Finding & Embedding Evidence

Finding

& Embedding Evidence

Start

But First Claims

Before you go hunting for evidence, you need to know what you’re looking for! Think of it like a detective: you need a case (your claim) before you can search for clues (your evidence).

So...What is a Claim?

• This is a statement of your topic (what your paragraph is about) AND your specific opinion or observation about it. This is the top piece of bread to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

• This can also be called a topic sentence or a thesis statement.

• Example: "Video games contribute to youth violence."

• In this case, video games is the topic, believing they cause youth violence is your observation.

Steps to Make a Claim

1. Read closely

2. State your claim clearly

• Look for key details, patterns, or repeated ideas.
• Pay attention to important words or phrases that signal meaning or tone.

• Restate the question in your answer.
• Once you have written a claim, you will use evidence from the text to supprt your claim

+Example

4. Analyze deeper

3. inferencing

• Think about the author's purpose and point of view

• Ask: why did the author include this detail? What are they trying to show or argue?

1. What do you see: Find clues in the text (actions, dialogue, descriptions, etc.)
2. What do you know: Add your background knowledge or experiences.
3. What you think: Combine the clues and your knowledge to make a claim/draw a conclusion

+Example

What is Evidence?

Evidence is using exact details or quotes from what you read to prove your ideas. It shows where you got your answer and makes your claim stronger. Always back up your thoughts with something straight from the text.

Types of Evidence (not an exhaustive list)

• Direct quotations:

• Using the author’s exact words from the text to support your point. This helps show exactly where your idea comes from.

• Paraphrased details or explanations:

• Restating part of the text in your own words. This shows you understand the information and can explain it clearly.

• Descriptions of actions or events:

• Explaining what a character does or what happens in the story. Actions often reveal character traits or themes.

• Author’s word choice or tone:

• Looking at the specific words or emotions the author uses. This helps show the author’s attitude or the mood of the text.

Sentence frames to get you started

• The author demonstrates this idea when _____.
• The narrator reveals _____ by stating, “_____.”
• The speaker suggests _____ through the line, “_____.”
• The story highlights _____ when _____ is described as “_____.”
• The use of the word “_____” emphasizes _____.
• The passage illustrates _____ by showing that “_____.”
• _____ is shown when the narrator describes, “_____.”
• _____ is emphasized when it is written, “_____.”

Why do need evidence?

To support our claims with evidence from the text

Quoting allows us to use the author’s exact words as proof for our ideas, making our arguments stronger and more believable.

To avoid plagiarism and give credit to the original author

By quoting, we show which words and ideas belong to someone else. This is honest, respectful, and helps us avoid taking credit for work that isn’t ours

How to find evidence

Now What?

• It’s not enough to just find good evidence—you have to weave it smoothly into your writing. Never let a quote stand alone in your writing.

• “Dropping” a quote—making it its own sentence without context—is a common mistake. Instead, embed each quote as part of your own sentence, using your words to introduce, explain, or analyze it.

• A well-embedded quote includes:Your own languageThe speaker’s nameContext and citation
• What NOT to do: Albert Einstein was a great man and a great scientist. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

• This feels abrupt—we don’t know who is speaking or why it matters.

• A better approach: Albert Einstein was a powerful thinker. In his book Time and Space, he writes about a key habit of mind: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing” (372).
• Here, the quote is smoothly integrated with context and citation.

• There are four common ways to embed a quote. Check them out...

4 Methods for Embedding Quotes

• No matter the method you use, you ultimately want to include CONTEXTUAL INTEGRATION
• What's happening? (Brief context)
• Who is speaking? (Author/Character)
• How do they say it? (Verb: explains, worries, claims, etc.
• What do they say? (Quote with citation)

Author + Present Tense Verb + That + Quote

Full Sentence + Colon + Quote

Drop short phrases into your own sentence

Author + Present Tense Verb + Comma + Quote

I have embedded my quote now what?

• It isn't enough to just add a quote, you must CITE IT to give proper credit!
• Here are some quick tips below for citing evidence
• Note: This is not an exhaustive list, but just a way to get you started!

Author in sentence

Author not in sentence

• “Quote” (page).
• Example: Schwartz writes, “All great achievements require time” (223).

• “Quote” (Author page).
• Example: “All great achievements require time” (Schwartz 223).

No author (use short title)

No page number (web):

• “Quote” (“What Employers Want” 55).

• Quote” (Guthrie).

So why does this matter?

• Making claims and backing them up with evidence matters everywhere—not just in English class. You use these skills when you:

• Figure out what a news story really means
• Decide which product to buy from reviews
• Explain your opinion in a debate or science lab
• Close reading and making inferences help you understand deeper meanings, see different perspectives, and connect ideas. These are real-life skills you’ll use all the time. Let’s practice and see how strong your claims can be!

So let's go put what we learned into practice!

Trick:

Interactivity is the key element to capture your students' interest and attention. A genially is interactive because your group explores and interacts with it.

Full Sentence + Colon + Quote

Example

"In his book The Magic of Thinking Big, David J. Schwartz argues for patience: “All great achievements require time” (223).

What does it look like?

• Question: "Why are school libraries changing how they organize books?
• Claim: Libraries are chaning to be more student-friendly and boost reading interest
• Evidence: Now that you have a claim, you will need to find a quote or detail from the text that supports this...

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With this function...

You can add additional content that excites the brains of your students: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!

Author + Present Tense Verb + That + Quote

Example

In his book The Magic Of Thinking Big, Schwartz asserts that “all great achievements require time” (223).

What if there are two authors?

“Quote” (Collins and Almond 19).

Drop Short Phrase Into Your Own Sentence

Example

Schwartz believes that “[a]ll great achievements” ultimately “require time” (223).

What does it look like?

• Text: "Chralie grabbed an umbrella and rushed out of the house."
• What you see: Charlie grabs an umbrella
• What you know: People use umbrellas when it rains.
• What you think: It is probably raining outside

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Author + Verb + Comma + Quote

Example

Schwartz points out, “All great achievements require time” (223).