Text Practice: Finding Evidence
📖 Learn
Good writers support their ideas with evidence from texts. Evidence includes facts, examples, quotes, and details that prove or support what you are saying. Finding the right evidence and citing it correctly makes your writing stronger and more believable.
🔍 What is Text Evidence?
Text evidence is information from a source that supports your ideas. It can be:
- Direct quotes: The exact words from the text, in quotation marks
- Paraphrased information: Ideas restated in your own words
- Specific facts: Numbers, dates, names, or statistics
- Examples: Specific instances that prove a point
Steps to Find and Use Evidence
Identify Your Claim
What point are you trying to make? Know what you want to prove before looking for evidence.
Search the Text
Look for sentences, facts, or details that support your point. Highlight or note them.
Evaluate the Evidence
Ask yourself: Does this directly support my claim? Is it strong enough? Is it from a reliable part of the text?
Introduce the Evidence
Don't just drop a quote into your writing. Use a signal phrase like "According to..." or "The author states..."
Cite Your Source
Add an in-text citation with the author's name and page number.
Explain the Evidence
Tell your reader why this evidence matters. How does it support your claim?
Signal Phrases for Introducing Evidence
Use these phrases to smoothly introduce quotes and paraphrases:
- According to [Author]...
- The author explains that...
- [Author] states, "..."
- As noted in the article...
- The text reveals...
- Research shows that...
💡 Examples
Let's practice finding evidence in a real passage.
Sample Passage: "The Amazing Honeybee"
Honeybees are among the most important insects on Earth. They pollinate about one-third of the food we eat, including fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Without bees, many plants could not reproduce, and our food supply would be in danger.
A single honeybee colony can contain up to 60,000 bees working together. Each bee has a specific job. Worker bees collect nectar and pollen, guard the hive, and care for baby bees. The queen bee lays up to 2,000 eggs per day during the busy season.
Sadly, honeybee populations have been declining in recent years. Scientists believe this is caused by pesticides, habitat loss, and disease. Many farmers and gardeners are now planting bee-friendly flowers and avoiding harmful chemicals to help protect these essential insects.
Example 1: Supporting a Claim with a Quote
Claim: Honeybees are crucial for our food supply.
Why this works: The quote directly shows how bees affect our food, with specific examples.
Example 2: Supporting with Paraphrased Evidence
Claim: Bee colonies are highly organized.
Why this works: The information is reworded but keeps the key details about colony size and organization.
Example 3: Using Specific Facts
Claim: Queen bees are extremely productive.
Why this works: The specific number (2,000 eggs) provides strong, concrete evidence.
✏️ Practice
Find the Best Evidence
For each claim below, choose the text evidence that best supports it.
🎯 Evidence Finder Challenge
Write Your Own Evidence-Based Paragraph
Reference Passage: "Coral Reef Crisis"
Coral reefs are sometimes called the "rainforests of the sea" because they support more species per square foot than any other ocean habitat. Although coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor, they provide homes for about 25% of all marine species.
Unfortunately, coral reefs are dying at an alarming rate. Rising ocean temperatures cause coral bleaching, which turns the colorful coral white and eventually kills it. Scientists estimate that half of the world's coral reefs have already been lost.
Your Task:
Write a paragraph explaining why coral reefs are important. Include at least one piece of evidence from the passage with a proper citation.
More Practice: Match Claims to Evidence
Practice 5
Passage excerpt: "Elephants have excellent memories and can remember locations of water sources for decades. They also recognize individual elephants and humans they have met before."
Claim: Elephants have remarkable memory abilities.
Which would be the BEST evidence to support this claim?
Practice 6
Passage excerpt: "The Amazon rainforest produces about 20% of the world's oxygen. Deforestation destroys approximately 17% of the Amazon every decade."
Which claim does this evidence BEST support?
Practice 7
What is WRONG with this use of evidence?
"Pandas are endangered. Fewer than 2,000 pandas remain in the wild."
Practice 8
Which is the BEST way to introduce this quote: "Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees"?
✅ Check Your Understanding
Question 1
What is the purpose of text evidence in writing?
Question 2
What should you do AFTER presenting evidence in your writing?
Question 3
Which of these is a signal phrase?
Question 4
When choosing evidence, what is the MOST important consideration?
🚀 Summary & Next Steps
Find Evidence
Search text for supporting details
Introduce It
Use signal phrases
Cite It
Add author and page number
Explain It
Tell why it matters
Practice Tips
- When reading, highlight potential evidence that could support different claims
- Keep a list of useful signal phrases to vary your writing
- Always ask: "Does this evidence actually prove my point?"
- Never drop a quote without explaining its significance
Continue Learning
- Move on to Writing Application to practice using citations in essays
- Review Paraphrasing Sources if you need to refresh your skills
- Practice finding evidence in your current reading assignments