How to ANSWER a QUESTION IN C.S.Q.T. FORMAT

1. How to ANSWER a QUESTION IN C.S.Q.T. FORMAT

2. THE acronym • CLAIM = Make a claim; this is simply your answer to the question. • SET-UP = Introduce the quote you will use to prove your claimby explaining to your reader who wrote the quote, where the quote is taken from, and what the quote is about. • QUOTE = Choose a quote that supports your claim. REMEMBER: NO STAND- ALONE QUOTES. The quote needs a speaker’s tag. • TIE-IN = Explain your quote! Tell your reader how your quote supports your claim—do NOT let the reader make the connection for you! ALWAYS ASSUME YOUR READER KNOWS NOTHING!

3. LET’s PRACTICE! BRRR by Roberta Icicle The cold harsh wind it heaves and blows, It chills my fingers and my toes. And falling from the sky of slate, A dancing whirr of downy flakes. The flakes that dance, and whirr and fly, They sometimes hit me in the eye. Seeing them again I clap with glee, Ha Ha, Ha Ha, HeeHee, HeeHee. Don’t go to that shopping mall! It is the season after fall! And when you get at home in bed, Thoughts of frost they fill your little mind! What season is described in the poem? Use C.S.Q.T. format to model your response.

4. Sample C.S.Q.T. response The season described in the poem is winter. In the beginning of her poem “BRRR,” Roberta Icicle describes a wintry setting. She describes a wind that “chills her fingers and her toes,” and she sees “a dancing whirr of downy flakes.” Since the poet describes a brutally cold wind that flings flakes that most likely is snow, the poem is probably set during the winter when snow and cold are regular occurrences.