Finding Evidence and Splitting Quotes
Once you have an idea and thesis, the next thing you have to do is find evidence that best supports that thesis. When you are looking for evidence to support your thesis, you should first consider the two questions outlined below:
- Does this evidence support my idea without muddying the water?
- Is it letting me show (analyze and dissect) or does it just tell (state your idea)?
But what does it mean to show versus tell? Here's an example from Girl meets boy:
Tell: "Because of us, things came together" (81).
Show: "I had not known, before us, that every vein in my body was capable of carrying light, like a river seen from a train makes a channel of sky etch itself deep into a landscape. I had not really known I could be so much more than myself" (81).
What is the difference between these two quotes if we are looking to discuss the ways in which the relationship has impacted Anthea's character?
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The last thing you need to consider, as you are finding evidence, is the question below:
- How long is the evidence? Is it too long? Are there parts I can cut? If not, should I work to split it up?
Sometimes as you're working on an essay you'll find a piece of evidence that works perfectly, but it's a bit too long. Okay, so where do you go from here?
The first thing you should try to do is cut out the non-essential parts. In doing this you should always think about what parts of the evidence really show your point. As you are doing this, you should consider a few things:
- Are there parts of the evidence you could reword into context? Again, you only want to include the parts of your evidence that can be analyzed. So, if part of the quote is needed for context, there are two things you could do:
- Split it up and use some for context and some for analysis. This is nice because it still allows you to analyze the context if you want.
- Ex. Once Anthea and Robin began dating, Anthea talked about what they "had not known" before they were together, one thing being "that every vein in my body was capable of carrying light" (81).
- Cut it out and write it instead as context.
- Ex. Once Anthea and Robin began dating, Anthea mentioned they now knew "that every vein in my body was capable of carrying light" (81).
- Are there two ideas in two parts of the evidence? Maybe one part highlights one idea and/or authorial choice that proves your thesis and the second part a different thing, but, if you kept both parts, your evidence would be too long. So, you should:
- Split it up so there are two parts of the evidence you can analyze. In doing this, you should have a transition sentence that moves us from the first part of evidence to the second; you can use this transition to analyze your evidence.
- Ex. Once Anthea and Robin began dating, Anthea mentioned they now knew "that every vein in my body was capable of carrying light" (81). Clearly the relationship has made Anthea feel more complete, whole, and joyful – their body is filled with light. We see this wholeness again when Anthea says, "I had not really known I could be so much more than myself" (81).
Please note, that all of this work is being completed in this document.