Recap
- Writers use evidence strategically: to illustrate, clarify, exemplify, associate, amplify or qualify a point.
- Evidence is effective when commentary explains its relationship to the claim, and sufficient when quantity and quality support the line of reasoning.
- Developing an interpretation is recursive: evidence can lead to a line of reasoning, or a line of reasoning to evidence. If the evidence does not fit, revise the claim.
- Composition matters: sentence structure, word choice and punctuation make the reasoning clear.
Jobs of evidence
| Job | In plain words |
|---|---|
| Illustrate | Gives a concrete instance |
| Clarify | Makes an abstract claim visible |
| Exemplify | Offers a typical case |
| Associate | Links two details so each lights the other |
| Amplify | Strengthens or extends the claim |
| Qualify | Complicates or limits the claim |
Evidence test
- Relevant? Does it bear directly on the claim?
- Effective? Is there commentary linking it to the claim?
- Sufficient? Do quantity and quality cover every part of the claim?
Sentence control
| Tool | Effect | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Coordination | Balance between ideas | “She smiles, and she weeps.” |
| Subordination | One idea gains weight over another | “Although she smiles, she weeps.” |
| Semicolon | Joins two close independent clauses | “She says it is nothing; her hands say otherwise.” |
| Colon | Introduces an explanation or example | “Her distress is clear: she reads the letter twice.” |
| Dash | A sharp pause or emphasis | “The flame cannot change the words—and she knows it.” |
Assumptions
- Quote only the words that carry your point, then comment.
- One claim may need more than one piece of evidence, from different places in the text.
- Precision beats volume: choose the exact verb, noun and quotation.
Mistakes to avoid
- Dropping quotations into the text without a lead-in or commentary.
- Using only one detail for a broad claim.
- Ignoring evidence that complicates your claim.
- Joining every idea with “and”, so nothing is more important than anything else.
- Using vague verbs such as “shows” and “uses” throughout.
Quick self-check
1. A student claims that a character is “generous”, with one quotation of a single act. What might be insufficient?
2. Rewrite using subordination so that the second idea is emphasised: “She was polite, and she was furious.”
3. Which job is evidence doing here: “She locked the gate, yet left the key in the lock”?
4. Punctuate with a colon: “The narrator gives one reason for her silence she is afraid.”
Answers.
- One act may not be enough for a general claim. Add a second example from a different point in the text, and explain how each supports “generous”.
- “Although she was polite, she was furious.”
- Qualifies (it complicates the idea of locking), and possibly associates two details.
- “The narrator gives one reason for her silence: she is afraid.”
Return to the Topic 6.7 study guide for worked examples, then try the practice questions.