ACE Explain Why (elaboration strategy)
Read ACE p. 133 "Too plugged in"
Topics
- Elaboration by explaining why the evidence they chose is relevant to the answer.
Lesson, Readings, and Examples
From the ACE book: lesson 5, Using the Explain Why strategy.
Elaboration is the hardest part of making a good short response. It's fairly easy to make an answer and pull a bit of evidence from somewhere for it, but beyond that people tend to run dry. We're going to talk over several strategies for elaborating your answers, and the first one is "Explain Why." It's the easiest, you already know how to do it, and it applies almost everywhere. We're mostly just giving it a name here.
Explain why just means that you explain why the evidence you cited before is relevant to the question at hand. Often, you're assuming that your audience knows the connection between them because it seems obvious, but the reality is that they are probably either distract and disengaged, or they actually don't know! You can pull them back into the topic by building the bridge for them: Tell them why the stuff you said was evidence actually is evidence that matters.
Bad Example: "He's guilty. The diamonds were found in his car. They were in his car, so he's guilty."
That example is bad because it doesn't actually make any connection between the evidence and the answer, and it doesn't explain anything. It gives you the feeling that you're explaining, but no new information was provided and nothing about the "explanation" actually cleared anything up.
Better example: "He's guilty. The diamonds were found in his car. We have video footage of him with his car near the time and place of the theft, so finding the diamonds in the car indicates he is the one who stole them."
This is better because it actually connects the fact of finding them in a person's car with the person (otherwise, maybe his friend was borrowing his car, or maybe somebody is trying to frame him...)
Exercise article
Read this artcle below, quoted from "ACE Short-response writing," then answer the questions:
Too Plugged-in
In today's world, screens are nearly everywhere. Computers and smartphones connect us with friends or help us do research for school projects. In fact, some health experts say watching TV or playing video games can be relaxing. But many kids spend a lot more time on these devices than they should. On average, American kids spend about seven hours a day in front of screens. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is a leading group of doctors. It says that all that extra screen time could lead to problems like weight gain, lower grades in school, and trouble sleeping.
Screen Overdose
David Greenfield is an expert on how people use technology. He says that time spent playing video games is time not spent being active. "If you spend 8, 9, 10 hours a day gaming, the only thing you're moving is your finger," says Greenfield.
Being surrounded by screens can also make it hard to focus on one task. In a 2013 study, experts in California studied students as they did their homework. After just two minutes, many kids started surfing the internet, watching TV, or texting instead of focusing on their assignments.
Too much screen time at night can also cause kids to lose out on sleep. Studies have shown that playing video games or using other digital devices right before bedtime can keep kids tossing and turning all night. The light from the screen tricks the brain into thinking it's still daytime.
Powering Down
The AAP says kids should limit their screen time to no more than two hours a day. One way kids can limit their screen time is by taking plenty of screen breaks during the day. Kids could use those breaks to rest their brains or exercise.