1. Literature Response (LR) How-To
Think: RACERS!

2. RACERS stands for:
RESTATE the question using key terms from the prompt.
ANSWER the prompt to state your position.
CITE text evidence to support your position.
ELABORATE on your evidence. How does the text evidence support your position?
REPEAT steps 3 & 4. (Cite and elaborate AGAIN!)
SUM UP your ideas in one sentence to show closure – restate your position.

3. RESTATE & ANSWER (Topic sentence)
Restate the prompt and take a position (answer the question).
Be sure to:
Mention the name of the story or novel
Novels are underlined (written response) or italicized (typed response)
Mention the name of the author
First and last name should be used the first time you mention the author, but the last name is enough for future reference
Mention key terms from the prompt (what are you being asked to prove?)
Do NOT:
Start with “Yes, because,” “No, because,” or “I think”

4. RESTATE & ANSWER (Topic Sentence)
Example:
THE PROMPT STATES:
In the story, “Women in Aviation” by Patricia McKissak, what is the most important idea the author wants to convey about women aviators in the early 20th century?
A GOOD RESTATE & ANSWER (TOPIC SENTENCE) WOULD LOOK LIKE THIS:
The most important idea Patricia McKissak tries to convey in “Women in Aviation” is that the women were willing to go beyond the traditional roles of women and create new opportunities for them.

5. What makes this a good RESTATE & ANSWER?
THE PROMPT STATES:
In the story, “Women in Aviation” by Patricia McKissak, what is the most important idea the author wants to convey about women aviators in the early 20th century?
The most important idea Patricia McKissak tries to convey in “Women in Aviation” is that the women were willing to go beyond the traditional roles of women and create new opportunities for them.
Story name and author? YES!
Key terms? YES!
Answers the prompt and takes a position? YES!

6. CITATIONS Citations are direct quotes from the text Citations should:
Directly relate to your position. They should help to prove your point – choose wisely!
Have a page (or line) number listed before or after the quote
Give credit to the speaker
Examples:
On page 48, McKissak states, “Although Bessie Coleman died tragically, her plans to open a flight training school for women were continued by those she inspired.” OR
For example, McKissak reveals, “Although Bessie Coleman died tragically, her plans to open a flight training school for women were continued by those she inspired” (page 48).

7. CITATIONS Sentence Starters: In the article… According to… In the text on page____, the author states… Another example from the text is… To quote the text,… For example, …

8. ELABORATION
Elaboration explains WHY you chose this quote to support your position.
Elaboration should be a MINIMUM of two sentences:
The FIRST sentence should be a summary of the citation (quote) in your own words.
The SECOND (and possibly third or fourth) sentence(s) should explain specifically HOW this quote proves your point. WHY did you choose it?
Think of elaboration as the “so what?” part of your response. You chose this quote…so what? Why does it prove your point?

9. ELABORATION
Sentence starters:
This quote shows…
This evidence proves that…
The author used this to demonstrate…
This quote explains …
This evidence supports the claim…
Do NOT write: “I think,” “I believe,” “I chose this because,” etc.
Avoid using “I” in your response. This is not your OPINION.
This is an ANALYSIS and not a personal reflection.

10. ELABORATION
Example:
This quote explains that Bessie Coleman’s legacy was continued even after she died. This evidence proves that early women in aviation tried to create new opportunities for other women who wanted to be pilots. Bessie Coleman’s mission was achieved.
Notice that key ideas from prompt were mentioned AGAIN in the evidence (“create new opportunities”)

11. REPEAT REPEAT WITH MORE EVIDENCE AND ELABORATION:
You need at least TWO pieces of evidence with elaboration for each response.
Be sure the evidence is strong, but not repeating the original idea expressed in evidence #1 or the sentence starters
Follow the proper format for evidence and elaboration (page numbers, etc.)

12. REPEAT
Evidence: Another example from the text is the story of Harriet Quimby, who “held the distinction of being the first American woman to become a licensed pilot (page 44).”
Elaboration: This information shows that women aviators in the early 20th century broke the gender barrier because Quimby was the first female pilot at the time. By becoming the first female pilot, she opened the door for other women to become pilots, and she created opportunities for women in the future.

13. SUM-UP STATEMENT
The sum-up statement restates your topic sentence (restate the prompt and answer with your position) in a new way.
The sum-up statement should mention the title of the story and the author again.
The sum-up statement should NOT:
Start with “In conclusion” or “So”
Give the “moral of the story” or your personal opinion – do NOT give advice!

14. SUM-UP SENTENCE
These reasons show that Patricia McKissak, in “Women in Aviation,” was trying to illustrate that the early female pilots in America tried to create new opportunities for women by breaking the boundaries put on them because of their gender. This sentence is SIMILAR to the topic sentence (read and answer sentence) but NOT the SAME.

15. Color-coding Short Answer Responses
1. RESTATE & ANSWER
(Topic Sentence) =green
2. CITATIONS (Evidence) = blue
3. ELABORATION=yellow
4. Sum-up sentence= pink
Key terms = underlined (used in each part)