Choose evidence for a precise textual or numerical claim
| English | Français |
|---|---|
| comparison base/kəmˈpærɪsn beɪs/ | comparison base |
| supporting evidence/səˈpɔːtɪŋ ˈevɪdəns/ | supporting evidence |
A decision before an answer
- Data can show that both groups improved without showing that one improved more. The comparison in the claim decides which numbers matter.
- Your goal: Choose a detail that directly supports or challenges a stated claim.
Read the relationship
- First translate the target claim into an evidence requirement. A claim that repeated practice helps retention needs information about retention under differing practice conditions, not simply a statement that learners enjoyed the activity. An interesting related fact may fail to support the specific relationship asserted.
- Use a table’s labels, quantities and comparison base correctly.
A has 10 of 20 successes; B has 18 of 60. Which supports A’s higher success rate?
The rates use each group’s denominator.
Use the defining rule
- For textual evidence, identify whose claim is being tested and whether the task asks for support, challenge or completion. A quotation with familiar nouns is not enough. Ask what would become more credible or less credible if that detail were true, while preserving the passage’s actual degree of certainty.
- Separate relevance from evidence that discriminates between explanations.
Claim: students found instructions unclear. Which detail most directly supports it?
Requests about the same step bear on clarity.
Check the conditions
- For quantitative evidence, read title, axes or headers, units and groups before calculating. Use before/after differences when the claim concerns improvement, final values when it concerns outcomes and proportions when group sizes differ. A larger count can represent a smaller share in a larger group.
- Separate relevance from evidence that discriminates between explanations.
Original hypothetical table: Group A has 20 learners, 12 correct before and 16 after; Group B has 40 learners, 24 correct before and 28 after. Both gain four correct responses, but A’s correct share rises from 60% to 80% (20 points), while B rises from 60% to 70% (10 points). This supports “A had the larger percentage-point improvement”, not “A had more correct final responses” or a causal claim about the method.
12 of 30 observations is ____ percent.
12/30·100=40.
Apply the task format
- A numerical pattern may support a descriptive comparison without proving why it occurred. If no random assignment or controlled causal evidence is stated, avoid a causal conclusion. The original table in this lesson is a hypothetical teaching dataset, not a published study; its purpose is to practise reading the relationship.
- Separate relevance from evidence that discriminates between explanations.
Use the quantity named by the claim. Raw counts, relative percentages and percentage-point changes answer different questions.
Which answer fits this case?
Choose a detail that directly supports or challenges a stated claim
A higher final count always means a higher success rate.
Group sizes can differ; compare proportions.
Keep the distinctions
- supporting evidence 支持性证据 — Information bearing directly on the claim being evaluated.
- comparison base 比较基准 — The reference group or starting quantity used in a comparison.
- Choose a detail that directly supports or challenges a stated claim.
- Use a table’s labels, quantities and comparison base correctly.
- Separate relevance from evidence that discriminates between explanations.
Match each term with its precise meaning in this lesson.
Keep the distinctions stated in the teaching example.
Put this lesson’s reasoning or event sequence in order.
The order follows the stated process; check each stage before the next.