Text Evidence in Literature
The goal: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly as well as inferences and interpretations drawn from the text.
Textual Evidence is the details found in a passage that support the main idea or claim.
Explicit Evidence:
Implicit Evidence:
Explicit Evidence:
- Evidence found directly in the text
Implicit Evidence:
- Information found in a text that may require the reader to make an inference
- An inference is an educated guess
Activity 1: "Fat is Not a Fairy Tale" by Jane Yolen
I am thinking of a fairy tale,
Cinder Elephant,
Sleeping Tubby,
Snow Weight,
where the princess is not
anorexic, wasp-waisted,
flinging herself down the stairs.
I am thinking of a fairy tale,
Hansel and Great,
Repoundsel,
Bounty and the Beast,
where the beauty
has a pillowed breast,
and fingers plump as sausage.
I am thinking of a fairy tale
that is not yet written,
for a teller not yet born,
for a listener not yet conceived,
for a world not yet won,
where everything round is good:
the sun, wheels, cookies, and the princess.
1. What is the speaker's main idea in this poem? In other words, what is the point s/he is trying to make?
a. Fairy tale princesses demonstrate healthy body types.
b. Fairy tales princesses do not demonstrate healthy body types.
c. Fairy tales must continue to be written for future generations.
d. Fat is not a fairy tale.
2. Which line from the poem best supports your answer for number 1?
a. "I am thinking of a fairy tale"
b. "flinging herself down the stairs"
c. "Cinder Elephant, Sleeping Tubby, Snow Weight"
d. "where the princess is not anorexic, wasp-waisted,"
3. Which best word best describes the tone of the poem's speaker?
a. Playful
b. Critical
c. Angry
d. Depressing
4. Which line from the poem best supports your answer for number 3?
a. "everything round is good: the sun, wheels, cookies, and the princess."
b. "I am thinking of a fairy tale"
c. "Cinder Elephant, Sleeping Tubby, Snow Weight"
d. "where the beauty has a pillowed breast, and fingers plump as sausage."
a. Fairy tale princesses demonstrate healthy body types.
b. Fairy tales princesses do not demonstrate healthy body types.
c. Fairy tales must continue to be written for future generations.
d. Fat is not a fairy tale.
2. Which line from the poem best supports your answer for number 1?
a. "I am thinking of a fairy tale"
b. "flinging herself down the stairs"
c. "Cinder Elephant, Sleeping Tubby, Snow Weight"
d. "where the princess is not anorexic, wasp-waisted,"
3. Which best word best describes the tone of the poem's speaker?
a. Playful
b. Critical
c. Angry
d. Depressing
4. Which line from the poem best supports your answer for number 3?
a. "everything round is good: the sun, wheels, cookies, and the princess."
b. "I am thinking of a fairy tale"
c. "Cinder Elephant, Sleeping Tubby, Snow Weight"
d. "where the beauty has a pillowed breast, and fingers plump as sausage."
Activity 2: 1984 by George Orwell
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking twelve. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.
The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a coloured poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week. The flat was seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty-nine and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several times on the way. On each landing, opposite the lift-shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.
He moved over to the window: a smallish, frail figure, the meagreness of his body merely emphasized by the blue overalls which were the uniform of the party. His hair was very fair, his face naturally sanguine, his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter that had just ended.
The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a coloured poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week. The flat was seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty-nine and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several times on the way. On each landing, opposite the lift-shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.
He moved over to the window: a smallish, frail figure, the meagreness of his body merely emphasized by the blue overalls which were the uniform of the party. His hair was very fair, his face naturally sanguine, his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter that had just ended.
1. What kind of society does Winston live in?
a. Pleasant and cheerful
b. Rich and prosperous
c. Oppressive and government-controlled
d. Creepy and eerie
2. Which line from the story best supports your answer for number 1?
a. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking twelve.
b. "...slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions"
c. "the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived
that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran."
d. "His hair was very fair, his face naturally sanguine, his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades
and the cold of the winter that had just ended."
3. All of the following describe Winston EXCEPT:
a. Handsome and rugged with a black moustache
b. Fair-haired with a naturally sanguine face
c. 39 with a varicose ulcer
d. Rough-skinned
4. Which line from the story best supports your answer for number 3?
a. "It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a
heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features."
b. "His hair was very fair, his face naturally sanguine"
c. "Winston, who was thirty-nine and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle"
d. "his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter"
a. Pleasant and cheerful
b. Rich and prosperous
c. Oppressive and government-controlled
d. Creepy and eerie
2. Which line from the story best supports your answer for number 1?
a. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking twelve.
b. "...slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions"
c. "the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived
that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran."
d. "His hair was very fair, his face naturally sanguine, his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades
and the cold of the winter that had just ended."
3. All of the following describe Winston EXCEPT:
a. Handsome and rugged with a black moustache
b. Fair-haired with a naturally sanguine face
c. 39 with a varicose ulcer
d. Rough-skinned
4. Which line from the story best supports your answer for number 3?
a. "It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a
heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features."
b. "His hair was very fair, his face naturally sanguine"
c. "Winston, who was thirty-nine and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle"
d. "his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter"