Enhancing English Language Learners Writing Skills with the RACE Strategy and Text Modifications

Teaching the RACE writing strategy—Restate, Answer, Cite, and Explain—offers significant benefits for English Language Learners (ELLs). It provides a clear, structured framework that helps them organize their thoughts and respond effectively to writing prompts. By breaking the writing process into manageable steps, RACE reduces language barriers and supports comprehension of both the question and the required response. Additionally, it encourages the use of textual evidence and academic language, helping ELLs develop stronger reading-to-writing connections and greater confidence in expressing their ideas clearly and coherently.

BUT HOW?! How do I get my lower level MLs to understand and use the RACE strategy?

Let me explain.

It is possible, but it takes some significant scaffolding. Let's take a look at the resource below.

In this example of a scaffolded RACE worksheet, you can see that the four steps have been broken down and color coded. This makes each step clear and lowers what I call the "overwhelm factor" of looking at a page with a lot of dense text. Addtionally, sentence frames have been added to get the student going.

Now let's take a look at the next image, which is the evidence page. I make these shortened articles for my MLs and SPED learners because I want them to be able to digest the text. I keep the language on grade level, but I simply give them less to deal with at once. Instead of a lengthy article, I give them a paragraph. You can still accomplish the RACE writing goal with just a paragraph or two of text evidence.

Finally, you'll notice that I also provide some key vocabulary and translations. I tell them that they are only allowed to use these translations and that if they need another word or phrase, they must ask a friend, ask me, find a cognate, or, if all else fails, "talk around" the word. They are not allowed to rely on Google Translate and we have long discussions as to why. By giving them some translations, I'm giving them a fair deal and they don't feel like they have no language to work with. If you're looking for some ready-made modified RACE materials for your ESL or SPED students, you can also purchase two different sets HERE.