Selecting the best evidence

Which is the definition of QUOTE?

• any sentence you take from another article or story

• any sentence you paraphrase from another source

• any sentence you make up from your mind

• any sentence your friend writes about an article

Which is the definition of TEXT EVIDENCE?

• to take a claim directly from an article and turn it into your claim

• to take the theme from a realistic fiction story and use it in your story

• to take a quote from another text and use it in your own writing to support your claim

• to make your own sentence and put quotation marks before and after it

A good thing to do when choosing a quote is:

• Choose a sentence from the text you could’ve written by yourself

• Choose a sentence from the text that teaches you something new

• Choose a sentence from the text that proves your claim

Which are NOT things you want to do when choosing evidence:

• Select a quote that is confusing to the reader

• Select a quote that has many advanced vocabulary words you don’t know

• Select a quote that is obvious and everyone already knows it

• Select a quote that is by an expert in the field you’re writing about

• Select a quote that is from the article but is irrelevant to my claim

If your claim is that playing sports teaches children how to win and lose honorably, which would be the strongest piece of supporting text evidence?

• The text states, “Engaging in sports isn't just an important physical and social activity, these parents say. It also builds skills that can make a difference later.”

• The text states, “Those are valuable lessons that a child learns by experiencing them.”

• The text states, “However, that's not their only motivation for encouraging the children to participate in organized athletics.”

• The text states, “You learn what it's like to put in lots of work and have things not turn out terrifically. And you learn what it feels like to put in a lot of work — and then win.”

Which quote would be best to support the claim that sports teach kids the skill of performing under pressure?

• The article states, “ If kids can learn to fight their fear and work through it, he says, that steadiness comes in handy later in life — when the stakes are much higher. It's an ability Octavio says he relies on routinely, as a software entrepreneur who has created, bought and sold a number of companies.”

• The article states, “Octavio also stresses the value of learning to be part of a team — both in childhood and now, at the office.”

• The article states, “Octavio Herrera also played baseball when he was Jake's age, and remembers how it felt. ‘Nerves in your stomach, right?’ he says.”

If your claim is kids should play different sports to keep all body parts healthy, which would be the strongest piece of supporting text evidence?

• The text states, “"We can get you back playing your sport … but what we can't do is prevent your arthritis in your knee," Matzkin said. Then "you're seeing young women in their 30s who can't keep up with their kids in the backyard."

• The article explains, “They need to encourage cross-training, or a variety of sports and exercise, and rest. That message can be hard to follow in increasingly competitive youth sports. More parents seem to hope for college scholarships and even professional play for their kids, said Dr. Andrea Kramer, an orthopedic surgeon at the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute.