Good evidence is the shortest piece of the passage that answers the question. Copy those words exactly, then say the answer in your own words.
This lesson follows inferring a word meaning from context. A related skill is comparing a relevant and an irrelevant answer.
How do I find the right evidence?
First decide what the question asks for: a time, a number, a reason or a consequence. Then scan for the sentence that holds it, and trim the quotation to the key phrase.
Worked example: the school library
Read this original passage, with a gloss after each line.
- مكتبةُ المدرسةِ مفتوحةٌ من الثامنةِ صباحًا إلى الثانيةِ ظهرًا. (The school library is open from eight in the morning to two in the afternoon.)
- يستعيرُ الطالبُ كتابينِ لمدةِ أسبوعٍ. (A student borrows two books for a week.)
- من يتأخرُ في إرجاعِ الكتابِ يدفعُ غرامةً صغيرةً. (Whoever is late returning a book pays a small fine.)
Question A: how many books can a student borrow? The answer is two. The evidence is يستعيرُ الطالبُ كتابينِ. The words “for a week” are not needed to answer this question.
Question B: what happens if a student returns a book late? The answer is that the student pays a small fine. The evidence is يدفعُ غرامةً صغيرةً.
The mistake that costs marks
Students quote too much or quote the wrong place. For Question B, three answers are common.
| Quotation | Problem |
|---|---|
| all of sentence 3 | correct but longer than needed |
| مفتوحة من الثامنة | right passage, wrong detail |
| يدفع غرامة صغيرة | short and exact |
The fix is to reread the question word, such as “what happens”, and pick the phrase that answers exactly that.
Check yourself
Use the library passage. What are the opening hours? Give your answer and the shortest useful evidence.
Answer
The library is open from eight in the morning to two in the afternoon. The evidence is من الثامنةِ صباحًا إلى الثانيةِ ظهرًا. You do not need to quote the word مفتوحة unless the question asks whether it is open.
What to study next
You now have the four reading skills: main idea, pronouns, word meaning and evidence. Test them together with the reading practice set, then see how relevance works in comparing a relevant and an irrelevant answer.
If you want a teacher to review your evidence with you, see online one-to-one Arabic tuition.