Citing Evidence in Argument and Report
Aligned to RI.11-12.1 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
In nonfiction, strong evidence means quoting or paraphrasing the exact data, concession, or qualifier an author uses — including the hedges that show where the author's own certainty ends. Note where the text admits limits, not only where it asserts.
Worked examples
Example 1
A report states that a program 'likely reduced' repeat offenses 'in the two counties studied'; a careful reader cites both the effect and its two hedges — 'likely' and 'in the two counties studied' — because the author is signaling that the finding is real but not yet proven to travel elsewhere.
Example 2
An agency memo states that current data does not support a finding of contamination. A careful reader cites the whole phrase: current data leaves open what later data might show, and does not support is weaker than contradicts. The sentence is consistent with contamination that has not yet been measured, and it was written to be.
Example 3
Common mistake: quoting the strongest-sounding fragment of a longer sentence. Pulling the finding is significant out of the finding is significant only under the assumptions described above reverses the source's meaning while using its exact words. Quote through the end of the qualifying clause, or paraphrase the whole. A truncated quotation that changes the claim is a misquotation even when every word is authentic.
Practice questions
- Quote a claim from an informational text along with any qualifier attached to it.
- Explain what the qualifier tells you about how far the author's certainty reaches.
- Distinguish a conclusion the text firmly supports from one it only suggests, citing the exact language for each.
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
Citar Evidencia en Argumento e Informe
En la no ficción, la evidencia sólida significa citar o parafrasear el dato, la concesión o el matiz exacto que usa un autor — incluidas las salvedades que muestran hasta dónde llega su propia certeza. Nota dónde el texto admite límites, no solo dónde afirma.
Ejemplo 1: Un informe dice que un programa 'probablemente redujo' la reincidencia 'en los dos condados estudiados'; un lector cuidadoso cita tanto el efecto como sus dos salvedades — 'probablemente' y 'en los dos condados estudiados' — porque el autor señala que el hallazgo es real pero aún no se prueba que valga en otros lugares.
Ejemplo 2: Un memorando oficial señala que los datos actuales no respaldan un hallazgo de contaminación. Un lector cuidadoso cita la frase entera: datos actuales deja abierto lo que muestren datos posteriores, y no respaldan es más débil que contradicen. La oración es compatible con una contaminación que aún no se ha medido, y fue redactada para serlo.
Ejemplo 3: Error común: citar el fragmento de sonido más fuerte de una oración más larga. Sacar el hallazgo es significativo de el hallazgo es significativo solo bajo los supuestos descritos arriba invierte el sentido de la fuente usando sus palabras exactas. Cita hasta el final de la cláusula que matiza, o parafrasea el conjunto. Una cita truncada que cambia la afirmación es una cita falsa aunque cada palabra sea auténtica.
More Reading: Informational lessons
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