Let’s review a CER response using the quote provided on the previous page. Imagine this is your prompt for a CER response: Why does Gatsby’s past help him reinvent himself?

Gatsby’s past helps him reinvent himself because he essentially severs all ties to his past to create a new person. Nick describes Gatsby’s parents as “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” (Fitzgerald 98). Gatsby is widely successful and in no way shiftless; in fact, Gatsby is a motivated in business and strives to have the best of everything in life. From his house, to his car, to his clothes, to his parties, Gatsby wants only the most luxurious and opulent. Furthermore, Nick claims that Gatsby sees himself as “the son of God…sprang from the Platonic conception of himself” (Fitzgerald 98).  Gatsby completely dissociates himself parents and claims God as his father. He cuts ties with everything in his past in order to recreate his future.  Finally, Gatsby invents the ideal person “a seventeen-year-old boy would want to be” (Fitzgerald 98). Interestingly, Gatsby’s reinvention is based on a teenage boy’s ideas of the ideal person. His bleak childhood prompts him to create a new and much improved version of himself. Clearly, Gatsby’s past propels him to create a new version of himself.

Notice, how the writer uses CER. The blue sentence shows the C while the green sentences show the E’s and the pink sentences show the R’s. Notice, there is one C followed by three E’s and R’s. Often times, writers use several pieces of evidence with reasoning to support their one claim. Also notice the use of ellipses in the second piece of evidence. Remember, if we omit part of a quote, we need to insert an ellipsis to show our reader we have omitted part of the quote. Last, notice the conclusion sentence restates the C. We want to remind our readers of the overall message of the paragraph in the conclusion sentence.

Requirements

Claim-

Evidence-

Reason-

Evidence-

Reason-

Conclusion-

Use an ellipses

Use a complex sentence

Directions: Create a CER response paragraph following the model above. Highlight the C blue, E green,  and R pink. Use one ellipsis in your quote. Bold this sentence. Include a conclusion sentence restating the main idea of the paragraph. Be sure to use at least one complex sentence and underline it.