Using Text Evidence in Writing
Aligned to W.9-10.9 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
When you analyze or reflect in writing, ground your points in evidence drawn from the text — quote or paraphrase, then explain the connection.
Worked examples
Example 1
Arguing a character is prideful, a student quotes his refusal to ask for directions, then explains how that small refusal reveals a larger trait.
Example 2
Arguing that a nonfiction author overstates her case, a student quotes her sentence every expert now agrees, then sets it beside the two dissenting studies listed in the author's own endnotes. The evidence is not a quotation supporting the claim — it is a quotation in tension with something else, which is often the more convincing kind.
Example 3
Common mistake: choosing a quotation because it sounds impressive rather than because it proves the point. A long, elegant passage that only loosely relates to your claim weakens the paragraph; a six-word phrase that directly demonstrates it is worth more. Pick the shortest quotation that does the job, then spend your words explaining it rather than extending it.
Practice questions
- Choose a claim and pick one quotation that supports it.
- Explain how a paraphrased detail backs an analytical point.
- Describe how evidence turns an opinion into an argument.
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
Usar evidencia textual al escribir
Cuando analizas o reflexionas por escrito, apoya tus puntos en evidencia tomada del texto —cita o parafrasea— y luego explica la conexión.
Ejemplo 1: Para argumentar que un personaje es orgulloso, un estudiante cita su negativa a pedir indicaciones y luego explica cómo esa pequeña negativa revela un rasgo mayor.
Ejemplo 2: Al sostener que una autora de no ficción exagera su caso, un estudiante cita su frase todos los expertos coinciden ya y la pone junto a los dos estudios discrepantes que aparecen en las propias notas finales de la autora. La evidencia no es una cita que apoye la afirmación — es una cita en tensión con otra cosa, que suele ser la clase más convincente.
Ejemplo 3: Error común: elegir una cita porque suena impresionante y no porque demuestre el punto. Un pasaje largo y elegante que solo se relaciona vagamente con tu afirmación debilita el párrafo; una frase de seis palabras que la demuestra directamente vale más. Elige la cita más corta que haga el trabajo y gasta tus palabras en explicarla, no en alargarla.
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