#Textual evidence how to#
#Textual evidence full#
#Textual evidence free#

Individual appreciates felines.) A paraphrase should be a rewording of the evidence with the meaning still intact. This practice leads to sentences that just don’t make sentence. We also do not want “Synonym Ninjas,” who literally replace every word with a synonym. Paraphrases should NOT be word for word the same as the text itself, and they should NOT be long-winded summaries. Need some help with test prep? Read the blog post: Reading Comprehension High School Worksheets: Creating and Teaching With Test Prep In Mind Paraphrasing Textual Evidence This use of evidence is good practice for the real world, where most people appreciate brevity. When we cite, we may only need one, two, or ten words to prove our point. We know this practice is not the best, so we need to teach our students to only use the detail, word, phrase, or sentence that is essential. We have all tried to extend our papers with evidence.

#Textual evidence full#

Because of this requirement, I was tempted to use a longer sentence or even a full paragraph in a paper. I don’t know about you, but in college, I had a ton of professors who had a word or page limit.

Essential: We only need to cite the evidence that is the most essential.

#Textual evidence how to#

As teachers, we can help our students become critical thinkers who know the facts and the actual research! Specificity is necessary when teaching our kids how to cite textual evidence! People are lazy and/or uninformed, and instead of doing the hard work of researching, they are content to know generalities. The textual evidence might still be relevant and related, yet it might not be specific enough to connect to the student’s response.

Specific: Sometimes, the evidence is vague.

Students need to practice rereading, skimming, and annotating, so they can locate the best and most relevant textual support. And the toughest part is the time it takes to find the best support. If there is better evidence, then students need to learn to choose the BEST evidence possible.

Relevant: The evidence should directly support the answer to the question.

#Textual evidence free#

Need help with Test Prep? Check out this FREE Pack of 3 Test Prep Activities to help students achieve success on standardized tests!Ĭlick here to read about How To Cite Textual Evidence for Direct Quotes! 3 Characteristics of GOOD Evidence! Because we need to actually substantiate what we believe, we MUST teach our students how to cite textual evidence before pretty much any other standard! And really, this skill is key to pretty much any area of comprehension, analysis, and argument. Many, however, don’t understand the need for citing textual evidence. They might know an answer, because they understand the central idea or the main topic. One of the capstones of most reading comprehension standards is to CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE! Every answer needs support! Unfortunately, most students struggle with citing evidence, especially when it comes to PARAPHRASING.