The RACE and RACES writing strategy explained for parents: restate, answer, cite, explain (and summarize), with a worked example and 3 ten-minute ways to help at home.
RACE is a strategy many US teachers use to help students write short constructed responses about a text: Restate the question, Answer it, Cite evidence from the text, Explain how the evidence supports the answer. RACES adds S for Summarize or Sum it up. It is a teaching tool, not part of the standards, so the letters vary a little between schools.
It supports a skill the Common Core asks for at every grade: answering with evidence from the text. In 4th grade, for example, students "refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences" (RL.4.1), and from 6th grade they cite textual evidence.
Leo stared at the starting line. His hands were shaking, but he took a deep breath and told himself he had practiced for months.
Question: How does Leo feel before the race? Use evidence from the text.
When your child says something about a book or show ("she's mean"), ask "What did she do or say that proves it?"
Read a short article together and highlight one sentence that answers a question you ask. That is their Cite.
For the Explain step, ask them to finish: "This shows... because...". Two sentences, out loud, before writing.
Methods and tests vary by state and district; your child's teacher is the best guide to what their class uses. Last checked October 2026.
A printable sheet on "Answering text-dependent questions with the RACE strategy" with an answer key, ready in about a minute. Free to start.