Writing a Basic Short Answer Response (SAR)
There are three different types of Short Answer Response (SAR) prompts.
 Basic: The SAR prompt requires you to answer a question that does not involve a shift based on
one reading text, provide textual evidence to support your answer, explain your thought process,
and provide a real-life experience to further back your response.
 Shift: The SAR prompt requires you to answer a question about a shift (change) in one reading
text, provide textual evidence to support both your pre and post-change answer, explain your
thought process, and provide a real-life experience to further back your response.
 Crossover: The SAR prompt requires you to answer a questions over something that two reading
texts have in common, provide textual evidence from both reading texts, and explain your thought
process.
Today you are focusing on a Basic SAR.
Example 1:
Bouncing into the room, Mr. Eaton lit up the vicinity with a joyous glow on his face,
announcing that next year MHS would have a 10 hour-long school day.
Prompt: Identify the mood in the excerpt above.
SAR: The mood in the excerpt is one of shock. Because Mr. Eaton had a “joyous glow” about
him and was “announcing that next year MHS would have a 10 hour-long school day,” it can
be assumed that this is the first time that his audience is hearing the news. Knowing how
exhausted I am and how fried my brain can be at the end of the 8 hour school day I’m used to,
I would be stunned to learn that I was going to be expected to think an extra 2 hours every
day.
Breakdown:
 Answer:
 Textual Evidence:

Thought Process:

Experience:
Example 2:
The mood in the excerpt is one of shock.
Because Mr. Eaton had a “joyous glow” about him and was
“announcing that next year MHS would have a 10 hour-long school
day,”
it can be assumed that this is the first time that his audience is hearing
the news.
Knowing how exhausted I am and how fried my brain can be at the
end of the 8 hour school day I’m used to, I would be stunned to learn
that I was going to be expected to think an extra 2 hours every day.
“In the annals of medical science, no virus has given doctors as much trouble as the
Scholastic Adolescum, otherwise known as school sickness. The Scholastic Adolescum has
been known to attack children of all ages and on every economic and social level. The
symptoms are always the same. The child wakes up in the morning and says he has a ‘pain in
the stomach,’ a ‘headache,’ a ‘sore throat,’ or he ‘just doesn’t feel well.’ In rare cases, he
might also have a ‘slight’ fever. What has puzzled scientists for years is that the virus only
attacks on weekdays and never on weekends or during the summer vacations. It lasts only 24
hours, and while it has no serious side effects, it keeps returning during the school year and
even builds up in intensity just before test time.” – Art Buchwald, Son of the Great Society
Prompt: In the excerpt above, what assumption can be made based on the narrator’s tone?
SAR: Because of the narrator’s tone in the excerpt above, it can be assumed that Scholastic
Adolescum is not a real disease. The narrator lists symptoms in quotation marks – ‘pain in
the stomach,’ ‘headache,’ ‘slight’ fever, etc. – which is a classic body language and
punctuation clue that denotes sarcasm on the part of the speaker, indicating that s/he does not
believe what they are saying is truth. I myself have been guilty of pleading symptoms of
Scholastic Adolescum in the past when I knew I hadn’t studied well enough for a test and
wanted to buy myself one more day before I had to take it.
Breakdown:
 Answer:

Textual Evidence:

Thought Process:

Experience:
Example 3:
Because of the narrator’s tone in the excerpt above, it can be assumed
that Scholastic Adolescum is not a real disease
The narrator lists symptoms in quotation marks – ‘pain in the stomach,’
‘headache,’ ‘slight’ fever, etc. –
which is a classic body language and punctuation clue that denotes
sarcasm on the part of the speaker, indicating that s/he does not believe
what they are saying is truth.
I myself have been guilty of pleading symptoms of Scholastic Adolescum
in the past when I knew I hadn’t studied well enough for a test and
wanted to buy myself one more day before I had to take it.
What a thrill –
My thumb instead of an onion,
The top quite gone
Except for a sort of a hinge
O skin,
A flap like a hat,
Dead white,
Then a red plush
-Sylvia Plath, “Cut: For Susan O’Neill Roe”
Prompt: After reading the poem above, what mood does the author create?
SAR: The mood in the poem above is one of horror. The narrator has cut herself badly while
cooking, which can be inferenced when she says “My thumb instead of an onion, / The top quite
gone… / …Dead white, / Then a red plush.” We have caught the author in that brief moment
between an injury and the feeling of pain. Because we have all experienced that moment at some
point in our lives, we know what is coming next and, therefore, empathize with the author.
Breakdown:
 Answer:
 Textual Evidence:

Thought Process:

Experience:
The mood in the poem above is one of horror.
“My thumb instead of an onion, / The top quite gone… / …Dead white, /
Then a red plush.”
We have caught the author in that brief moment between an injury and
the feeling of pain.
Because we have all experienced that moment at some point in our lives,
we know what is coming next and, therefore, empathize with the author.
Name:
English II.
Date:
_________________________
_____
_______________
Basic Short Answer Response Practice
Excerpt 1:
Bouncing into the room, Mr. Eaton lit up the vicinity with a joyous glow on his face,
announcing that next year MHS would have a 10 hour-long school day.
Prompt: What is the tone of the excerpt above?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Excerpt 2:
“In the annals of medical science, no virus has given doctors as much trouble as the
Scholastic Adolescum, otherwise known as school sickness. The Scholastic Adolescum has
been known to attack children of all ages and on every economic and social level. The
symptoms are always the same. The child wakes up in the morning and says he has a ‘pain in
the stomach,’ a ‘headache,’ a ‘sore throat,’ or he ‘just doesn’t feel well.’ In rare cases, he
might also have a ‘slight’ fever. What has puzzled scientists for years is that the virus only
attacks on weekdays and never on weekends or during the summer vacations. It lasts only 24
hours, and while it has no serious side effects, it keeps returning during the school year and
even builds up in intensity just before test time.” – Art Buchwald, Son of the Great Society
Prompt: Identify the mood created by the excerpt above.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Excerpt 3:
What a thrill –
My thumb instead of an onion,
The top quite gone
Except for a sort of a hinge
O skin,
A flap like a hat,
Dead white,
Then a red plush
-Sylvia Plath, “Cut: For Susan O’Neill Roe”
Prompt: What is the author’s tone in the poem above?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________