Responding to Text Dependent Questions How to answer questions like a high school student. By SHANNON VESSELL

Important academic Vocabulary A Text: a book or other written or printed work “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell is the last text that we read as a class. Evidence: something which shows that something else exists or is true In literature, this is in the form of a quote from a selected text Text Dependent Question: Can only be answered with evidence (a quote) from the text Cite: quote (a passage, book, or author) as evidence for an argument or statement MLA Format: stands for Modern Language Association; a style of writing that we use in English class

Step 1: Dissect the question (what is it asking?) Questions to ask yourself… Sample Question What is this question/prompt asking me to do? This prompt wants me to find evidence to prove that Rainsford uses logic to get out of difficult situations. What difficult situations has he been in? Well, he fell off a boat, he was held at gunpoint, and he was involuntarily involved in a hunting game that held his life on the line… but that’s a lot to write about!! I think I’ll stick with the boat. How did he get out of these situations? In which situation did he use logic? He used logic in all of these situations, but after falling off the boat, he remained calm and swam to safety. Where (what page) can I look on to find evidence to support my answer? I remember he fell off the boat near the beginning of the story… that should be around page 15. Let me go back and check. Rainsford is a man of logic. Give evidence from the story of Rainsford using reason to get himself out of a difficult situation.

Quotes form the text I could use in my response… Step 2: Find the evidence (where did this happen in the story? Go ahead and set it up in mla format) Quotes form the text I could use in my response… Sample Question “A certain coolheadedness had come to him; it was not the first time he had been in a tight place. There was a chance that his cries could be heard by someone aboard the yacht, but that chance was slender and grew more slender as the yacht raced on. He wrestled himself out of his clothes and shouted with all his power. The lights of the yacht became faint and ever- vanishing fireflies; then they were blotted out entirely by the night” (15). “Rainsford remembered the shots. They had come from the right, and doggedly he swam in that direction, swimming with slow deliberate strokes, conserving his strength” (15). “Where there are pistol shots, there are men. Where there are men, there is food” (16). Rainsford is a man of logic. Give evidence from the story of Rainsford using reason to get himself out of a difficult situation. Quotation Marks Page number My Position Rainsford uses logic swim to remain calm and swim to safety after falling off his yacht. Period

Step 3: Analyze the evidence (How does my evidence prove my position Step 3: Analyze the evidence (How does my evidence prove my position? What is most important?) How can I make this more manageable? Sample Question I can chop this one into smaller parts and paraphrase the rest: “a certain coolheadedness had come to him” (15). “wrestled himself out of his clothes” (15). “A certain coolheadedness had come to him; it was not the first time he had been in a tight place. There was a chance that his cries could be heard by someone aboard the yacht, but that chance was slender and grew more slender as the yacht raced on. He wrestled himself out of his clothes and shouted with all his power. The lights of the yacht became faint and ever- vanishing fireflies; then they were blotted out entirely by the night” (15). “Rainsford remembered the shots. They had come from the right, and doggedly he swam in that direction, swimming with slow deliberate strokes, conserving his strength” (15). “Where there are pistol shots, there are men. Where there are men, there is food” (16). Rainsford is a man of logic. Give evidence from the story of Rainsford using reason to get himself out of a difficult situation. After realizing he would not be saved by Whitney or the crew on the yacht, he started to swim in the direction of the gunshots—hoping to find friendly people. These quotes are WAY too long, I’ll have to shorten them. What’s most important? I can use ellipses to shorten this one to make it flow better: “the shots…had come from the right, and doggedly he swam in that direction, swimming with slow, deliberate strokes, conserving his strength” (15). Falling off a yacht into an ocean can be a pretty stressful situation. Rainsford handled it like a champ. This quote talks about how he did not freak out when he fell into the water, instead he realized he was not going to be saved and dealt with the situation the best way he knew how… taking his clothes off so he wouldn’t drown. My Position Rainsford uses logic swim to remain calm and swim to safety after falling off his yacht.

Step 4: put it all together (How can I put it all together to make it flow? Does it completely answer the question?) Sample Answer Sample Question When Rainsford falls from the yacht, he quickly realizes that he cannot get back to the yacht. Instead of freaking out, it is in this moment that “a certain coolheadedness had come to him” (15). He remembers that he has been in tougher situations before, so he calms down and uses reason to think through his situation. He “wrestled himself out of his clothes” (15) so the weight of his clothes would not cause him to drown, and then he starts to shout for help; when he realizes that no one can hear his cries to help him, he remembers “the shots…had come from the right, and doggedly he swam in that direction, swimming with slow, deliberate strokes, conserving his strength” (15). Once he reaches the island, he goes to sleep and later realizes “where there are pistol shots, there are men. Where there are men, there is food” (16). His ability to think through this situation and make it to land safely, illustrates that Rainsford is a logical man who uses reason to get out of difficult situations. Rainsford is a man of logic. Give evidence from the story of Rainsford using reason to get himself out of a difficult situation.

Checklist: Questions to ask yourself Did you remember to use evidence from the text to support your answer? Where is your evidence? What page number supports your thinking? Did you quote the text? What specific word or phrase can you use from the text to support your opinion?

It’s your turn!!!