Writing with APE

This is Aristotle P. English. He’s going to help you write a complete essay.

What is APE?● APE is an acronym that will help you

remember the steps to writing a solid short-essay response to a question.

● Think of APE as a formula that you can use whenever you are answering a question based on a reading from any class.

What is APE?

●A: answer (topic sentence)

●P: prove it (with example or quote)

●E: explanation (examples)

A is for AnswerAnswer the question with a TOPIC SENTENCE.● This is the first sentence of your response.● Rephrase the question into a complete sentence, just like RBS.

Words from question + answer to the question = TOPIC SENTENCE

● Never start an answer with the following statements:● “I think…”● “Yes, because…” or “No, because…”● “In my opinion…”

Answer: ExampleQuestion: Explain why the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was necessary.

Answer: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was necessary because the Fifteenth Amendment was not being completely obeyed.

P is for Prove● You can’t make a statement about a text without

providing proof to back up your topic sentence. ● Relate this to lawyers in the courtroom. They can’t just

say, “Stanley stole the shoes from the store!” and have it be true. They have to provide evidence to prove that Stanley stole the shoes.

● When writing about texts, your proof comes in the form of textual evidence (quotes from the text).

Embedding Quotes (Proof)● Remember that your quote must relate to your topic

sentence and your answer. ● Your quote is your PROOF about your ANSWER to

the question. ● Quote does not automatically mean dialogue. Any

phrase you can put your finger on in the text and include in your explanation is a quote. If it’s not your own words, it needs quotation marks to show it’s from the article.

Embedding Quotes (Proof)Only use the most important part of the quote as a piece of your own sentence. Copy this quote in your notes:

The Fifteenth Amendment gave African-American men the right to vote by declaring that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

Where are the important pieces of the quote? Underline them in your notes.

Embedding Quotes (Proof)Does yours look like this?

The Fifteenth Amendment gave African-American men the right to vote by declaring that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

Embedding Quotes (Proof)When you add a quote from a text, you can’t just plop it in and call it a sentence. Text evidence must be embedded.

No:

“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-110) became effective on August 6, 1965. It enforced the Fifteenth Amendment and outlawed discriminatory voting practices.”

Yes:

The Fifteenth Amendment states that voting rights “shall not be denied… on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

ExplanationThis is one of the hardest parts of the APE process because it requires you to connect your proof to your topic sentence.

Example: The Fifteenth Amendment states that voting rights “shall not be denied… on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Yet almost 100 years later, many states required only African-Americans to pay poll taxes or pass literacy tests in order to vote. This put an undue hardship on people of color, who were under-represented on voter rolls as a result.

Explanation● Your explanation must go beyond just repeating

the answer or paraphrasing the proof. You must explain how your quote connects to your topic sentence and your answer.

● “So this means…”● Your readers should understand your answer

even if they have never read the piece you are writing about.

But you’re not done yet!● The last one or two sentences of your answer, wrap up

your thoughts and claims that you made in your answer.● Connect the examples and quotes you gave in the Prove

and Explain segments back to the topic sentence and your Answer.

● If you get really stuck, try a transitional word or phrase such as “As a result…” or “This shows…”

Avoid these closing statement traps:

○ Do not use “In conclusion…”○ Do not repeat word-for-word what you

have already said.○ Don’t bring up a new idea that you

haven’t already addressed.

Tips for using APE● Stay on topic!● Do not start any of your answers with yes or no.

“No, the Fifteenth Amendment was not being completely enforced …..”

● Start your response with an answer to the question--your topic sentence.

● Unless the question specifically asks about your experience, don’t use first person pronouns (I, me, we, us…).

● Avoid the second person “you.”

A complete APE response:○ Answers the question.○ Provides proof (textual evidence).○ Explains your proof in relation to your

answer.○ Sums it all up with closing statement that

connects your P and E back to your A.

Put it all together!The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was necessary because the Fifteenth

Amendment was not being completely obeyed.

The Fifteenth Amendment states that voting rights “shall not be denied… on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Yet almost 100 years later, many states required only African-Americans to pay poll taxes or pass literacy tests in order to vote. This put an undue hardship on people of color, who were under-represented on voter rolls as a result.

This is why, despite a Constitutional amendment from 1870 that addressed voting rights, additional legislation was required in 1965 to extend the right to vote to every eligible citizen of the United States and ensure equal access to all Americans.

So let Aristotle P. English help you write a complete essay!

Now it’s your turn:● Choose one prompt from the list of Socratic questions.● Use the template to organize your ideas and details from

the article you read and the Socratic discussion.

On a sheet of notebook paper, turn the information from the template into an essay format.● Start with your topic sentence.● Whatever you said in your topic sentence, explain in

your words why you think that.● Give a specific example about a time this happened--to

you, in the article, etc. to prove what you just said.● Use text evidence (quotes) to support what you said.● Explain how your examples prove your topic sentence.

Look back in your notes for sentence starters.

● Re-read your APE response with a partner. ● Use a yellow pencil to underline the sentences that

Answer, red to underline those that Prove, and blue to underline where you Explain how they connect.

● What can the writer do to make it better?● Make changes suggested by your partner. I should see

improvement from template → 1st draft → 2nd draft.● Begin a second draft on a new sheet of paper.● You will turn in template, 1st draft, and 2nd draft.

○ Why does discrimination still seem to touch so many parts of American society?

○ Do you think that someone has ever NOT experienced discrimination?○ Jackie Robinson was asked to remain silent and let his talent on the

baseball field speak for itself. Colin Kaepernick has elected to challenge discrimination in a public, controversial way. Which do you think is more effective?

○ What does it mean to be an American?○ What might be some consequences of treating individuals or entire groups

negatively based on their social group membership?○ Does it matter that some groups are overrepresented or underrepresented

in certain careers?○ What should you do when people around you make judgments

about another person or group?○ Why do you think young people are often more open-minded than older

people?