How to Respond to a Short Answer Question
Short answer questions require a brief, paragraph-long response that includes overview
information, a claim, evidence to support that claim, commentary that explains the evidence
thoroughly, and a brief conclusion. There is no standard sentence requirement for short answer
responses – you will know you are done when the question has been answered thoroughly and with
appropriate evidence. Unless the question asks for a personal response, all short answer questions
should be answered in the 3rd person.
***Each of these categories are not necessarily one sentence long. Sometimes they will be, but sometimes
you will need more room to explain your ideas. Sometimes you will combine 2 categories into 1.
Sometimes you may choose to use more pieces of evidence. You will have to make these decisions based
on what it is that you are writing, but you need to remember to hit all of the categories presented***
Your paragraph should be structured in the following way:
1) Overview Information – Title of text, name of author or speaker, necessary
background information, or introduction of issue being presented. Sometimes called a
hook, you want to say something that will grab your reader’s attention.
2) Claim/Thesis – Your assertion/opinion in response to the question being asked of
you.
3) Example #1 – (Begin with a transition word. Ex: For example) This is where you
prove your claim with an example stated in your own words. The example should
be from the text with which you are dealing.
4) Concrete Detail (CD) #1 – Use CITED quote or other direct evidence to illustrate
your point.
5) Commentary (CM)#1 – Thoroughly explain your piece of evidence as it relates to
your claim. How does your piece of evidence prove that your claim is true? (Generally two
sentences!)
6) Example #2 – (Begin with a transition word. Ex: In addition, moreover,
additionally, etc.) This is where you prove your claim with another example.
Arguments are always stronger when they have appropriate evidence.
7) Concrete Detail (CD) #2 – Use CITED quote or other direct evidence to illustrate
your point.
8) Commentary (CM) #2 – Thoroughly explain your piece of evidence as it relates to
your claim. How does your piece of evidence prove that your claim is true? (Generally
two sentences!)
9) Conclusion– (Begin with a transition word. Ex: Therefore, in conclusion, in
short) Restate your claim and reference back to your evidence. End with a
sentence that leaves the reader thinking about the topic.
Adapted from Ms. Venable
Lessons/Notes
How to Respond to a Short Answer Question
Question: Why does Steinbeck convey Lennie’s physical characteristics as animal-like qualities?
In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck tells the tale of two rootless men, George and Lennie,
who are migrant farm workers in the era following the Great Depression. Throughout chapter one,
Steinbeck uses animal-like diction to describe the characteristics and qualities possessed by Lennie
because, like animals who are not able to think logically through their decisions, he wants us to
realize that Lennie is not responsible for his actions. For example, as the two men walk into the
valley, Lennie is described in terms usually used to describe a bear. “And he walked heavily,
dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws” (2). By saying that Lennie walked
“heavily” and that he “dragged his paws” Steinbeck implies that Lennie is physically oafish and
slow. By using these particular words the reader is led to believe that Lennie is not just physically
slow, but mentally slow as well. In addition, as the men sit down to rest by the water, Lennie’s
first action is exceptionally animalistic. When he plunges his head into the river and laps up water
without using his hands, the image of a dog drinking from a bowl comes to mind as George,
Lennie’s primary caretaker, says, “you’d drink out of a gutter if you was thirsty” (3). Here the
reader is presented with the image of a man who is not intelligent enough to check if the water is
fresh. This description implies that Lennie’s mental handicap makes him almost less than human
and, therefore, unable to discern right from wrong, good from bad. While many other examples
exist in the opening chapter of Of Mice and Men, it is clear that Steinbeck paints Lennie like an
innocent child or an animal to show the reader that his own ignorance acquits him of any guilt that
might accompany his actions later in the book.
Adapted from Ms. Venable
Lessons/Notes