1. A.C.E. Enhancing your answers in response to text based questions. Often times, we are asked to answer reading questions based on a text we have read. Unfortunately, we answer what we know to be “correct” but we do not respond in a way that demonstrates we know “WHY” it is correct. This simple strategy can help when replying to text based questions, and help to enhance your understanding of how to blend text responses with your own. By ACE-ing the answers, you are more likely to ACE your papers!!!

2. A = ANSWER The best way to thoroughly answer a question is to “steal” the question – that is, answer by restating what was asked along with what you feel is the actual answer. Be sure you reference both the author AND the title of the text. Let’s break it down …. A.C.E.

3. C = Cite Citing the text is the best way to provide an argument for your response. This means going back to the text, choosing what supports your answer, and writing it in as part of your response. Make sure you give credit to the author here in order for it to be correct – Example “……” (Wilson 7). Let’s break it down …. CITIING CORRECTLY Be sure you write the “borrowed text” in quotation marks to inform the reader of your text that these are not your words. Following the text and the quotation marks, insert the author’s last name and page number in parenthesis, when applicable. **THIS IS PART OF MLA FORMAT.** A.C.E.

4. E = Extend “Their” words alone are not enough – elaborate with a why, based on your perspective or interpretation of the text. This can sometimes be personal experience but more often it will be an explanation of the answer based on personal understanding (where you cannot use “I”). Read the passage… A.C.E.

5. Turn to page 275 in your WWC books to read “The Light and Dark of It”… Activity to follow… Let’s break it down …. A.C.E.

6. The paragraph titled “The Light and the Dark of It” is an example of part-to-part organization. The paragraph covers the topic of red and white fibers in the birds’ muscles, and first begins with the birds with the most red fibers, which are “the creatures that must fly long distances to migrate or to find food—the geese, ducks and quails” (275). The paragraph then goes on to explain that chickens and turkeys live a less strenuous life, so only their legs and thighs have red fiber. Since this paragraph first describes the fibers in some birds and then the fibers in others, and tackles only one topic at a time, it is part-to-part comparison. Example A.C.E. A = Answer C = Citation E = Extension

7. Now Together… A.C.E. “Does this paragraph mainly discuss similarities or differences? What words indicate each?” p. 4 A = Answer C = Citation (s) E = Extension In the paragraph “ The Light and Dark of It” the author mainly discusses differences between birds’ muscle fibers. According to the text, “red fibers contain a muscle protein that make animals able to work for much longer periods than do white fibers” (275). The activity of birds dictates the fibers in the muscles. For example, birds that “move around by walking and running… contain dark red fibers” and birds that “don’t use their wings [often]… contain light white fibers” (275). The author purposely uses words like but, than, and more so to emphasize these differences, allowing the reader to see how even though they are all birds, they are not all the same.

8. Now Together… A.C.E. “Does this paragraph mainly discuss similarities or differences? What words indicate each?” p. 5 A = Answer C = Citation (s) E = Extension The paragraph “The Light and Dark of It” mainly discusses the differences between red and white bird muscle fibers. As the text states, “red fibers contain a muscle protein that makes animals able to work for much longer periods of time than do white fibers” (275). The birds with the most red fibers are geese, ducks and quails which must “fly long distances to migrate or find food” (275). The birds with white fibers, chickens and turkeys, “live a less strenuous life” (275). These differences are emphasized by the author using words like absence, longer than, and therefore. This language stresses that although he is talking only about birds, there are differences among them.

9. Now Together… A.C.E. “Does this paragraph mainly discuss similarities or differences? What words indicate each?” p. 6 A = Answer C = Citation (s) E = Extension The paragraph titled “The Light and Dark of It” mainly discusses the differences between red and white muscle fibers in birds. According to the text “the red fibers contain a muscle protein that makes animals able to work for much longer periods than do white fibers” (275). The birds which contain red fibers are migratory game birds such as duck, quail, and pigeons. These birds “must fly long distances to migrate or to find food” (275). On the other hand, birds which do not fly long distances - turkeys and chickens for example – contain light white fibers because they “live a less strenuous life” (275). The author emphasizes these differences by using words such as but, therefore, less than, and absence of. Overall, this text shows how birds can be different based on the development of their muscle fibers.

10. Now Together… A.C.E. “Does this paragraph mainly discuss similarities or differences? What words indicate each?” p. 7 A = Answer C = Citation (s) E = Extension In the paragraph “The Light and Dark of It” the author mainly discusses the differences between the fibers found in birds’ muscles. According to the text “red fibers contain a muscle protein that make animals able to work for much longer periods than do white fibers…” (275). These birds that can work for longer periods are duck, geese, and quails. They “have the most red fibered muscles…[because they] fly long distances to migrate or to find food” (275). Contrary to migratory birds, land birds - such as turkeys and chickens – live “less strenuous lives… [and mostly] contain light white fibers” (275). Throughout the text, the author uses words such as longer than, but, in fact and in the absence of to indicate these differences. This language emphasizes how birds can be different based on the development of their muscle fibers.

11. Your Turn… A.C.E. A = Answer C = Cite E = Extend Is the main purpose of the paragraph to inform, persuade, or entertain? Be sure you answer in FULL sentences Cite the text as your support Include an extension based on the text DO NOT include your opinion – it does not matter in analytical writing!!!