Name________________________________
Mrs. Arresto & Mrs. Shapiro
Date___________________
ELA Section #5
A large portion of the ELA exam contains reading comprehension and listening
comprehension tasks. During these parts of the examination, you may be asked
to read or listen to a passage and write a short response. In addition to the ELA,
you may be asked in many of your classes – not just English - to formulate a short
response.
Short-Response Questions
o Ask a specific question about part of the passage
o Are sometimes in the form of a graphic organizer
o Are sometimes in the form of a short paragraph
o Require specific evidence from the text
Short response questions require a one-paragraph response (8 -10 sentences).
Step 1 - Before reading the document(s):
 Read the short response (SR) questions before you begin reading the passage,
so you have an idea of what you must look for in the documents.
Step 2 - As you are reading the document(s):
 Highlight the information needed to answer the SR. On the ELA students
are only allowed to use yellow highlighters. Also, write notes that may help
you in the margins.
Step 3 – After you have read the document(s):
 Refer to your underlined or highlighted notes.
 Go back to the document! Do not rely on memory to answer the SR.
 Make sure that you do well on the first SR. First impressions often will affect
your score.
 Cram your answers full of details!
The Hamburger Paragraph (Used for SR’s and body paragraphs of essays)
Topic Sentence + Concrete Details + Commentary + Closing Sentence = A Quality
Paragraph
Topic Sentence (TS) – A sentence which provides the main idea of the paragraph.
The easiest (but not the best) way to create a TS is to echo the question:
Q – Why is middle school challenging for many students?
A – Middle school is challenging for many students because…
**DO NOT begin your response with the word “because.”
Concrete Details (CD) – Specific details (found in the reading) that form the core
of your paragraphs and specifically answer the question. (Synonyms include facts,
examples, support, proof, evidence, quotations, paraphrasing, or plot references.)
Commentary (CM) – One or two sentences which provide information from your
own brain… this info will not be found in the reading. These are the conclusions
that you draw based on the given information. (Synonyms include prediction,
opinion, insight, analysis, interpretation, inference, personal response, feelings, evaluation,
explication, and reflection.)
**AVOID the phrases “I think,” “I believe,” “In my opinion,” “To me,”
and “I feel.” They are empty statements that are unnecessary and make your
writing seem wishy-washy.
**NOTE: A good paragraph should contain at least two concrete details (CD). For each
concrete detail, you should have at least two sentences of commentary. This is called a
“chunk.” Your paragraph should contain at least two “chunks.”
1 CD + 2 CM’s = 1 Chunk
Concluding (Closing) Sentence (CS) – One or two sentences which wrap up the
paragraph. Commentary is a good way to end a paragraph as long as it gives the
paragraph a sense of finality. You should use key words from your topic sentence
to remind the reader of your topic and/or convince the reader of your stance.
NOTE: Don’t just echo the question again or write “These are reasons why…,” or “In
conclusion,” or “As you can see…” These transition phrases don’t show the reader any
creativity or voice.
Transitional words are used to show how ideas are connected by taking your
reader from one thought to another. When using transition words, be sure to
include enough context in a sentence to make relationships between your ideas
clear. Here are some transition words and phrases to use on your writing.
Illustration
thus, for example, for instance, namely, to illustrate, in other words, in particular,
specifically, such as
Contrast (comparing differences)
on the contrary, contrarily, notwithstanding, but, however, nevertheless, in spite of,
in contrast, yet, on one hand, on the other hand, rather, or, nor, conversely, at the
same time, while this may be true
Addition
and, in addition to, furthermore, moreover, besides, than, too, also, another,
equally important, first, second, etc., again, further, last, finally, as well as, in the
second place, next, likewise, similarly, in fact, as a result, consequently, in the same
way, for example, for instance, however, thus, therefore, otherwise
Time
after, afterward, before, then, once, next, last, at last, at length, first, second, etc., at
first, formerly, rarely, usually, another, finally, soon, meanwhile, at the same time,
for a minute, hour, day, etc., during the morning, day, week, etc., most important,
later, ordinarily, to begin with, afterwards, generally, in order to, subsequently,
previously, in the meantime, immediately, eventually, concurrently, simultaneously
Space
at the left, at the right, in the center, on the side, along the edge, on top, below,
beneath, under, around, above, over, straight ahead, at the top, at the bottom,
surrounding, opposite, at the rear, at the front, in front of, beside, behind, next to,
nearby, in the distance, beyond, in the forefront, in the foreground, within sight, out
of sight, across, under, nearer, adjacent, in the background
Concession (giving in)
although, at any rate, at least, still, thought, even though, granted that, while it may
be true, in spite of, of course
Similarity or Comparison
similarly, likewise, in like fashion, in like manner
Emphasis
above all, indeed, truly, of course, certainly, surely, in fact, really, in truth, again,
besides, also, furthermore, in addition
Details
specifically, especially, in particular, to explain, to list, to enumerate, in detail,
namely, including
Examples
for example, for instance, to illustrate, thus, in other words, as an illustration, in
particular
Consequence or Result
so that, with the result that, thus, consequently, hence, accordingly, for this reason,
therefore, so, because, since, due to, as a result, in other words, then
Summary
therefore, finally, consequently, thus, in short, in conclusion, in brief, as a result,
accordingly, overall, clearly, ultimately
Use the transition sets below when you write a paragraph. Words in these sets
may be mixed. Don’t forget to read your writing aloud to make sure that it
makes sense!
Basic Transition Sets
first – second – third
one – another – next
first of all – also
first – then
at first – after
one – another – last
first – in addition – finally
first – also – besides
one example – another example
a good example – a better example
an important – an equally important
one – equally important
Advanced Transition Sets
one way-another way- a final method
one - one other - along with - last
to begin - then-consequently
initially – then - after that
it started when - as a result - then-therefore
first of all – besides - in addition
at the beginning – then - following this - finally first - along with - likewise
to start-furthermore-additionally-last
a good – a better- the best
*Be sure to use proper punctuation with your transitions. Depending on the transition
used, a comma might be needed immediately following the transition or after the
transitional phrase.