USING EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT IDEAS

IN YOUR WRITING, THE ACE FORMAT,

AND HOLISTIC MARKING
English 10/11

Benko/Harbour

What is ACE?

At Mt. Boucherie we use an acronym

to help students remember the steps
to effectively use quotes in their
writing.
*ASSERT--assert your argument.
Introduce the quote so the reader knows
how it proves your position.
*CITE-- cite your evidence. This is where
you insert your quote.
*EXPLAIN--- explain how the quote
proves your argument.

Where do you use ACE

Any writing assignment that requires
a student to
use evidence/support from a piece of
literature whether it is a poem, short
story, novel, etc.
* It is implied that students understand
that ACE is an essential part of their
formal writing by Grade 11..
WHY: Adding direct evidence supports
your ideas, validates your opinions and
makes your writing more interesting.

Examples of Using ACE

The following are examples of indirect

and direct evidence from Michael
Bruces short story
Gentlemen Your Verdict

Use both indirect and direct

support

INDIRECT: Also referred to as paraphrasing.

EXAMPLE: One theme in Michael Bruces Gentlemen
Your Verdict is that murder is justifiable in certain
circumstances. Bruce illustrates this moral dilemma
when Lieutenant-Commander Oram serves fifteen of
his men poisoned whiskey in order to save the lives of
five men with families, because there is not enough
oxygen for all twenty to survive until help arrives.
Notice how I am putting SPECIFIC events from the
story into my own words to help support my idea that
the theme of Gentlemen Your Verdict is that murder
is justifiable in certain circumstances.

Use both indirect and direct

support
DIRECT: Include a quote as part of your OWN
sentence.

EXAMPLE: One theme in Michael Bruces Gentlemen

Your Verdict is that murder is justifiable in certain
circumstances. Bruce illustrates this theme when he
has Lieutenant-Commander Oram explain to shore
station that he arranged that Lieutenant Paull,
Engineers Nordin and Jenvey, Torpedoman
Preece and Coxswain Peer [would] survive (25)
because they were married men (24). In this
incident, Bruce reveals that faced with the potential
death of his entire crew, Oram makes a difficult moral
decision to save five men.

Important requirements
with ACE

NO FLOATING Quotes Quotes must be

attached to a sentence created by the
writer.
Citation information is always required
or it is plagiarism page numbers for
short stories, novel, etc. For poetry the
line number.

Requirements Continued

When citing evidence as part of a

sentence the quote MUST flow naturally
EX.
When Lt. Commander Oram heard the
devastating news his face paled(23)
foreshadowing the difficult moral
decision he encounters later in the text.

Poor example

Note the rough transition into the quote

and the lack of subject alignment
Captain Oram made absolutely certain
that he was the only one to take the
blame, None of the others had the least
idea of what I was intending on doing.
(25)

Last reminders about ACE

Do not use two direct references in a row. Use some

of your own words in between. For example,

Lieutenant-Commander Oram explains to shore station

that he arranged that lieutenant Paull, Engineers Nordin
and Jenvey, Torpedoman Preece and Coxswain Peer
[would] survive (Bruce 25) because they were
married men (Bruce 24).

Use ellipses () to indicate that you have left some

words out of the quote

Use square brackets [ ] to indicate that

you have changed a word from its
original form so that it fits in your
sentence. (ie. Fits grammatically, in
present tense, etc.) For example,

Lieutenant-Commander Oram explained to shore

station that he arranged that Lieutenant Paul,
Engineers Nordin and Jenvey, Torpedoman Preece
and Coxswain Peer [would} survive.

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SKILL as it

assists the writer in sentence structure
and cohesion.

Last and final points

Informal language

You, I, My, Me, Us, We --- are ALL

forbidden in your formal writing
assignments

WHY?
They weaken your argument and do not
show your skills as a writer.

Rubric for Analytical Writing

Writing is marked holistically, on a similar scale as school-wide

writes were in middle school. They cover four levels of writing:
Not yet meeting expectationsthe writing doesnt
accomplish the basic task; it may be seriously flawed,
incomplete, or misinterpret key aspects of the topic. Reflects
little knowledge of the conventions of essay writing.
Minimally meeting expectationsthe writing addresses the
task, but leaves gaps in ideas and development and is unable
to fully control the required form and style. Limited variety in
language and sentences.
Fully meeting expectationsthe writing fulfils the
requirements of the task, with an overall sense of purpose and
control. Ideas are generally clear and adequately developed.
Some variety in language, sentences, and techniques.
Exceeding expectationsthe writing features some
complex, mature insight, language, and techniques. It shows
depth in its engagement with the topic.

Rubric for Analytical Writing

cont

The four-point scalenot yet meeting, minimally

meeting, fully meeting, or exceeding expectations
usually covers the following areas:
Topic Statement (or introductory paragraph)
Content (or body paragraphs)
Concluding Statement (or paragraph)
Conventionssentence structure, vocabulary,
transitions, stylistic techniques, and basic writing
skills.

The ACE Acronym

At Mount Boucherie Secondary, we use an acronym to help students

remember the steps to effectively using quotes in their writing.
ASSERTassert your argument. Introduce the quote so the reader
knows how it proves your position.
Example: In Shirley Jacksons short story, The Lottery, the author
presents the image of a black box to foreshadow the negative
outcome the lottery will have for its winner.
CITEcite your evidence. This is where you insert your quote.
Example: In Shirley Jacksons short story, The Lottery, the author
presents the image of a black box to foreshadow the negative
outcome the lottery will have for its winner: it was necessary to
use something that would fit more easily into the black box
(2).
EXPLAINexplain how the quote proves your argument.
Example: In Shirley Jacksons short story, The Lottery, the author
presents the image of a black box to foreshadow the negative
outcome the lottery will have for its winner: it was necessary to
use something that would fit more easily into the black box (2). The
color of the box implies that the lottery ritual has a darker meaning for
the individual whose name is drawn.