Formulating evaluative statements and determining textual evidence

1. Formulating Evaluative
Statements and
Determining Textual
Evidence
Lesson 7

2. At the end of the lesson, the students should be able
to:
 describe a claim;
 formulate meaningful counterclaims in response to
claims made in a text read; and
 determine textual evidence to validate assertions
and counterclaims made about a text read.

3.  A claim is an explicit or implicit statement of logical
conclusion based on information, evidences, and reasoning
that we know and observed.
 A claim persuades, argues, convinces, proves, or provocatively
suggests something to a reader who may
or may not initially agree with you.
 A claim defines your paper’s goals, direction,
and scope, and is supported by
evidence, quotations, argumentation,
expert opinion, statistics, and telling details.
 A claim must be argumentative.
Claim

4. Claim
 A good claim is specific. It makes a focused
argument rather than a general one.
MTV’s popularity is waning because it no
longer plays music videos.
MTV sucks.

5. Counterclaim
 Counterclaims are claims made to rebut a
previous claim. They provide a contrasting
perspective to the main
argument.
 Counterclaims are provable
and supportable by reasons
and evidences.

6. The following questions will help you formulate a
counterclaim:
 What are the major points on which you and the author
can disagree?
 What is their strongest argument? What did they say
to defend their position?
 What are the merits of their view?
 What are the weaknesses or
shortcomings in their argument?
 Are there any hidden assumptions?
 Which lines from the text
best support the counterclaim you
have formulated?

7. Mom, I need a
new phone.
No, you don’t
need a new
phone.
Claim
Counterclaim

8. Reason
A reason tells why. It
tells the importance
of the claim and the
argument.

9. Because I said so.
Why is that you think you
need a new cellphone?
My current cellphone doesn’t
provide internet access,
which is necessary for me to
complete all my homework.

10.  Evidence tells the reader how the claim
is proved.
 Evidence should be from
a source that is reliable.
Evidence

11. According to the ACT
Center for Equity in
Learning, about 17% of
students are unable to
complete their homework
due to their limited access
to the internet.

12. THE DETECTIVE GAME

13. A Japanese ship was leaving the port and on its way to open sea. The
captain went to go oil some parts of the ship and took his ring off so
it wouldn’t get damaged. He left it on the table next to his bunk.
When he returned, it was missing. He had suspected three crew
members could be guilty and asked them what they had been doing for
the ten minutes that he had been gone.
The cook said, “I was in the kitchen preparing tonight’s dinner.”
The engineer said, “I was working in the engine room making sure
everything was running smoothly.”
The seaman said, “I was on the mast correcting the flag because
someone had attached it upside down by mistake.”
The captain immediately knew who it was. How?
Thief at Sea

14. Answer:
It was clearly the seaman. In the first sentence,
it says that it was a Japanese ship. A Japanese
flag is white with a single red dot in the middle; it
can’t be hung upside down.

15. Evidence is defined as the
details given by the author to
support his/her claim. The
evidence provided by the
writer substantiates the
text.
Determining Textual Evidence

16.  Facts and statistics
 Opinions from experts
 Personal anecdotes
Evidence can include:

17. Steps in Determining
Textual Evidence
Step 1: State the claim.
Step 2: Cite parts of the text that
led you to the claim.
Step 3: Explain the evidence.

18. Characteristics of
Good Evidence
 Unified
 Relevant to the central point
 Specific and concrete
 Accurate
 Representative or typical