Command of Evidence (Textual and Quantitative)

Command of Evidence questions give you a claim and ask which piece of evidence relates to it. There are two flavors. Textual evidence asks which finding would support or weaken a hypothesis, or which quotation best illustrates a claim about a character. Quantitative evidence gives a table or graph and asks which choice uses the data to support a claim or complete a sentence.

• Everything hinges on the exact claim. Find it first (often "the researchers hypothesized that..." or "the narrator portrays X as...") and underline its key parts mentally.
• Supporting evidence shows the claim's specific prediction coming true. Weakening evidence shows that prediction failing, or offers another explanation.
• A quotation must illustrate every part of the claim. If the claim is "generous but proud," the quote needs both.
• With data, a choice can be accurate but irrelevant. Each statement must be true according to the table and connect to the claim.
• If the claim compares two things, the evidence must compare the same two things.

Rule: turn the claim into a prediction before reading choices: "If this is true, we should see ___."

A biologist hypothesized that a species of desert beetle collects drinking water from morning fog, which condenses on the bumps of its shell.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the hypothesis?

A) The beetles are most active in the late afternoon. B) Beetles kept in fogless enclosures lost more body water than beetles kept in foggy ones. C) The beetles' shells are darker than the sand around them. D) Other desert insects also have bumps on their shells.

Prediction: "If fog gives them water, beetles without fog should be drier."

1. A is about activity time, not water.
2. C is about color, unrelated to fog.
3. D is about other insects, not this species.
4. B tests fog versus no fog and shows the predicted difference. Answer: B.

A transportation planner claims that adding protected bike lanes to Harlow Street increased cycling there, while cycling on nearby streets without new lanes stayed about the same.

Which choice best describes data from the table that support the planner's claim?

A) Harlow Street had more riders per day in 2023 than any other street. B) Riders per day on Harlow Street nearly doubled from 2021 to 2023, while Penn and Doyle Streets each gained only 10. C) Doyle Street had the fewest riders per day in both years. D) Penn Street had 280 riders per day in 2021.

1. The claim has two parts: Harlow increased, and the others stayed about the same.
2. D is accurate but says nothing about change.
3. C is accurate but is about Doyle's ranking, not the claim.
4. A is accurate but only shows Harlow is the largest, not that it grew or that others did not.
5. B covers both parts with correct numbers (310 to 590; +10 and +10). Answer: B.

• True but irrelevant data. Most wrong choices on table questions are accurate. Check relevance, not just accuracy.
• Half the claim. Choosing evidence that supports one part of a two-part claim.
• Wrong group. The hypothesis is about young birds raised apart; a finding about adult birds does not test it.
• Support versus weaken. Re-read the question stem; "weaken" questions are easy to answer backward.
• Quotations that are vivid but off-claim. A beautifully written line about the setting does not illustrate a trait of the character.