Textual Evidence: Everything You Need to Know About It

Students might often wonder how to write an assignment on Textual Evidence or text evidence. It usually deals with strengthening written facts beyond a reasonable doubt. Here, you can find the strategies to help you assess the factual perspective of information. Thus, you will be able to know whether the info generated validates a fact(s). 

Textual evidence plays a vital role when a writer or an author represents their position through an argument or a thesis. Also, they use this evidence to support their claim or main idea. This further evidence has several forms. In this blog, we will analyze the it’s meaning along with the example of citing evidence. Also, you will get more interesting facts as you scroll down while reading the blog. 

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Textual Evidence Definition

Textual evidence is the fact that the given info is from several authentic sources or even from the source. The primary purpose is to support an argument. Say, for example, two persons argue on the topic, “Egg comes first, or the hen comes first.” 

Both persons place their viewpoints by presenting relevant facts when this debate occurs. But the one who wins the debate presents the facts with other evidence collated from several authentic sources.

Evidence Vs Claim

There is a crucial distinction between “evidence” and “claim.” A fact or combination of facts is evidence. The statement “Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States” is true because textual evidence backs it. A claim is a statement that may be contested and calls for additional statistical evidence, say. The assertion that “Aliens are buried at Area 51 in Nevada” cannot be substantiated. 

So, what criteria should you use to assess textual evidence? Ensure the textual evidence is accurate, detailed, and factual; it must be simple to recall. 

The following section gives some indicators to watch for while examining textual proof.

Textual Evidence Example

Let us write a few statements in the form of examples. Right now, let us find out which of the following statements is textual evidence.

• Around 350 million people live in the United States.
• As we make an average, we can find that Americans having college degrees get higher-paying jobs than Americans with only high-school qualifications.
• Almost half of American homemakers own a pet dog.

In the above 3 statements, you got some facts about Americans. However,  no sources are attached to these 3 statements for readers’ validation.

Types of Textual Evidence

Let us explore the types of textual evidence. The most common variations of such evidence are as follows:

Anecdotal Evidence

It is a type of textual evidence that might need clarification. It is just because anecdotes are personal evidence. Thus, they may or may not be factual. But it can be used in literature; for literary effect. Following is an anecdote about your day.

Example

It was a terrific, long day. The day gave me stress and a headache. Even my whole body is aching. Also, I did not have any appetite. I really don’t know whether there is any sense in my statements. Whole-day fatigue didn’t help me get a good sleep. 

Testimonial Evidence

You must be very well aware of the term “testimonial.” You must have even heard that experts provide testimonies on their specialized subjects. Some people might take an expert’s testimony in a legal sense. Testimonial evidence is not used only in a legal sense. Rather, you can use it while stating facts based on your expertise. 

For example, an experienced data analyst can pinpoint the exact flaws behind why a company is having some data breaches. Likewise, a cardiologist can give you his main ideas about your present heart condition. Similarly, a pilot can explain how to handle an airplane’s controls as it takes off. All these experts have proven expertise in their fields. Thus, they also have verifiable factual statements.

Now, all of them can write a testimony about their experience, which is more physical evidence. They can write facts based on their experiences too. So, these testimonies and supporting statistics can provide the complete picture. 

Can you now relate genre conventions to expert testimony?

Analogical Evidence

Here, a comparison is made among two different things. Here’s an example of analogical evidence:

“Today’s weather is as hot as a desert.”

Here, you can get a statement about how much heat a particular area where the author presents is emitting. But is there any evidence? Where is the temperature source? It is important to do a little research on the facts before believing the given statement. The following are two more examples of analogical evidence:

“As we know that more than 70% of people use a particular type of mobile phone, it has given us an idea about what should be the right screen size of a tablet PC.”

“The movie we are watching now has a similar plot to the one I saw a month ago. It was really boring. Thus, I think this movie will be boring as well.”

Analogical evidence is among the weakest forms of evidence.

Why Are Text Evidence Skills Important?

The task of teaching degree students or high schoolers may be challenging; gathering information and finding the text evidence to address their queries is really important. 

Develops cognitive ability

Text evidence skills boost an individual’s cognitive ability. Honing the ability to analyze and interpret information will improve a child’s educational abilities all through life.

Altering the way of thinking

Teachers will be able to change the way a student thinks on evidence-backed facts. Students taking a negative approach to such facts can be converted easily to give a positive outcome. Also, students will carry the narrative and informational value of the cited evidence.

Success in higher education

Getting success in higher education is an important outcome when you develop a text evidence skill in a student: they can now learn how to extract useful information as a form of evidence. Also, this evidence will come in a clear, structured form. 

Trustworthiness

Another wonderful advantage of honing one’s text evidence skill is trustworthiness. Students backed with live or simulated examples, facts, and analytics will be able to present a clear idea using the concepts involved, developing trust among those concerned. Also, practice tests will play a vital role: evidence-backed facts, when correctly used, will improve test scores.

Read: How to write a claim?

How to Teach Text Evidence to Students?

There are several ways to teach text evidence skills to students. Using complex definitions is one of the ways. Using abstractions can be a way, but these can make students bored. 

Instead, teaching these skills in a story form by making the concept interesting will definitely serve your purpose. Of course, students pursuing a higher level of education and having clear concepts can easily relate to text evidence backed with concrete, relatable examples.

The following are the ways through which you can make teaching text evidence skills much more interesting:

• Worksheets
• Simple anchor charts
• Colorful highlighters
• Unique reading passages

Read: What is a number sentence?

Conclusion

Textual evidence strengthens the validity of someone’s writing. Finding facts to support and strengthen an idea or an argument varies based on the type of such evidence. 

To introduce textual evidence in your writing, verbs such as “ insists,” “argues,” “concludes,” “explains,” etc., can be used. Of course, you must back up each instance with logical, precise, relevant, reliable, and accurate evidence. 

Frequently Asked Questions