Short Answer Responses

1. Short Answer Responses The Six Step Solution

2. Organization The Six Step Solution

3. Self Quiz:What are the three important parts of any paragraph, essay, or speech? Introduction (beginning) Body (middle) Conclusion (end)

4. Organization of Your Short Answer Response • Introduction • Restate and answer the question. • Use nouns before pronouns. • Body • Explain what is happening with specific evidence. • Cite page numbers. • Explain how the evidence proves your answer. • Conclusion • Infer why this information matters.

5. The Six-Step Solution Restate and ANSWER the question. Use NOUNS before pronouns. Describe WHAT is happening with specific evidence. CITE page numbers. Explain HOW this evidence proves your answer. Conclude WHY this information matters.

6. Application Discussion Question 4 for “Charles” (Impact 366)

7. Step 1: Restate and ANSWER the question. • Use the language of the question. • Add your inference. • Be as direct and precise as possible. • Precise = specific, clear, exact, complete, accurate

8. Step 1: Restate and ANSWER the question. 4. How is the outcome of the story ironic? The outcome of the story is ironic because we do not expect to find out that Charles is actually Laurie.

9. Step 2: Use NOUNS before pronouns. • Use the names of the text, characters/people, and author. • Avoid using he, she, it, they, etc. in the first sentence. • Be precise. • When referring to adults, identify them by last name. • e.g., Jackson wrote the short story “Charles.”

10. Step 2: Use NOUNS before pronouns. X “Charles” X Laurie’s mother and most readers The outcome of the story is ironic because we do not expect to find out that Charles is actually Laurie. The outcome of “Charles” is ironic because Laurie’s mother and most readers do not expect to find out that Charles is actually Laurie.

11. Step 3: Describe WHAT is happening with specific evidence. • Find the best quotation/evidence. • The best evidence SHOWS your answer in action. • It allows you to add more ideas without repeating. • Look for a part that directly relates to the question. • e.g., Question 4 on irony I looked for what Laurie’s mom expected. • Introduce the quotation/evidence with what is happening (be clear and precise). • Don’t drop the quotes!

12. Step 3: Describe WHAT is happening with specific evidence. “None of them looked to me haggard enough. No one stood up in the meeting and apologized for the way her son had been acting.” Oh no! I dropped the quote! Throughout the story, Laurie’s mother expresses her interest in meeting Charles’s mother. She and her husband have wondered how such a woman could raise such an ill-mannered boy. When she finally attends the PTA meeting, she looks anxiously around for a likely candidate, but, “None of them looked to me haggard enough. No one stood up in the meeting and apologized for the way her son had been acting.”

13. Step 4: CITE page numbers. Whether you quote or paraphrase, the evidence must be specific enough that you must cite it (precise). If you can’t identify one particular sentence or paragraph where your evidence is located, it is too vague. Write “on page 360” before introducing a quotation, or “(360)” after the quotation.

14. Step 4: CITE page numbers. Throughout the story, Laurie’s mother expresses her interest in meeting Charles’s mother. She and her husband have wondered how such a woman could raise such an ill-mannered boy. When she finally attends the PTA meeting, she looks anxiously around for a likely candidate, but, “None of them looked to me haggard enough. No one stood up in the meeting and apologized for the way her son had been acting.” Throughout the story, Laurie’s mother expresses her interest in meeting Charles’s mother. She and her husband have wondered how such a woman could raise such an ill-mannered boy (364). When she finally attends the PTA meeting on page 365, she looks anxiously around for a likely candidate, but, “None of them looked to me haggard enough. No one stood up in the meeting and apologized for the way her son had been acting.”

15. Step 5: Explain HOW this evidence proves your answer. Explain why you chose this evidence (without saying “I chose this quotation because…). Provide connections, comparisons/contrasts, causes/effects, expectations, etc. Make the connection between the evidence and your answer as direct and clear (precise) as possible.

16. Step 5: Explain HOW this evidence proves your answer. Since she is looking for another woman, she must not suspect that her own son is the misbehaving student. In addition, the description “haggard” implies that Laurie’s mom expects that any mother dealing with “a Charles” (364) who acts up often would be exhausted and fed up. When shopping sometimes I have noticed mothers chasing screaming children down the store aisles; the women are usually panting and screaming too. Laurie’s mom probably thought she would find a similar woman, and that she would be apologizing to everyone for her son’s awful manners. However, when talking to the teacher at the end, Laurie’s mom realizes that her own son must be Charles, and that she is actually the woman she was looking for! Instead of herself acting tired and apologetic, she was self-righteously looking for another person to criticize for bad parenting.

17. Step 6: Conclude WHY this information matters. precise. What does your answer emphasize? What is the importance of this answer? What is the value or belief underlying this answer? What is the purpose of this part? So what? …Be

18. Step 6: Conclude WHY this information matters. This ironic ending emphasizes that sometimes people are quick to judge others without thinking about how they themselves are involved. People often expect to find mistakes in others but are surprised to find them in themselves.

19. Put It All Together and what have you got…

20. The outcome of “Charles” is ironic because Laurie’s mother and most readers do not expect to find out that Charles is actually Laurie. Throughout the story, Laurie’s mother expresses her interest in meeting Charles’s mother. She and her husband have wondered how such a woman could raise such an ill-mannered boy (364). When she finally attends the PTA meeting on page 365, she looks anxiously around for a likely candidate, but, “None of them looked to me haggard enough. No one stood up in the meeting and apologized for the way her son had been acting.” Since she is looking for another woman, she must not suspect that her own son is the misbehaving student. In addition, the description “haggard” implies that Laurie’s mom expects that any mother dealing with “a Charles” (364) who acts up often would be exhausted and fed up. When shopping sometimes I have noticed mothers chasing screaming children down the store aisles; the women are usually panting and screaming too. Laurie’s mom probably thought she would find a similar woman, and that she would be apologizing to everyone for her son’s awful manners. However, when talking to the teacher at the end, Laurie’s mom realizes that her own son must be Charles, and that she is actually the woman she was looking for! Instead of acting tired and apologetic herself, she was self-righteously looking for another person to criticize for bad parenting. This ironic ending emphasizes that sometimes people are quick to judge others without thinking about how they themselves are involved. People often expect to find mistakes in others but are surprised to find them in themselves.

21. A Condensed Version(take out some connections; keep the main inferences) The outcome of “Charles” is ironic because Laurie’s mother and most readers do not expect to find out that Charles is actually Laurie. Throughout the story, Laurie’s mother expresses her interest in meeting Charles’s mother. When she finally attends the PTA meeting on page 365, she looks anxiously around for a likely candidate, but, “None of them looked to me haggard enough. No one stood up in the meeting and apologized for the way her son had been acting.” Since she is looking for another woman, she must not suspect that her own son is the misbehaving student. Laurie’s mom expects any mother dealing with a child who acts up to be exhausted, fed up, and sorry for her son’s awful manners. However, when talking to the teacher at the end, Laurie’s mom realizes that her own son must be Charles, and that she is actually the woman she was looking for! Instead of acting tired and apologetic herself, she was self-righteously looking for another person to criticize for bad parenting. This ironic ending emphasizes that sometimes people expect to judge others’ mistakes but are surprised to find them in themselves.

22. The Six-Step Solution Restate and ANSWER the question. Use NOUNS before pronouns. Describe WHAT is happening with specific evidence. CITE page numbers. Explain HOW this evidence proves your answer. Conclude WHY this information matters.