Quoting Accurately as Evidence
Aligned to RL.5.1 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
When you explain what a text says or infer something, point to exact words that prove it. Quote the phrase and explain how it supports your point.
Worked examples
Example 1
Claim: the character is nervous. Evidence: the text says her 'hands trembled as she opened the letter' — trembling hands show nervousness.
Example 2
Claim: the narrator regrets moving. Evidence: the text says he 'still wrote the old address on his envelopes' — the habit shows he had not let go.
Example 3
Quote exactly, including the words that do not flatter your claim. Changing a quote to fit your argument is the one thing that ruins it.
Practice questions
- Make an inference about a character and quote a line that supports it.
- Why is quoting stronger than just saying 'I think'?
- Find textual evidence for the setting's mood.
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 con Exactitud como Evidencia
Cuando explicas lo que dice un texto o haces una inferencia, señala las palabras exactas que lo demuestran. Cita la frase y explica cómo apoya tu idea.
Ejemplo 1: Afirmación: el personaje está nervioso. Evidencia: el texto dice que sus 'manos temblaban al abrir la carta' — las manos temblorosas muestran nerviosismo.
Ejemplo 2: Afirmación: el narrador se arrepiente de haberse mudado. Evidencia: el texto dice que 'seguía escribiendo la dirección vieja en sus sobres' — el hábito muestra que no lo había soltado.
Ejemplo 3: Cita con exactitud, incluidas las palabras que no favorecen tu afirmación. Cambiar una cita para que encaje es lo único que la arruina.
More Reading: Literature lessons
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