Using APES to Write Short Answer Responses ELA II

What is APES? APES is an acronym that will help you remember the steps to writing a solid Short Answer Response on the STAAR test and in the classroom. Think of APES as a checklist that you can use whenever you are answering a question based on a reading from class. From now on, all of your short answer responses will need to be in APES format.

What is APES? A: answer (thesis) P: proof (embedded quote) E: explanation (commentary) S: special closing statement

A is for… Answer “I think…” “Yes, because…” or “No, because…” Answer the question with a THESIS STATEMENT This is the first sentence of your response. Here, you rephrase the question into a complete sentence. Words from question + answer to the question = THESIS Never start an answer with the following statements: “I think…” “Yes, because…” or “No, because…” “In my opinion…”

Answer This is the most important step is answering any question based on the text. According to the rubric for the Short Answer Responses, if you do not answer the question, you will earn an automatic score of zero out of a possible three.

A is for… Answer Non-Example Question: What is the author’s purpose for writing the article, “Teacher Spends Two Days as a Student and is Shocked at What She Learns”? Answer: In my opinion the author wrote “Teacher Spends Two Days as a Student and is Shocked at What she Learns,” to vent about how hard it is to be a teacher.

Answer Example Question: What is the purpose is the author’s purpose for writing the article, “Teacher Spends Two Days as a Student and is Shocked at What She Learns”? Answer: Alexis Wiggins’ purpose for writing “Teacher Spends Two Days…,” is to inform teachers of the challenges of being a student.

P is for… Proof You can’t make a statement about a text without providing proof to back up your thesis statement. Relate this to lawyers in the courtroom. They can’t just say, “Justin stole the clothes from the store!” They have to provide PROOF to PROVE that Justin stole the clothes. When writing about texts, your proof comes in the form of textual evidence (quotes from the text).

Embedding Quotes (Proof) When you add a quote from a text, you can’t just plop it in and call it a sentence. Text Evidence must be embedded. Here, the quote is plopped into the short answer response as its own sentence: “High school students are sitting passively and listening during approximately 90 percent of their classes.” Don’t do this! Wiggins remarks that “students are sitting passively and listening” for most of the school day. Do this!

Embedding Quotes (Proof) One of the key goals when you embed a quote is to use ONLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of the quote as a piece of your own sentence. Copy this quote in your notes: “But in shadowing, throughout the day, you start to feel sorry for the students who are told over and over again to pay attention because you understand part of what they are reacting to is sitting and listening all day.” Where are the important pieces of the quote? Underline them in your notes.

Embedding Quotes (Proof) Does yours look like this? “But in shadowing, throughout the day, you start to feel sorry for the students who are told over and over again to pay attention because you understand part of what they are reacting to is sitting and listening all day.”

Embedding Quotes (Proof) She points out that students may seem uninvolved in their learning process causing teachers to tell them “over and over again to pay attention”. When actually “What [students] are reacting to is sitting and listening all day.”

Embedding Quotes (Proof) Remember that your quote MUST relate to your answer. You can’t chose a quote that has NOTHING to do with what you are writing about. Keep this in mind: your QUOTE is your PROOF about your ANSWER to the question. Poor quote = poor proof = question unanswered = failing score Proof does NOT have to be dialogue

E is for… Explanation In a sentence or two, you will explain how your quote relates to your answer. Remember that your quote must always relate to your answer (thesis), the first line in your response.

Explanation Your explanation must go beyond just repeating the answer or paraphrasing the proof. Your reader should understand your answer even if they have never read the piece you are writing about. This is accomplished through a detailed explanation You must dig deeper with your explanation by… Further developing your answer beyond a literal reading. Telling the reader “So what?”. Connecting your proof with your answer. “How does the embedded quote support the inference from your thesis?”

Explanation This is one of the harder parts of the writing process because it requires you to really think about what you are going to say about the answer. Example: Wiggins asserts that students are expected to sit and get the material. Because this method is not engaging for students, teachers are constantly having to redirect them to pay attention. By writing this article Wiggins hopes that her experience can help other teachers see how this method is not beneficial to teachers or students.

S is for… “So What?” Statement This is the last one or two sentences of your answer. Wrap up your thoughts and claims that you made in your answer. Your goal with the S part of APES is to wrap up all of your ideas into a nice little package of coherent thought. If you get really stuck, you can use a new transitional word or phrase such as “As a result…” or “What this shows…”

Don’ t Do in your “So What?” Statement WATCH OUT for these closing statement traps: Do not use “In conclusion…” Do not repeat word-for-word what you have already said. Don’t bring up a new idea that you haven’t already addressed. DO NOT Leave the Reader hanging!

“So What?” Statement Let’s look at the questions that we have already done and see how the S part of APES works. Example: Ultimately, Wiggins believes that teachers should be considerate of the challenges that students face daily and make changes to their classrooms that will get students more involved and engaged in the learning process.

TIPS for using APES Stay on topic! If you don’t stay on topic, you will not pass this portion of the test. Where do you find your topic? Look to your answer to the question. Everything should relate back to this.

TIPS for using APES “Yes” and “No” answers are not acceptable. Do not start any of your answers with “yes” or “no.” Remember that you are starting your response with an answer to the question. Your thesis

TIPS for using APES Don’t use first person pronouns (I, me, we, us…). To be honest, the questions are not asking about you at all. I don’t want to know anything about you! I want to know about the text! Stay text focused.

TIPS for using APES Whatever you do, make sure you at least do the following: Answer the question. Provide proof (textual evidence). Explain your proof in relation to your answer. Sum it all up with special closing statement .

Finished Product Short Answer Response: Question: What is the purpose is the author’s purpose for writing the article, “Teacher Spends Two Days as a Student and is Shocked at What She Learns”? Short Answer Response: Alexis Wiggins’ purpose for writing “Teacher Spends Two Days…,” is to inform teachers of the challenges of being a student. She points out that students may seem uninvolved in their learning process, causing teachers to tell them “over and over again to pay attention.” When actually “what [students] are reacting to is sitting and listening all day.” Because this method is not engaging for students, teachers are constantly having to redirect them to pay attention. This is frustrating for both teacher and student. Wiggins hopes that by sharing her experience, she can help other teachers see how this method is not beneficial to teachers or students. Ultimately, Wiggins believes that teachers should be considerate of the challenges that students face daily and make changes to their classrooms that will get students more involved and engaged in their learning process.

Use the WHOLE box! Write small and neat Don’t indent Write on the bottom line