1. Answering “open response short answer” questions
Reading Tasks
Answering “open response short answer” questions

2. What is it?
An “Open Response Short Answer” question occurs AFTER a reading selection (informational or narrative text).
You are asked an opinion-based question, which you must support based on the information from the text you’ve just read

3. Remember?
For those of you who wrote the Practice Literacy Test, you read an article about tourists placing locks on a bridge’s lampposts in Rome.
The Open Response Short Answer question was: Should city officials in Rome be worried or pleased about the fad of putting locks on the lamppost? Explain your answer using details from the selection and your own ideas.

4. Things to Note: The wording: EXPLAIN your answer using…
DETAILS from the selection and…
YOUR OWN IDEAS

5. First things first… (use rough notes area!)
Decide WHAT your opinion on the question is. Choose only ONE side of the argument (ie “worried” or “pleased”)
Decide WHAT supporting details from the selection help prove your opinion
If possible, add one new idea as long as it is CLOSELY RELATED TO THE IDEAS IN THE SELECTION (do not get off-topic)

6. Next…
Begin your answer by re-wording the question to ENSURE you are clearly answering what is being asked of you:
“City officials in Rome should be worried/pleased about the fad of putting locks on the lamppost BECAUSE…..”
BECAUSE is an important word to use as it shows you are expressing an opinion clearly and you will now state evidence to support it

7. Then… Use details DIRECTLY from the selection to prove your opinion.
A great idea is to CLOSELY paraphrase a sentence or even directly quote it, using quotation marks correctly
Sum up what you’ve written by extending the point with your own idea or concluding with a final thought

8. Now check it over…
Do you use almost all the space provided? (Do not write less or more)
Do you avoid vague language? (like “it”, “they”…be as specific as possible)
Do you use language conventions correctly? (Spelling, punctuation, tenses, etc.)
HAVE YOU ANSWERED THE QUESTION?