STAAR Short Answer Response
The short answer response is an analytical
paragraph.
It is an idea in response to a question. The
idea represents the quality and depth of
thinking and understanding of reading.
A successful short answer response goes
beyond a literal reading of the text.
In writing your short answer response:
“Stay in the story.”
Write in present tense.
Do not waste space restating the question.
Answer the question, but do not “echo” the question.
You do not need to include author and title, but include some
indicator (character name, etc.).
Think beyond the literal reading of the text.
Choosing strong text evidence is crucial.
You need text evidence in your response, but you do not need
text evidence for each idea.
Handwriting matters – the graders are only human!
APES
Answer
Prove
Explain
Sum it Up
What is APES?
0 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.
0 Think of APES as a
checklist that you can use
whenever you are
answering a question
based on a reading from
class.
A is for…
Answer
the
question.
A is for…
0 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 four.
0 For example, if the question
asks why Helios is angry with
Odysseus’ men, and your
answer is about his
threatening to take the sun to
the Underworld, then you
didn’t answer the question.
This is an automatic grade of
zero.
P is for…
0 Proof!
0 You can’t make a statement
about a text without
providing proof to back up
your argument.
0 When writing about texts,
your proof comes in the
form of textual evidence
(quotations from the text).
P is for… Prove It!
Put in a quotation.
Choose the best
textual
evidence
(quotation) to
support your
answer.
Use TLQ format
to embed your
quotation in
your sentence.
P is for… Prove It!
0 One of the key goals when you embed a
quotation is to use ONLY THE MOST IMPORTANT
PART of the quotation as a piece of your own
sentence.
0 “Helios
threatens to take the sun to ‘light the
dead men in the Underworld’ if Zeus does not
punish Odysseus’ men for slaughtering his
‘peaceful kine.’”
P is for… Prove It!
Put in a quotation.
0 Remember that your
quotation MUST relate to
your answer.
0 You can’t chose a quotation
that has NOTHING to do with
what you are writing about.
0
0 Keep this in mind: your
QUOTATION is your PROOF
about your ANSWER to the
question.
P is for… Prove It!
0 Begin a sentence that has an embedded quotation with your
words first. Then, smoothly incorporate your quote into
your sentence.
0 Avoid using phrases in your sentence such as “he says” or
“states” or “she says.” This is boring for your reader and
shouts “I AM NOT ABOUT TO QUOTE SOMETHING FROM
THE TEXT!” It is not sophisticated writing.
0 Make sure your verbs are in present tense.
0 When necessary, change all first person pronouns (I, me, us,
we) to third person pronouns (him, he, they) by using
brackets.
Examples:
While spending Christmas at Finches
Landing, Francis enrages Scout by claiming
Atticus is “ruining the family” (87).
Furthermore, when Jem and Scout are
walking home from the pageant, they hear a
man “running toward [them] with no child’s
steps” (264).
Let’s look at some examples using questions from
John Steinbeck’s novella ,The Pearl.
How does Kino feel about the prospect of
Coyotito being able to attend school?
A – Answer the question (this is an inference, a
conclusion, an idea – beyond the literal)
Kino feels a strong sense of pride at the thought of
Coyotito being able to attend school.
A is for …
P is for…
How does Kino feel about the prospect of
Coyotito being able to attend school?
Kino feels a strong sense of pride at the thought of
Coyotito being able to attend school. When Kino
and Juana are sitting in their home after Kino finds
the pearl, Kino’s “face shone with prophecy” as he
tells everyone how his son will “read and open the
books” and “make numbers, and these things will
make us free because…he will know and through
him we will know.”
A is for …
P is for…
Starting in chapter four, why does Juana believe
that the pearl is evil?
Juana believes that the pearl is evil because it has
brought danger to her family. For example, after
Kino is attacked outside his hut after failing to sell
the pearl, Juana implores Kino to “crush it between
two stones” or “throw it back in the sea where it
belongs” before the pearl “destroys [them].”
P is for…
Juana believes that the pearl is evil because it
has brought danger to her family. For example,
after Kino is attacked outside his hut after
failing to sell the pearl, Juana implores Kino to
“crush it between two stones” or “throw it back
in the sea where it belongs” before the pearl
“destroys [them].”
Why is the pronoun them in brackets?
E is for … EXPLAIN
0 In a sentence or two,
you will explain how
your quotation relates
to your answer.
0 Remember that your
quote must always
relate to your answer,
the first line in your
response.
E is for…
Kino feels a strong sense of pride at the thought of
Coyotito being able to attend school. When Kino and
Juana are sitting in their home after Kino finds the
pearl, Kino’s “face shone with prophecy” as he tells
everyone how his son will “read and open the books”
and “make numbers, and these things will make us
free because…he will know and through him we will
know.” In spite of Coyotito’s young age, Kino
believes that his son has the potential to liberate
his people from ignorance and oppression if he is
able to attend school.
E is for…
Juana believes that the pearl is evil because it has
brought danger to her family. For example, after Kino
is attacked outside his hut after failing to sell the
pearl, Juana implores Kino to “crush it between two
stones” or “throw it back in the sea where it belongs”
before the pearl “destroys [them].” Juana’s wealth is
not associated with material goods or money. For
this reason, Juana does not care about the money
the pearl may bring since she credits the
hazardous and possibly deadly situation for her
family to the pearl.
S is for…
Special Closing Statement
Sum It Up
0 This is the last one or two sentences of your
answer.
0 Wrap up your thoughts and claims that you made
in your answer.
0 Your goal with the S part of APES is to wrap up all
of your ideas into a nice little package of coherent
thought.
S is for…
WATCH OUT for these closing
statement traps:
0 Do not use “In conclusion…”
0 Do not repeat word-for-
word what you have already
said.
0 Don’t bring up a new idea
that you haven’t already
addressed.
A P E S
Kino feels a strong sense of pride at the thought of Coyotito
being able to attend school. When Kino and Juana are
sitting in their home after Kino finds the pearl, Kino’s “face
shone with prophecy” as he tells everyone how his son will
“read and open the books” and “make numbers, and these
things will make us free because…he will know and through
him we will know.” In spite of Coyotito’s young age, Kino
believes that his son has the potential to liberate his people
from ignorance and oppression if he is able to attend school.
For these reasons, Kino places a significant amount of hope
reliance on the pearl to offer Coyotito a chance at a better
life, and through Coyotito a better life for all of them.
A P E S
Juana believes that the pearl is evil because it has
brought danger to her family. For example, after Kino
is attacked outside his hut after failing to sell the
pearl, Juana implores Kino to “crush it between two
stones” or “throw it back in the sea where it belongs”
before the pearl “destroys [them].” Juana’s wealth is
not associated with material goods or money. For
this reason, Juana does not care about the money the
pearl may bring because she credits the hazardous
and possibly deadly situation for her family to the
pearl. Despite the life improvements the pearl may
bring for her family, particularly Coyotito, Juana is
not wiling to risk the life of her family for possible
wealth.
TIPS for using APES
0 Stay on topic!
0 Where do you find your
topic?
0 Look to your answer to
the question.
0 Everything should relate
back to this.
TIPS for using APES
0 “Yes” and “No” answers
are not acceptable. Do
not start any of your
answers with “yes” or
“no.”
0 Remember that you are
starting your response
with an answer to the
question.
TIPS for using APES
0 Avoid first person
pronouns (I, me, we,
us…).
0 The questions are not
asking about you . The
question is about the
text.
0 Stay text focused.
TIPS for using APES
0 Answer the
question.
0 Provide proof
(textual
evidence).
0 Explain your
proof in
relation to your
answer.
0 Sum it all up.