First, students should clearly state their claim and how it will be addressed in their thesis statement.

Once students have established their claims and collected relevant evidence, the next logical step is to organize this information into a cohesive essay. Incorporating Textual Evidence into Analysis This is not as important when doing literary research, but it is still good practice when researching evidence to support a claim. Finally, is the source up-to-date? It is always helpful to note when an article has been published or updated.However, students should still be conscious of the bias and understand that they may not agree with everything that the author says. Is the article or webpage biased? It is important to note that just because a source has a bias, it is not necessarily unusable.Does the article or webpage have citations? These will show students whether or not the author has done their research on their topic.

For example, if the web page states that To Kill a Mockingbird is a handbook on bird hunting, it is not a reputable source. Next, verify the accuracy of the information compared to other sources or the original text.First, does the article or webpage have an author? Is this author credible, i.e., what is their educational background? Is the content coming from published or respected authors?.

When searching for evidence that meets all three of these requirements, students should require their internet sources to meet a firm set of standards: Students should understand that a required literary source within an English classroom is a reputable source however, students can often struggle when asked to also locate relevant, credible, and sufficient evidence online and on their own. Atticus’ language provides clear and relevant support on the topic of racial discrimination. However, when Atticus states in his address to the jury that members of the town adhere to the “evil assumption that all ‘Negros’ lie, that all ‘Negros’ are basically immoral beings,” the exact quote should be used. Therefore, it does not need to be in quotation marks. Still, it is still relevant to the topic of racial discrimination. This evidence does not include a key quote from a character. For example, during Tom Robinson’s trial, members of the black community were placed in segregated seating in the balcony. Once they locate a portion of the text that connects to their claim, they can then look more closely at the text to select the best evidence to incorporate into their essay. Depending on the supporting evidence, students will also have to choose whether to quote the text exactly or paraphrase the text.

Skimming over these notes and highlighted portions informs students whether or not particular sections relate to their claim. If students closely read the text, they are much more prepared to find the best evidence to support their claims.Īfter closely reading the text, students can simply refer back to their annotations instead of re-reading it entirely. When students are asked to defend their claims with textual evidence, it can be difficult to assess which evidence is relevant and which is not.

Textual evidence