How to Answer Constructed Response Questions

What is a Constructed Response? A constructed response is a type of open-ended essay question that demonstrates cognitive knowledge and reasoning. The answer must be provided using information that can be found in a particular text or other essay prompt (map, picture, graphic organizer, etc.), and is not meant to demonstrate opinion, but to show how you are able to extract information and use this as the basis for forming a complete answer. Constructed response essays are increasingly used on standardized tests ranging from the statewide assessments (WKCE) that usually begin in third grade all the way up to the college placement exams such as the SAT and ACT.

How to Score Well on a CR To understand and answer the constructed response essay question, the easiest way is to memorize the acronym "RACE" - this stands for reword, answer, cite and explain. If you are able to restate a question, provide an answer using evidence cited from the text(s) given, and then explain how that evidence does, in fact, support the answer, you will probably score well on the constructed response essay section of any exam you take.

“R.A.C.E.” R eword/restate the question provide an A nswer C ite evidence from the text E xplain how the evidence supports your answer

Reword the Question (the "R" in "RACE") Reword the question means that you are to restate the question and make it into a statement as a part of the answer you provide. If you were to be asked "What color is the sky?", you would not simply answer "blue" - instead, the correct answer would be "The color of the sky is blue," or words to that effect.

Answer the Question (the "A" in "RACE") In order to answer the question, you need to understand what you are being asked, and then make sure you provide the answer to that specific question. The answer, as in the previous example, may come in the first sentence as you reword the question into a statement, but in an essay question you will then need to show how/why you arrived at your answer.

Cite the Evidence (the "C" in "RACE") Most constructed response questions will require you to support your answers with details from the reading passage. You can do this in a few ways: with a direct quotation with a paraphrase with a specific reference

Citing Evidence with Direct Quotations When you give a direct quotation from the passage to back up your ideas, you must place the text in quotation marks. Example: The narrator says, “As men busied themselves about their various concerns...” Other phrases to set up your direct quotations include: “According to the text,” “The Author states,” and “According to the passage.”

Citing Evidence with Paraphrases You may put a few lines from the passage into your own words, as long as you make it clear that you are doing so. Be careful not to pass off another writer’s ideas as your own. Example: The narrator says that people where going about their usual lives at the time of the attack.

Citing Evidence with a Specific Reference You can point your reader to a part of the passage with a very specific text reference. Example: In the second sentence of the first paragraph, the author states/the narrator says/etc...

Explain how the Evidence Supports your Answer (the "E" in "RACE") In addition to the evidence you've cited from the text, you will need to supply your own reasoning for why you think your answer is correct and how your evidence supports your answer.

Example – Describe the main character from the passage: The main character from the passage is an angry person because the narrator says, “She threw the phone into the wall.” When someone is angry, they usually release their frustration by damaging things around them, and that is exactly what the main character did with her phone.

Scoring Constructed Responses If your answer to the constructed response essay question displays an understanding of the question in all its complexity, uses information from the prompt (either information directly presented to you or that you've inferred) and provides a complete explanation of how the answer was arrived at that demonstrates your use of logic or reasoning, you may receive the highest score (usually a 3) on your answer.

If your answer addresses some of the question or uses evidence that only partially supports your conclusion or does not directly connect to it, you may receive a somewhat lower grade of 2.

If you attempt to answer the question but your essay demonstrates that you may have misunderstood it, or your answer lacks any relevant or meaningful supporting evidence to support your conclusion, you may receive an even lower grade of 1.

If you do not answer at all, or if your answer is incorrect or irrelevant, you may receive the lowest grade of 0.  Remember, constructed response questions make up 20% of your WKCE score, so answer them to the best of you ability with evidence from the text that supports your answer.

Example of a “1” Response

Example of a “3” Response