling idea
  appears in both?
• Then you must find a quote from both selections
  that prove that this theme exists.

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3 Point Answer

• Both themes are similar in the sense that both
  speakers have a feeling of remorse for not being
  able to appreciate who they had in front of them
  until the moment had passed and could not be
  recaptured. The adult speaker in Those Winter
  Sundays says of his fathers sacrifices, No one
  ever thanked him after acknowledging the his
  father with cracked hands that ached from labor
  would wake up in the blueblack cold to provide
  warmth for his family, yet the speaker, as a
  child, did not seem grateful for it. In All My
  Babies are Gone, time flew by too quickly for
  this mother as she looks at her three
  almost-adults, she realizes that she did not get
  to cherish her three treasures because she did
  not live in the moment enough, and she wishes
  she had treasured the doing a little more and
  the getting it done a little less. Both speakers
  realize what they missed only after it is too
  late.