Drawing Evidence into Analysis
Aligned to W.11-12.9 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Using evidence well means embedding it in reasoning — introducing it, quoting or citing only the load-bearing part, and then explaining precisely how it proves your claim. Evidence that is dropped in without analysis proves nothing; the explanation is the argument.
Worked examples
Example 1
To argue a character is self-deceived, a writer quotes only three words — 'I chose this' — then explains that the character says it about a fate no one chose, so the quotation proves the delusion precisely because it contradicts the situation the writer has already established.
Example 2
To argue that a memoirist is more generous to her adversaries than to herself, quote two sentences of equal length: the one where she grants her rival a motive she cannot verify, and the one where she denies herself a motive the reader has watched her hold. The evidence is the SYMMETRY, which no single quotation could show.
Example 3
Common mistake: front-loading all the evidence and putting the analysis at the end. A paragraph that presents three quotations and then explains them together loses the reader between the second and the third, because they are holding evidence with nothing to attach it to. Interleave: claim, evidence, reasoning, next claim. Each piece of evidence should be explained before the next one arrives.
Practice questions
- State a claim and select the single most load-bearing piece of evidence for it, quoting only what you need.
- Write the sentence that introduces the evidence so a reader knows why it is coming.
- Write two sentences of analysis explaining exactly how the evidence proves the claim, not just restating it.
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
Llevar la Evidencia al Análisis
Usar bien la evidencia significa insertarla en el razonamiento — presentarla, citar solo la parte que sostiene el peso y luego explicar con precisión cómo prueba tu afirmación. La evidencia soltada sin análisis no prueba nada; la explicación es el argumento.
Ejemplo 1: Para argumentar que un personaje se autoengaña, una escritora cita solo tres palabras — 'Yo elegí esto' — y luego explica que el personaje lo dice sobre un destino que nadie eligió, así que la cita prueba el engaño precisamente porque contradice la situación que la escritora ya estableció.
Ejemplo 2: Para sostener que una memorialista es más generosa con sus adversarios que consigo misma, cita dos oraciones de la misma extensión: aquella en que le concede a su rival un motivo que no puede verificar, y aquella en que se niega a sí misma un motivo que el lector la vio sostener. La evidencia es la SIMETRÍA, que ninguna cita aislada podría mostrar.
Ejemplo 3: Error común: amontonar toda la evidencia al principio y dejar el análisis al final. Un párrafo que presenta tres citas y luego las explica juntas pierde al lector entre la segunda y la tercera, porque sostiene evidencia sin nada a qué adherirla. Intercala: afirmación, evidencia, razonamiento, siguiente afirmación. Cada pieza de evidencia debería explicarse antes de que llegue la siguiente.
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