Drawing Evidence for Analysis
Aligned to W.11-12.9 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Analysis, reflection, and research all depend on evidence pulled directly from texts. Selecting the right quotation or fact and explaining how it supports your point is the core move of academic writing.
Worked examples
Example 1
To argue a character is proud, you cite his refusal of help and then explain how that refusal shows pride, not just courage.
Example 2
To argue that an essayist's argument depends on an unexamined assumption, quote the sentence where the assumption appears as a subordinate clause — since productivity is what work is for — and show that the entire conclusion rests on a premise the essay never defends. The evidence is a clause the author treated as too obvious to argue.
Example 3
Common mistake: explaining the quotation by restating it. Writing He says he refused help, which shows he refused help has used a sentence to travel no distance. The explanation must add the inference: refusing help in a situation where accepting it costs nothing suggests the refusal is about self-image rather than practicality. If your explanation could be deleted without loss, it was a paraphrase.
Practice questions
- Select evidence that fits a specific claim.
- Explain how a quotation supports your interpretation.
- Distinguish evidence that proves a point from evidence that merely relates.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Extraer Evidencia para el Análisis
El análisis, la reflexión y la investigación dependen de evidencia extraída directamente de los textos. Seleccionar la cita o el dato adecuado y explicar cómo respalda tu idea es la maniobra central de la escritura académica.
Ejemplo 1: Para argumentar que un personaje es orgulloso, citas su rechazo a la ayuda y luego explicas cómo ese rechazo muestra orgullo, no solo valentía.
Ejemplo 2: Para sostener que el argumento de un ensayista depende de un supuesto no examinado, cita la oración donde el supuesto aparece como cláusula subordinada — dado que la productividad es el fin del trabajo — y muestra que toda la conclusión descansa en una premisa que el ensayo nunca defiende. La evidencia es una cláusula que el autor consideró demasiado obvia para argumentar.
Ejemplo 3: Error común: explicar la cita repitiéndola. Escribir Dice que rechazó la ayuda, lo que muestra que rechazó la ayuda usó una oración para no avanzar nada. La explicación debe agregar la inferencia: rechazar ayuda cuando aceptarla no cuesta nada sugiere que el rechazo es por imagen propia y no por practicidad. Si tu explicación pudiera borrarse sin pérdida, era una paráfrasis.
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