ACES Writing Strategy

Reorder

Read each response to the following question and rank them from weakest to strongest.

"How does Rachel feel when Mrs. Price puts the red sweater on her desk?"

• Rachel was sad.

• Rachel was mad. The story was unfair.

• Rachel was upset because she didn’t want the sweater.

• Rachel felt embarrassed and powerless. She wanted to speak up, but she didn’t. She says, “That’s not, I don’t, you’re not...not mine.”

1

2

3

4

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Multiple Choice

Why is it important to use a writing strategy like ACES when organizing your ideas?

• It helps structure your writing and make your arguments clearer.

• It makes your writing longer without adding value.

• It allows you to avoid using evidence in your writing.

• It is only useful for creative writing, not academic writing.

Multiple Choice

What are the steps involved in the 'A' part of the ACES writing strategy?

• Restate the question into a statement and answer it completely

• Cite Evidence

Multiple Choice

Which of the following should you do when citing an example or evidence according to the ACES strategy?

• Use clear, specific examples from the text

• Talk about something else

• Answer the question

Multiple Choice

The E step is for:

• Explaining the connection between your answer and your evidence

• Being exhausted

• Taking a break

Multiple Choice

The S step...

• Sums everything up

• Answers a different question

• Introduces new evidence

A (Answer):

C (Cite):

E (Explain):

S (Sum it Up):

A (Answer): The author shows Rachel’s feelings about growing up by comparing ages to layers that stay with you.

C (Cite):

E (Explain):

S (Sum it Up):

A (Answer): The author shows Rachel’s feelings about growing up by comparing ages to layers that stay with you.

C (Cite): Rachel says, “What they don’t understand about birthdays… is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one.”

E (Explain):

S (Sum it Up):

A (Answer): The author shows Rachel’s feelings about growing up by comparing ages to layers that stay with you.

C (Cite): Rachel says, “What they don’t understand about birthdays… is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one.”

E (Explain): This shows that Rachel feels like growing up doesn’t make you completely new or different. She believes that all the younger versions of yourself stay inside you, and sometimes you might act or feel like a younger age.

S (Sum it Up):

A (Answer): The author shows Rachel’s feelings about growing up by comparing ages to layers that stay with you.

C (Cite): Rachel says, “What they don’t understand about birthdays… is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one.”

E (Explain): This shows that Rachel feels like growing up doesn’t make you completely new or different. She believes that all the younger versions of yourself stay inside you, and sometimes you might act or feel like a younger age.

S (Sum it Up): Rachel’s feelings about growing up show that becoming older is complicated because your younger self never fully disappears.

The author shows Rachel’s feelings about growing up by comparing ages to layers that stay with you. In the text, Rachel says, “What they don’t understand about birthdays… is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one.” This shows that Rachel feels like growing up doesn’t make you completely new or different. She believes that all the younger versions of yourself stay inside you, and sometimes you might act or feel like a younger age. Rachel’s feelings about growing up show that becoming older is complicated because your younger self never fully disappears.

​By the end of the story, Rachel learns that even though she is eleven, she can still feel small, sad, and powerless sometimes. In the text, She says, “Because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk… you don’t feel eleven inside.“ This shows that Rachel realizes growing up doesn’t mean all of her younger feelings go away. Even though she is technically eleven, she still feels like a little girl when something unfair or embarrassing happens. Rachel’s experience teaches her that age doesn’t always protect you from hard feelings, and that it’s okay to carry all your younger selves with you as you grow.

Multiple Choice

What does ACES stand for?

• Answer, Cite, Explain, Summarize

• Answer, Cite, Engage, Structure

• Analysis, Cite, Explain, Structure

• Analysis, Cite, Explain, Summarize

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the ACES Writing Strategy MOST useful for helping writers with?

• Grammar/spelling

• Organization

• Formatting

• In-text citations

Multiple Choice

Why is it important to provide evidence in your writing using the ACES strategy?

• To support claims and arguments with credible information.

• To confuse the reader with unnecessary information.

• To make the writing longer and more detailed.

• To show off your knowledge and expertise.

Multiple Choice

How can the ACES writing strategy help improve your overall writing skills?

• The ACES writing strategy can improve overall writing skills by teaching grammar and punctuation rules.

• The ACES writing strategy can improve overall writing skills by providing a list of common writing mistakes to avoid.

• The ACES writing strategy can improve overall writing skills by focusing on creative writing techniques.

• The ACES writing strategy can improve overall writing skills by providing a systematic approach to organizing and structuring written work.